Responsible Hotels

Author: admin

  • Sanctuary Chief’s Camp Reopens After Extensive Upgrades

    Sanc­tu­ary Chief’s Camp in Botswana’s Oka­vango Delta reopened on April 21, 2010, after exten­sive upgrades. Return­ing guests will notice the extended deck in the lounge and din­ing area as well as a new fur­ni­ture and thatched roof.

    Views from the boma now fea­ture the inspi­ra­tional flood plain and the bar and gift shop have also been refurbished.

    The flood waters of the Oka­vango Delta have already reached Sanc­tu­ary Chief’s Camp for the sea­son and guests are enjoy­ing the pop­u­lar mokoro excursion.

    If you’ve been dying to try this camp, now may be the time to do so as it’s are offer­ing a “Stay 4 Nights, Pay for 3″ spe­cial. Travel dates are May 1–June 30, 2010.

    For more infor­ma­tion, con­tact your travel agent or Sanc­tu­ary Retreats.

  • Four Seasons Seychelles “Stay Longer” Promo Offers Free Nights

    The Sey­chelles is one of those dream des­ti­na­tions in the Indian Ocean, just north of Mada­gas­car. The Sey­chelles are actu­ally 115 islands and offer lush rain forests, gor­geous beaches, and are sur­rounded by unri­valed marine life.

    The Four Sea­sons Sey­chelles will cel­e­brate its one-year anniver­sary this Feb­ru­ary. Despite its secluded loca­tion on the south­west coast of the main island of Mahe, it’s still close to the inter­na­tional air­port as well as the cap­i­tal of Vic­to­ria (a 30-minute drive).

    This is the type of place you’d be crazy to pass up. The 67 vil­las and suites are more than spa­cious and all vil­las have their own pri­vate plunge pools, out­door show­ers, and sun­set views of the bay. There are two restau­rants and bars, spa, fit­ness and recre­ation cen­ter as well as meeting/banquet facilities.

    Dur­ing 2010 Four Sea­sons Sey­chelles is offer­ing an excel­lent deal on lodg­ing here: its stay longer pro­mo­tion, which is valid from:

    • Jan­u­ary 10 – March 31, 2010
    • May 11 – June 30, 2010
    • Sep­tem­ber 16 – Octo­ber 31, 2010
    • Decem­ber 1 – 18, 2010

    Enjoy a com­pli­men­tary 4th night for 3 con­sec­u­tive nights stay

    Enjoy a com­pli­men­tary 6th and 7th night for 5 con­sec­u­tive nights stay

    The pro­mo­tion is valid for indi­vid­ual book­ings only and not for groups.

    For reser­va­tions, please call Four Sea­sons Resort Sey­chelles at 248–393-333; fax: 248–393-331; or send an e-mail to reservations.sey@fourseasons.com.

    The Sey­chelles is one of those dream des­ti­na­tions in the Indian Ocean, just north of Mada­gas­car. The Sey­chelles are actu­ally 115 islands and offer lush rain forests, gor­geous beaches, and are sur­rounded by unri­valed marine life.

    The Four Sea­sons Resort Sey­chelles will cel­e­brate its one-year anniver­sary this Feb­ru­ary. Despite its secluded loca­tion on the south­west coast of the main island of Mahe, it’s still close to the inter­na­tional air­port as well as the cap­i­tal of Vic­to­ria (a 30-minute drive).

    This is the type of place you’d be crazy to pass up. The 67 vil­las and suites are more than spa­cious and all vil­las have their own pri­vate plunge pools, out­door show­ers, and sun­set views of the bay. There are two restau­rants and bars, spa, fit­ness and recre­ation cen­ter as well as meeting/banquet facilities.

    Dur­ing 2010 Four Sea­sons Resort Sey­chelles is offer­ing an excel­lent deal on lodg­ing here: its stay longer pro­mo­tion, which is valid from:

    Jan­u­ary 10 – March 31, 2010
    May 11 – June 30, 2010
    Sep­tem­ber 16 – Octo­ber 31, 2010
    Decem­ber 1 – 18, 2010

    Enjoy a com­pli­men­tary 4th night for 3 con­sec­u­tive nights stay
    Enjoy a com­pli­men­tary 6th and 7th night for 5 con­sec­u­tive nights stay

    The pro­mo­tion is valid for indi­vid­ual book­ings only and not for groups.

