Hotel reviews: Chapungu Luxury Tented Camp

• Location
• TO KNOW
• Overview
• Accommodation
• Food and drink
• Beach
• Photos

The lodge is part of the Thornybush Collection which also includes the Chapungu Luxury Tented Camp. The group supports the UTAH Community project, close to another of their lodges, Simbambili. They assisted local ladies in establishing a vegetable garden from which they buy lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, onions etc. They are currently working a large community drive, information of which will follow shortly.

• Location
• TO KNOW
• Overview
• Accommodation
• Food and drink
• Beach
• Photos

The entrance to the lodge is via a beautiful pair of chunky wooden doors which have a pair of African masks hanging on their interior. Just after a short narrow corridor, the main lodge opens up before you with a cosy covered lounge on the left-hand side and a communal dining table and seating area to the right. The former really could have been taken right out of a private home with well lived in sofas, a rug, coffee table, black and white prints, wildlife watercolours, traditional carvings and a fireplace. Huge tree leaves soar out from a vase on a table just behind where there are also elephant carvings under a mirror on the sideboard. Over on the other side of the entrance is where many of the meals are taken (see 'Food and Drink') while just in front is a second relaxation space with a more outdoorsy type of furniture with a few piles of reading material on the low wooden coffee table. Just feet away from here, beyond the decking, is the lodge's pool. A slope gradually disappears under the water which is surrounded by rocks and is partly shaded by the leafy trees that tower above it. A separate stream of water trickles into the pool from a feature in the rocks, while the sun loungers are placed a few metres away under the shade of the trees.

Although Chapungu doesn't have its own wellness centre, guests staying here can make use of the facilities at the nearby Thornybush Game Lodge. The Amani spa may be small but it is perfectly formed. It offers a wide range of treatments in its well equipped, beautifully furnished rooms which also have relaxation gardens with hydrotherapy tubs, outdoor steam showers, rock pools and sun loungers. Treatments on offer include holistic body rituals, massages (aromatherapy, hot stone, reflexology, scalp, foot), facials (anti-ageing, hydrating) and manicures and pedicures. There are also several treatments for men only as well as packages for couples and brides. A novel addition to the spa menu is treatments for kids! A foot massage to improve sleep, a chest massage to alleviate cold symptoms and even manicures and pedicures are available for children between the ages of 2 and 12.

The overall condition of the lodge is good. It has a lived-in feel to it and it compact and intimate without being suffocating. The atmosphere that reigns over the camp is relaxed and laid back and, similarly, the staff is at once friendly and professional.

• Location
• TO KNOW
• Overview
• Accommodation
• Food and drink
• Beach
• Photos

Although called a tented camp, the structures which house the eight accommodations at Chapungu are far sturdier and civilised than your traditional tent (stone floors, doors leading to the terrace for example) and share only the canvas roof and walls as a characteristic. Nonetheless, this does make an interesting change from the more common room type and does not fundamentally change anything about your stay. As is generally the case with tented accommodation, the rooms, which are air conditioned, are on the small side, however they have everything you'd expect from any other lodge. The king bed, with its beautiful headboards, is well dressed with plaids and a couple of cushions while from above hangs a mosquito net drawn back with cords at whose ends are huge tassels. The other furniture in the room consists of an occasional table with complimentary sherry and tea and coffee facilities, a desk and chair, a small fridge and a closet in which is the safe, umbrellas and anti-mosquito products. The stoned-tiled bathrooms are also fairly tight but boast a walk-in monsoon shower, double vanity and personalised toiletries. The wash facilities actually spill out onto the terrace outside which wraps around the room, where you'll find a deep corner soaking tub as well as a table and chairs in order to contemplate the bushveld on your doorstep.

• Location
• TO KNOW
• Overview
• Accommodation
• Food and drink
• Beach
• Photos

Meals at Chapungu are operated in a similar way to most other lodges with the location being rotated so that guests can experience eating in different backdrops throughout their stay. The particularity here, however, is that most of the meals are taken as a group given the small number of rooms at the lodge. Mornings bring a continental breakfast buffet served under the covered bar, while there is an option for hot breakfast for those with a larger appetite. Lunch is served rather later here than elsewhere, around three o'clock in the afternoon, and is taken at the lodge either at the communal table in the main lodge or on the decking just by the swimming pool. Dinner locations rotate between the boma, the main lodge and the bush, where trees are decorated with lanterns. Although most of these meals are taken communally, there is of course an opt-out if you prefer to dine alone as a couple/family. Indeed, if you feel like eating in your room, on your terrace, privately in any of the locations or have special requests, dietary or otherwise, the staff will be delighted to cater to your wishes as best they can. In addition to the main meals, you will be given hot drinks and a snack before and during the morning game drive and a tipple and another snack during the evening drive.