Natwange Backpackers

The location is decent, but the pools are dirty and one is only a quarter full of stagnant water that breeds mosquitoes. The rooms are hot, and with the solar not working, there's no way to cool off. There's no hot water or water pressure, and breakfast runs out of tea, butter, and hot water. Add no power, mosquito bites, and poor service, and this place is a bad choice.

I had a really enjoyable 2 days at Natwange and would have stayed longer. The hostel sits in lovely grounds with plenty of places to sit, and there was a nice hot shower with towels provided. The friendly, respectful staff gave off good vibes from the moment I arrived at reception. I'll most likely come back sometime. Zikomo everyone, Andy.

The staff are so kind and helpful, and the place has a lovely, peaceful feel. It’s near lots of attractions, too. There’s a real sense of community here, and people come back again and again. Highly recommend.

The rooms were clean, breakfast was pretty good, the reception staff were friendly, and there’s a nice playground, though some of it needs repairs. The food was good but not cheap. The garden is green and pleasant, but it wasn’t as tidy as the photos suggest. The bed by the pool was broken, and the pool table had no light. Don’t expect the place to look quite like the pictures. The pool seemed about as clean as pools elsewhere in Zambia. We didn’t get room service, though at $65 a night we hadn’t really expected it. Our triple room was tiny, with a broken bathroom light and door handle. The door wouldn’t stay shut without a key. Evening power cuts meant there was no hot water, and we often had no water in the room at all. For two nights we paid $65 per night, making it the second most expensive room on our six-week trip. Only in Livingstone did we pay more, $80, and there we had a huge bungalow, excellent service, a beautiful, secluded setting, and a lovely room with room service. Similar rooms to the one at Natwange usually cost around $20-$30. The reservation handling was a mess. We called the day before arriving and got confirmation, but when we showed up they said they had no record of our booking. That would be especially stressful if you arrived late. The next day they offered us a better room, but the hotel manager spent over an hour shouting at staff in the garden. It made relaxing there impossible, and the way she spoke to them, in front of guests, was awful. Constructive feedback is one thing, but this was really unpleasant. After waiting two and a half hours for the new room, we went into town. When we came back four hours later, they’d given it to someone else. The reception team was friendly, but the manager’s behavior got in the way of them doing their jobs and helping guests. The neighborhood is quiet and green, but there isn’t much to do besides visit the mall everyone talks about. The market is a 20-minute drive and costs about 50 kwacha by Yango, so it isn’t especially quick or cheap. Within walking distance there’s an art gallery and the Ngombe district, with a community center and some street food, but there’s no cheap food around the hostel. You can’t really walk to the train station or the intercity bus station, either. Booking online was cheaper here, which was unusual for us since booking.com usually costs more because of its fee. It also means booking with children is a problem, since the site can’t handle two small children sharing a bed. You also can’t look at the rooms before choosing one, even though they charge the same for the nicer rooms and the less nice ones. Some have no lights in the evening, some are very small, and some are new. We’ve stayed in places we were happy with that had no running or hot water and shared bathrooms, but those were cheap. At this price, the place needs to deliver a certain standard. For half the cost, and without the manager shouting, the big garden, pool, and people could make for an enjoyable stay.