    For reser­va­tions, call Four Sea­sons Resort Sey­chelles at 248–393-333; fax: 248–393-331; or send an e-mail to reservations.sey@fourseasons.com.

  • Hilton Windhoek to Open in Namibia in Mid-2010

    If you’re a mem­ber of HHonors, Hilton’s fre­quent guest pro­gram, you’ll want to keep tabs on the upcom­ing open­ing of Hilton Wind­hoek in Namibia.

    Hilton World­wide recently signed a man­age­ment agree­ment with Pride of Africa Hos­pi­tal­ity, Africa Pride Hos­pi­tal­ity, and United Africa Group for the first Hilton prop­erty in the country.

    Mark your cal­en­dar for mid-2010. That’s when this brand new 154-room hotel will open its doors in Namibia’s cap­i­tal city.

    This Hilton is espe­cially appeal­ing since it’s part of a mixed-use devel­op­ment that includes a casino, restau­rants, and bou­tiques as well as res­i­den­tial houses and offices.

    The hotel is under con­struc­tion now. Stay tuned for more details as Hilton releases them

  • Accommodations on the Zambia Side of Victoria Falls

    This page will be con­tin­u­ally updated to archive a list of the lux­ury accom­mo­da­tions on the Zam­bia side of Vic­to­ria Falls. If you know of an option that’s not listed, please let us know!

    Islands of Siank­aba
    Post­net 621, Pri­vate Bag E891, Lusaka
    Tel: 260 211 260 279

    The Royal Liv­ing­stone
    Mosi-oa-Tunya Road, Liv­ing­stone
    Tel: 260 213 321 122

    Tongabezi Lodge & Sind­abezi Island
    Pri­vate Bag 31, Liv­ing­stone
    Tel: 260 213 327 450
    Rates: from $450 per per­son per night

  • Gorillas Visit Sanctuary Gorilla Forest Camp in Uganda

    Check out this amaz­ing pho­to­graph cour­tesy of Sanc­tu­ary Gorilla For­est Camp.

    Tucked away in Bwindi Impen­e­tra­ble For­est in Uganda, Sanc­tu­ary Gorilla For­est Camp was recently host to some unex­pected vis­i­tors. One of our guests at camp fell sick and had to for­sake his long awaited dream of gorilla track­ing. For­tu­nately, the goril­las decided to visit the camp while the guest was recov­er­ing and he was priv­i­leged to view the goril­las for much longer and with a much clearer view than those who went track­ing. This once in a life­time expe­ri­ence high­lights why Sanc­tu­ary Retreats place such impor­tance in hav­ing the right loca­tions for our safari camps and lodges in Africa.

  • Sanctuary Lodges & Camps Expands into Zambia

    Sanc­tu­ary Lodges & Camps—founded by Aber­crom­bie & Kent as envi­ron­men­tally sus­tain­able lodgings—has expanded into Zam­bia with five new properties:

    Sussi & Chuma is built among huge ebony trees, just upstream from Vic­to­ria Falls in the Mosi-Oa-Tunya National Park. The 10 lux­ury tree houses have pri­vate views of the Zam­bezi River. Chuma House is an exclu­sive two-bedroom villa located near the lodge.

    Lechwe Plains Tented Camp in the Lochin­var National Park, north of Lusaka, is a photographer’s par­adise. Located on the Chunga Lagoon, this World Her­itage Wet­land offers incred­i­ble birdlife and tens of thou­sands of Kafue Lechwe (ante­lope), an aquatic ante­lope of excep­tional grace.

    Kulefu Tented Camp in the Lower Zam­bezi National Park is on the wildest stretch of the Zam­bezi. Eight spa­cious tents are set on plat­forms at the river’s edge.

    Puku Ridge Tented Camp in the South Luangwa National Park is a real wilder­ness expe­ri­ence under can­vas with excit­ing wildlife oppor­tu­ni­ties. This superb prop­erty is located on a ridge over­look­ing game rich floodplains.

    Chichele Pres­i­den­tial Lodge was orig­i­nally built by Pres­i­dent Kaunda and refur­bished as an early colo­nial “Gentleman’s Lodge”. The hill­top set­ting in South Luangwa National Park over­looks plains teem­ing with wildlife.

