Archives: Hotel

The four starHansa Hotel is nestled in the centre of Swakopmund and offers easy access to everything the town has to offer. This classical building dates from 1905, and it is an integral part of the architectural heritage of the area. The Hansa has twice received the Best Hotel in Namibia Award. It is also a 5 time winner of the Award of Excellence, a Golden Award of Excellence and a HAN Gold Award winner.

The hotel has also been awarded the prestigious Diners Club Wine List Platinum Award, for outstanding selection and quality of it’s wines. Expect a formal atmosphere with hard working professional staff at the Hansa Hotel.

They have proved to be a reliable choice for guests who prefer the facilities of a larger hotel as opposed to a smaller guesthouse. The restaurant is among the most popular in Swakopmund. The Terrace is a perfect venue for a leisurely lunch, and it overlooks the inner gardens.

Breakfast and dinner are served in the main dining room. The ‘a la carte’ menu includes soups, cold and warm starters, main courses of seafood, game and grilled meats, vegetarian dishes, and a huge selection of mouthwatering desserts for afters. If you’ve had enough to eat, then why not retire to the residents bar? It features a large fireplace, a welcome relief from the cool Swakop night, as the fog rolls in, not to mention a wide variety of spirits, beer, wines and after-dinner drinks.

There is also a secluded garden courtyard, where guests will be well-protected from any inclement weather. Other services available at the Hansa Hotel include a laundry service, dry cleaning, mail / message /postage facility, safety deposit, foreign exchange, secretarial service, baby sitting, house library, car wash, lunch packs, lost and found, courtesy transport, secure parking and a medical service.

The Hansa Hotel pride themselves on providing the finest and most luxurious accommodation that Swakopmundhas to offer. Each room is individually decorated and are fitted with under tile and/or under carpet heating. There are • Rooms: Some of the rooms have twin beds others double beds. En-suite bath/showers, 15 channel television stations, radio, high speed internet access, direct dialling telephones, hair dryer, in-room safes and a tea/coffee station are standard.

Air-conditioning is in some of the rooms. • Luxury Suites: The Suites are equipped with similar facilities as the Double Rooms. Air-conditioning, a comfortable lounge area and daily freshly cut flowers are standard extras. Meanwhile, the Terrace is perfect for dinners and banquets for up to 60 people.

The Private Lounge on the other hand, is the venue for the more intimate cocktail party, meeting or dinner night. Swakopmund has always been the ‘jewel of Namibia’s coastline.’ It has built itself a reputation as an adrenaline-filled destination, and there is something for everybody here.

The Namib dunes, beach walks, swimming and sightseeing through this historical town, and a trip to the craft market are very popular here.

Hobatere Lodge is set in a 32,000ha concession area 65km north of Kamanjab, only 1km past the Galton Gate (Otjovasandu) entrance to Etosha Park. This is an ideal stopover for a couple of days for individual travellers, families and self-drive tourists on their way to Namibia’s major tourist attraction, especially those heading to Dolomite Camp.

Palmwag is to the west and to the north Opuwo, the gateway to the solace, beauty and wonders of Kaokoland. Once considered the jewel in Namibia’s lodge crown before closing and falling into disrepair Hobatere Lodge was reopened in 2015.

Now owned by the local members of the #Khoadi //Hoas Conservancy. It is managed by the same people that manage the very popular Fish River Lodge & Grootberg Lodge. Etosha Park teems with wildlife and is home to large varieties of mammals, birds, reptiles, invertebrates and amphibians.

A network of gravel roads lead you to nearly 60 waterholes many close to or not far from the main feature of the park, Etosha Pan. The best months for game viewing tend to be in the drier, winter months from May to September, although the wet, hot summer months from October to April also offer it’s own wildlife excitement and attractions.

At Hobatere Lodge the main building has a restaurant, bar, lounge and a curio shop. Guests can relax and unwind around the swimming pool. Set around 300m from the pool is the waterhole where elephant, antelope and birds visit.

