Simien Lodge

'Hi Derek

 We had a great time - a really beautiful country, and very warm and friendly people.  The highlights for me were the Church of Saint George in Lalibela, the Simien Mountain baboons, and chilling out at the 'Highest Bar In Africa'.  Challenges for me were the internet facilities (it was barely usable outside Addis Ababa),  the lack of Diet Coke (I'm an addict, and it was only available in Addis Ababa)..  At one point early on I remember feeling that it was all a bit too exhausting and maybe we should've gone somewhere easier, but then I got adjusted to it, and wished at the end that we'd had more time to see a few other places too, such as Axum and the Danakil.        

 The guides were great, and the hotels were pretty good too, especially the Maribela which was a really chilled-out place with a fantastic view.  Thanks for organising it all for us - I've been telling everyone here what a fascinating place Ethiopia is, and it will always hold a special place in my heart for having been my 100th country!

 Phil'

'Ethiopia (the Historical Route) was very very good indeed.  The itinerary was very good indeed, we could not fault it; very good time-management. It was busy, it was intensive but very different. Lovely people., very warm, very kind, very friendly.

The guide is fundamental to a holiday’s success: Henok was outstanding!. We have done a lot of tailor-made tours and have never had such a good guide anywhere in the world. He made all the difference – he was very kind, very helpful, very personable and really, really good.

The attractions were all better than what we were expecting after having read books such as the Bradt Guide. Lalibela in particular, was remarkable. The highlight. The local guide there was very good too. I would recommend - especially if visitors go in the rainy season - to take walking poles and footwear with a strong grip for the stairs at Lalibela's churches.

Simien Lodge is lovely. It is an experience. But we did feel the altitude there. The viewpoint we went to was lovely. It is a remarkable place. 

Accommodation was all good except the Avanti Blue Nile at Bahir Dar which doesn’t have character or charm – it is a business-peoples’ hotel.  

Food was lovely at Habasha-2000 on our way out of the country and it works very well to have the farewell dinner there before the flight back to the UK.

We are very impressed with Rainbow Tours, thank you for going to so much trouble to arrange everything; we plan to contact you soon again to arrange travel to Africa and Latin America’.

'Really appreciated having an excellent, single guide with us throughout. We had not experienced this before and thought it worked very well. 

Overall holiday satisfaction: Excellent. 

Gardens of Abyaminch Lodge were excellent. Choices for evening meals seemed better when more guests were staying.

Simien Lodge is a great hotel in a fantastic location - would have stayed an extra night. 

Mayleko Lodge (Gondar): excellent room - the best all holiday. 

Sabean Hotel: excellent comfort, good in all other respects. Better than we had been led to expect! 

Bishangari Lodge: excellent in all respects. Very well run hotel in fantastic location. Food was particularly good. 

Bale Mountains Lodge: comfort excellent. Overvall this lodge was a disappointing experience as our expectations had been raised quite high for it. Service: the local people on the staff were very helpful. Schemes in place for the local community seemed well thought out and are an excellent initiative.

The holiday was really good and as you will know a fantastic combination of history, culture and wildlife that would be tricky to reproduce in such a short period in most other countries' 

'Overall holiday satisfaction (of the Timkat 2016 small group set departure): excellent. Jupiter International hotel is a comfortable, international hotel with hot water and Wifi.

Abayminch Lodge, Bahir Dar: good in all respects; excellent location. Electricity is erratic, didn't have this issue elsewhere.

Goha Hotel: good tourist hotel; good breakfast; OK dinner

Simien Lodge: great choice - loved it! Excellent in all respects.

Sora Lodge, Lalibela: excellent. Superb location; cooking class excellent. Fair to say vegetarians are not confused by choice.

Sabean Hotel, Axum: Comfort, facilities, location all good. Service and meals average. Meals here were a little poor especially dinner.

WOW, What a great holiday. Everything went like clockwork. Henok i the No 1 from the moment we arrived to the second we left at the airport for our flight back home. Nothing was too much trouble. New bottles of water in the bus every day. He arranged for the collection of our luggage from our hotel rooms, and even off the airport carousels. He took care of the tipping as we westerners are hopeless when it comes to this - when and how much. The VIP tickets in Addis for the Timkat festival meant we were literally right in the action. Again Henok was on hand to explain and direct us.

Ethiopia is THE place to go....and do it now whilst it is unspoilt by tourists. The people are amazing - we didn't see one private car for 8 days. People walk everywhere. The scenery is fabulous, awe inspiring with thousands of donkeys and mules, goats and sheep. Henok stopped at the roadside for us to photograph alongside a stop to see a young lady making injera, their local tef pancake (acquired taste but lovely).  Henok is Number1! 

Great holiday - where next?

'The trip was wonderful and it is really a beautiful country.  We had a great time and it certainly met and often exceeded our expectations.  Eyob, our guide, was fabulous as were the drivers'

'Overall holiday satisfaction: excellent.

Jupiter Interntional Hotel: god in all respects; service excellet.

Panoramic View, Lalibela: excellent service and location; meals, facilitie and comfort: good.

Sabean Hotel, Axum: excellent location. Good in terms of comfort, service and meals. Facilities average.

Avanti Blue Nile, Bahir Dar: excellent in all respects. Facilities good.

Mayleko Lodge, Gondar: Good in all respects. Service excellent. Issues with lack of water due to power cut.

Simien Lodge: Excellent service, location and meals. Good facilities. Comfort: good.

Like many other Africa countries it is their attention t detal that lets them down. Electrical outlets not fixed to walls properly. The service and the local people were great; very courteous and extremely helpful. That is a massive plus f the country's tourism '