    “Though rel­a­tively unknown out­side Africa, Zam­bia offers a diverse range of envi­ron­ments with pro­lific wildlife,” said Aber­crom­bie & Kent Group Chair­man and CEO Geof­frey Kent. “Walk­ing safaris were pio­neered in Zambia’s Luangwa Val­ley; if you have only seen ani­mals from inside a vehi­cle, you will find walk­ing with big game a thrilling expe­ri­ence. Night dri­ves are also a spe­cialty and the best means of see­ing some of the more elu­sive noc­tur­nal species, includ­ing leopard.”

    The com­pany also oper­ates Olo­nana in Kenya’s Masai Mara; Swala in Tanzania’s Tarangire National Park and Kusini in the Serengeti; Gorilla For­est Camp in Uganda’s Bwindi Impen­e­tra­ble For­est; and four prop­er­ties in Botswana (Sanc­tu­ary Chief’s Camp, Sanc­tu­ary Chobe Chilwero, Sanc­tu­ary Stanley’s Camp, and Sanc­tu­ary Baines’ Camp).

  • Open Now: Homestead Safari Villa at Phinda Private Game Reserve

    Today is the first day guests will check in to the new sole-use safari villa, The Home­stead, at &Beyond Phinda Pri­vate Game Reserve in KswaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

    If you’ve got a fam­ily of eight or a group of friends, this four suite villa—with its ded­i­cated staff, includ­ing a pri­vate ranger, tracker, but­ler, and pri­vate chef—may be the per­fect spot to mix ele­gant accom­mo­da­tions and high-quality game drives.

    You’ll have exclu­sive use of an open 4×4 safari vehi­cle and that means you can go on game dri­ves when­ever you wish—day or night. When you’re not out in the bush, you’ll enjoy loung­ing by the infin­ity pool, exer­cis­ing in the gym, or relax­ing in the beau­ti­ful pub­lic areas of The Homestead.

    Rates dur­ing low sea­son are approx­i­mately $3,300 per night for up to four guests or $4,700 per night for five to eight guests. Rates rise in high season.

    &Beyond, for­merly CC Africa, owns and oper­ates 46 lux­ury lodges and camps and cre­ates per­son­al­ized travel expe­ri­ences in South Africa, Namibia, Zim­babwe, Botswana, Tan­za­nia, Kenya, and India.

    For more infor­ma­tion, visit &Beyond or call 1-(888) 882‑3742.

  • Accolades Pile Up for &Beyond Kichwa Tembo in Kenya’s Masai Mara National Reserve

    A vari­ety of 2009 travel awards have been announced recently and &Beyond’s Kichwa Tembo in Kenya’s Masai Mara National Reserve is rack­ing up the accolades.

    Travel + Leisure hon­ored Kichwa Tembo with a World’s Best Award for 2009 and Condé Nast Trav­eler added the lodge to its Gold List of the World’s Best Places to Stay.

    So what’s spe­cial about Kichwa Tembo? It’s located right on the path of the annual Great Migra­tion on a pri­vate con­ces­sion leased from Maa­sai land­lords in the exclu­sive west­ern Mara. The Migra­tion trav­els through here from June through Octo­ber, but the ani­mal view­ing is excel­lent all year long.

    Kichwa Tembo actu­ally con­sists of two dis­tinct camps: the more inti­mate and upscale Bateleur Camp and Kichwa Tembo Masai Mara Tented Camp.

    Bateleur Camp is mod­eled after the clas­sic safaris of the 20s and 30s. There are two camps of just nine tented suites each, all ser­viced by per­sonal but­lers. Pri­vate decks over­look the sweep­ing Masai Mara plains.

    Kichwa Tembo Masai Mara Tented Camp com­prises 40 Hem­ing­way style ensuite safari tents (28 clas­sic safari tents and 12 lux­ury tents). The camp offers both a for­est and a savanna expe­ri­ence with out­looks either across the mag­nif­i­cent grass­lands or Sabaringo River. A huge infin­ity pool with breath­tak­ing views pro­vides not only a refresh­ing dip but also some of the best game sight­ings in the Mara.

