Stayed three nights during June 2011

Summary: After being in Sabi, Madikwe, Chobe, Kalahari, Okavango, etc I would rate the camp as in the upper part compared to the average in Africa. Rooms are nice (not amazing) but good enough, food is very good and (can't stress this enough) service is brilling. This is THE key for a perfect getaway. Will repeat if visiting Etosha again.

Some highlights

- Camp is 13km from the gate using a gravel road (ie, 20 min drive). From there you have another 20 min after you reach the park offices and proceed to the park itself. Plan ahead every morning.

- Rooms are quite nice (not amazing). Clean and with the standard amenities.

- The private reserve is very nice. Allow yourself some time to drive around

- If you have some experience, I'd rather do self drive than the guided tours. 1 hour to go from the park and 1 h to come back is not optimal

- Make sure you have dinner at the lodge. Food is good and affordable (165NS for 3 course meal). Tell them to prepare a lunch pack for the long day (60NS)

- Visit Namutoni and the rest of the camps. They look nice but soon after you will discover why a lot of people choose to be outside the park - SERVICE IS TERRIBLE (can't stress this enough)

Again, maybe being outside the park is suboptimal but given the safari experience comprises all touchpoints (included service), Aoba is a very good option.

We stayed 2 nights in the beautiful lodge. Very nice houses (nbr 1 and 2) with own outside sitting area. Very good food and very nice and friendly people helping whereever they can. Don´t stay in the Etosha park where hotels are bad and expensive. Aoba is just 30 min from the entrance. Nice own game driving on the Aoba property. Good food.

We booked two nights at the Aoba Lodge in March 2011. After a long drive from Walvis Bay we arrived at the lodge road at sundown. As mentioned in other reviews the entrance road was 20 km and required a 4x4 to navigate during the “wet season”. Our efforts however were rewarded with multiple close encounters with the spectacular wildlife; including giraffes, zebras, kudu, guinea fowl, wildebeests, and wart hogs. Since these were our first animal sightings it added to the anticipation as we arrived at the lodge. We were greeted by the friendly and professional staff and quickly settled in. The bungalows were clean, comfortable, and tastefully decorated with an African theme. We walked back to the lodge for dinner and met our host Peter who was engaging with a good sense humor. Dinner was a fantastic, 4 -star quality affair with a great wine selection, and good company. The staff also treated us to a beautiful a cappella rendition of local tribal music. It was the perfect place to unwind after a big day. Breakfast the next day was made to order and equally delicious.

Location, Location, Location

We spent the entire next day exploring the Fisher pan and the east side of the Etosha pan on a self drive tour. The animal viewing was amazing. We saw too many giraffes, zebra, and antelope to count; including a zebra with a new fold still being nudged to stand up. We rounded a corner on the Fisher Pan and came upon two bull elephants playing in a water hole. The day we left we also saw a pride of lions and two rinos.
We returned to the Aoba Lodge the second night we received the same excellent professional service and comfort. It was a welcome bit of luxury in the heart of Africa. Pack your binoculars and Hemmingway novels, rent a 4 wheel drive and prepare to be amazed.

This was probably the best lodge we stayed at in Namibia. The service was excellent. The bungalows were clean and nicely decorated. Because the "family bungalow" we had booked was meant for 2adults and 1kid, and we were going to put 3 adults there, they decided to give us an extra bungalow for free. By the way: the "family bungalow" is great! It has one double bed, a big sofa that is comfortable for sleeping, a small tower with another sofa, its own pavillion with deckchairs, and an outside shower in case you get too hot.
The pool was clean – although it was the rainy season, which messes with the pool water.
The food was excellent and varied. The host is very proud of the wine cellar and helped us choose. For lunch we just went up to reception and they made anything we wanted.
Samuel, who drove us around the Etosha park, was smart, funny and extremely patient with us.
Some of the serving staff were still being trained, which amused my parents-in-law but did not deter from the experience.
This lodge has its own little nature trail and the folder with the explanations for all the cool things you can see is handed out at the reception.
Because the Lodge is in a forest there are plenty of animals to see and on our way to dinner we surprised some antelope in front of our bungalow.
They have a laptop in the common area for general use (and it's free). As anywhere in Namibia, the connection is a little slow, so uploading pictures should be avoided.
Definitely an enjoyable stay.