Mount Etjo Safari Lodge, is set in the Okonjati Wildlife Sanctuary, 225kms north of Windhoek. It was founded by the world-renowned conservationist, Jan Oelofse. Etjo means ‘A place of refuge.’ The camp is a perfect destination for small groups and managerial gatherings, and for self-drive tourists travelling to Etosha National Park, and further north on to the Caprivi. The new independent republic of Namibia was born at Mount Etjo Lodge, where the historic 1989 Mount Etjo Declaration was signed under the supervision of the United Nations. The swimming pool and garden at the main lodge overlook a waterhole, where hippo, nyala and porcupine visit on a regular basis. It is an ideal opportunity for guests to observe animals quenching their thirst, whilst enjoying a drink at the bar themselves. It goes without saying that the closeness of the animals here, offer an excellent opportunity for nature lover and photographer alike. Ornithologists should head to the dam at the lodge, a bird watchers’ paradise. Dinners are served in a rustic African-furnished Lapa, around a campfire. Guests can also choose to share a drink around the inviting campfire, under the open sky, whilst a braai is being prepared. There is a variety of accommodation available at Mount Etjo, guests can choose from the following: • The Villa – Partially located on an island, with an extraordinary 180 degree view of the lake where animals come to quench their thirst. The Villa is the pearl of Mount Etjo Safari Lodge – offering privacy, exclusivity and luxury, with a private swimming pool and garden, a Jacuzzi, a mini-bar, DSTV, a large lounge with a fire-place, two king-size beds, private dining facilities and a personal butler (only by request). The Villa offers an exceptional opportunity for all-day game viewing from the comfort of your accommodation. • Suites – Accommodation is spacious and contain a large lounge, an exquisite bedroom and a fire-place or Jacuzzi, a mini-fridge, safe, ceiling fan, air-conditioner and a tea/coffee station. The suites are not suitable for children. • Luxury Rooms – either a king-size bed or two double beds, suitable for accommodating families with children. All luxury rooms are equipped with a tea/coffee station, an air-conditioner and heater, a ceiling fan, a safe and a small fridge. Some rooms offer the use of a Jacuzzi. • Wheelchair-friendly Rooms – Mount Etjo Safari Lodge is built to be wheelchair-friendly, and two rooms are furnished to accommodate the needs of those in wheel-chairs Game drives in open vehicles, are all under the guidance of experienced game rangers. It is an ideal chance to enjoy the sanctuary’s fauna and flora, as well as elephant, black and white rhino, zebra, hippo, and the many different species of antelope that can be viewed on these trips. Lion, leopard and cheetah are also at home in the reserve. Lion feeds after sunset, is an exciting attraction, where visitors will have the opportunity to observe these big cats feeding from a close distance. Due to their black rhino breeding program, the lions are kept on a large, but separate region of the sanctuary, mainly by luring them to a specific spot for feeding. This minimizes predation on black rhino calves, and other rare species roaming the Sanctuary. Other activities include game walks to see the famous Dinosaur Footprints, dating back to 230 million years, described as Saurichnians. 4 different tracks have been found, but with too little evidence to to confirm the exact species. Shorter guided walks, concentrate on the fossilized buffalo tracks, which give the sanctuary it’s name ‘Okonjati’. Another guided game drive, is to visit the Rare Species Game Sanctuary, in an area of 4,000ha, which offers a protected refuge for the indigenous black-faced impala, the roan and sable antelope, red lechwe and bushbuck.

Famous for its floodlit waterhole Okaukuejo Rest Camp is also the administrative centre of Etosha. Most visitors travel though this camp with its characteristic stone tower and EtoshaEcological Institute is also situated within the camp. The rest camp was formerly a military outpost founded in 1901 and the tower was added in 1963. Located in the south of Etosha National Park, Okaukuejo is only 17 km from Anderson Gate. Okaukuejo offers a wide range of accommodation as well as all the necessities such as a petrol station and a shop. The restaurant and bar offer refreshments and delicious meals, while the swimming pool offers relief on hot days. The waterhole is a hub of animal activity starting in the early hours of the morning. Especially during winter diversity of game congregate in close proximity to the camp to quench their thirst. After sunset floodlights illuminate the waterhole. This is the best time and place to see the endangered black rhino. This archaic mammal can often be seen drinking alongside lion and elephant. The number and interaction of the animals is the major drawcard of Okaukuejo Rest Camp in Namibia.