    For more infor­ma­tion, visit &Beyond or call 1-(888) 882‑3742.

  • News From Sanctuary Chichele Presidential Lodge-Zambia

    On April 13, His Excel­lency Dr. Ken­neth Kaunda vis­ited Sanc­tu­ary Chichele Pres­i­den­tial Lodge to offi­cially re-open the prop­erty after an exten­sive refur­bish­ment. The lodge was orig­i­nally built in the 1970s for Dr. Kaunda, the first Repub­li­can pres­i­dent of Zam­bia, as his pri­vate retreat in the South Luangwa National Park.

    The open­ing cer­e­mony was also attended by other dig­ni­taries includ­ing for­mer First Lady and now Deputy Min­is­ter of Tourism Vera Tembo, The Hon­ourable Min­is­ter of East­ern Province Isaac Banda, His Royal High­ness Chief Makumbi and Tim­o­thy Mushibwe, Chair­man of the Zam­bian Tourism Board, along with mem­bers of the local media.

    Dur­ing his speech, for­mer pres­i­dent Dr. Kaunda thanked Sanc­tu­ary Retreats for the sig­nif­i­cant invest­ment made in Zam­bia and the role they are play­ing in pro­mot­ing tourism in the coun­try. He empha­sised that tourism is crit­i­cal for the devel­op­ment of the local econ­omy in Zam­bia as it pro­vides employ­ment for local peo­ple and assists in the fight against HIV and Aids.

    His Excel­lency also had time for a game drive in the val­ley where he spot­ted plenty of wildlife includ­ing the noto­ri­ous Chichele pride of lions on a buf­falo kill with their three small cubs, before end­ing the day with cel­e­bra­tory sun­downer drinks on the mag­nif­i­cent Chichele Hill.

    His Excel­lency stayed over at Sanc­tu­ary Chichele Pres­i­den­tial Lodge and left the next morn­ing with these kind words: “How won­der­ful to come back here to Chichele. The recep­tion was as out­stand­ing as always with won­der­ful and mean­ing­ful smiles.”

    For more infor­ma­tion about Sanc­tu­ary Chichele Pres­i­den­tial Lodge, talk with your travel agent or con­tact Sanc­tu­ary Retreats.

  • Mozambique’s Gorongosa National Park on 60 Minutes

    I love 60 Min­utes because they often pre­pare seg­ments about dif­fer­ent areas of Africa, delv­ing into the continent’s wildlife, pol­i­tics, health crises, and eco­nomic devel­op­ment. Last night reporter Scott Pel­ley reported from Mozambique’s Goron­goza National Park.

    The imagery was stun­ning and the nar­ra­tive told the story of Mozam­bique and its decades-long war and health prob­lems typ­i­fied by malaria and HIV. The seg­ment also intro­duced us to Amer­i­can entre­pre­neur Greg Carr, who fell in love with this coun­try years ago and is spend­ing much of his per­sonal for­tune (he helped develop the con­cept of voice­mail in the mid-eighties) to help turn Goron­gosa National Park into a tourism suc­cess story.

    “The idea is take the beauty of the park and use that to do human devel­op­ment. Attract the tourists who will spend the money to cre­ate the jobs and lift every­body outta poverty,” said Carr. “For an entre­pre­neur, it’s kind of a com­pelling opportunity.”

    The park was once con­sid­ered a must-visit spot for safari-goers, but war, poverty, and poach­ing changed that. In the 1960s, Goron­gosa nur­tured 500 lions, 2,000 ele­phants, 14,000 Cape buf­falo, and 3,000 hippos—among other ani­mals. Those pop­u­la­tions were dec­i­mated by poach­ers and now eco­nomic devel­op­ment and wildlife pro­tec­tion is required to return Goron­gosa to her for­mer beauty.

    Accord­ing to 60 Min­utes, Carr has ear­marked $40 mil­lion of his per­sonal wealth to the project and through his non-profit, the Carr Foun­da­tion, he has an agree­ment with the Mozam­bi­can gov­ern­ment to assist with the devel­op­ment of Goron­gosa for the next two decades.

    If you missed Scott Pelley’s report on Mozambique’s Goron­gosa National Park on 60 Min­utes, you can watch the seg­ment online.