Onguma Bush Camp is located within the Onguma Game Reserve which borders on the eastern side of the Etosha National Park at Fisher`s Pan. Onguma Bush Camp offers 18 rooms of which 7 rooms can accommodate families. The main area of the lodge overlooks an active waterhole where guests can view the game coming for a drink from the comfort of the lounge or swimming pool. Onguma Bush Camp is the only camp on Onguma Game Reserve which is fenced and so a safe place for a family safari where the children can explore in safety. Onguma Bush Camp offers game drives in the Onguma Game Reserve as well as into the Etosha National Park. Being a private game reserve night drives as well as interpretive bush walks are offered as additional activities. Onguma offers an unforgettable experience in the wild that has been combined with the luxury comforts needed during your Etosha National park safari.

Surrounded by the mountains and sand dunes of the Namib Desert, Sossusvlei Desert Lodge is an escape to the world as it should be. Sheer silence, total tranquility and romantic luxury. From stargazing to intimate picnics in the desert, this is an extraordinary desert wilderness. Nestled deep in the heart of Namibia’s ancient Namib Desert in Southern Africa, the lodge is a secluded and serene oasis that overlooks awe-inspiring dunes and stony outcrops. A world of vast spaces, endless horizons and rugged mountain heights, the utter tranquility and extraordinary clarity of light make this area one of Africa’s most compelling landscapes. In this spectacularly beautiful location, spacious and serene suites envelope guests in pure indulgence, complete with an outdoor shower and a dramatic skylight over the bed for late night star gazing.

The large Twyfelfontein Country Lodge enjoys a mountainous backdrop. It offers a value for money stopover for those interested in viewing rock engravings close by, as the UNESCO World Heritage Site is only 4kms away. The location and picturesque setting is in an area that boasts some of the best examples of bushman engravings in Southern Africa. Other attractions of Damaraland can be viewed on day trips from the lodge. The lodge is a joint venture with the Twyfelfontein-Uibasen Conservancy, an undertaking with the local community, who benefit from tourism in the area. At the same time, they become more accustomed and aware of the importance of protecting both wildlife and the immediate environment. The deliberate use of thatch for the rooms, natural stone and paint colours, that blend in with the surrounding rock formations, minimize the visual impact on the setting. It has been built right into the rocks. Although quite a large camp, it still manages to exude a certain amount of rustic charm and charisma. The central thatched building houses a reception, restaurant, dining room, bar, curio shop and lounge, a decent choice of areas for guests to relax and unwind in. A buffet breakfast and dinner are served in the elevated dining area, with some amazing views of the immediate scenery. It is not uncommon for some after-dinner entertainment either, provided by the staff, still in uniform, who perform local songs. The swimming pool offers a welcome relief from the hot Namibian sun, and the shaded, rocky areas, are ideal for a spot of relaxation. Accommodation are either double rooms or a suite. They are all painted outside in a similar reddish-brown colour of the surrounding boulders. The walls of the interiors are painted white. Rooms are in blocks of 8, with 4 front and 4 rear facing. • Double rooms: There are 56 x rooms with twin beds, en-suite bathrooms and a shower, wooden furniture, wall or ceiling fans and a tea/coffee station. Some of the double rooms have inter-leading doors and are ideal for families. • VIP Suite: The VIP Suite is located further away from the main building for additional privacy. It has 2 x bathrooms (one with a bath, the only one in the lodge), private pool and bar, spacious bedroom and a kitchen. Boulders have been integrated into the suite and there is also a TV and exercise bike. Guided tours to search and view the desert adapted elephant, rhinoceros, giraffe, springbok, and ostrich, can be organized here. These animals can be found living in total harmony with the community and it’s communal farming activities. Activities at Twyfelfontein Lodge include a walk to Seven Plates, named for the surfaces where engravings are located, and a visit to the impressive engravings at Twyfelfontein. Other interesting rock formations and the remains of prehistoric volcanic action, can be seen in the Organ Pipes, Burnt Mountain, Doros Crater and the Petrified Forest. The fauna and flora near the lodge include the Welwitschia, Moringa and a variety of the Commiphora species.