Habitas Namibia hotel review | CN Traveller

Why guide?
For an intriguing mix of safari, wellness and tradition from super-cool hotel group Habitas, simply over an hour’s drive from the Namibian capital.

Adrian Gaut

Set the scene
15 tented suites set on a scrubby hill overlook the acacia-studded plains and rolling hills past on this 50,000-hectare reserve. Company listed below are {couples}, teams of pals or older households who take pleasure in a calming Sunday music set, sundowners on the deck or enjoying with an area drumming group as a lot as a brand new moon meditation or early-morning yoga within the bush.

The backstory
Previously used for searching, the reserve is now reimagined for images safaris. Eduardo Castillo, co-founder of Habitas, needs the main focus to be on ‘the people we convey collectively’ fairly than its aesthetics, with experiences that ‘create deep empathy for our planet and the pure world.’ The Habitas model is continuous to broaden, with subsequent stops deliberate for elsewhere in Mexico, Bhutan and Saudi Arabia.

Adrian Gaut

The rooms
Massive, tented rooms are scattered throughout a rocky hilltop with views of the huge plains. Interiors are easy – there’s simply an enormous double mattress, a daybed and plump flooring cushions. The thick canvas means the house is a little bit darkish – take your guide exterior onto the deck with a espresso as an alternative and hold a watch out for dassies (rock hyraxes) scampering across the rocks. Rooms one and two are furthest from the communal space, and greatest for privateness.

Foods and drinks
Tizee-Mercy Tjenda and Martin Katjikuru create a recent, mild menu that side-steps the same old safari bloat. Begin the day with rusks (biscotti-style biscuits) and a espresso earlier than a recreation drive. Afterwards, it’s a feast of recent fruit, chilly meats and cheeses, in addition to a scorching, healthful breakfast of toast topped with creamy peanut butter, banana and crispy bacon. There are normally two decisions for lunch – maybe zingy feta salad or lentil and butternut spring rolls. The three-course supper may embrace beetroot tartare with goat’s cheese, and lamb chops with aubergine puree, adopted by pear-and-almond tart. For sundowner cocktails, attempt an area Namibian spirit comparable to candy ZA.ir honeybush or citrusy Stillhouse gin.

The spa
Roeline Hansen heads up the wellness programme, providing Thai and Swedish massages in addition to conventional remedies together with a physique masks of crimson ochre (recognized for its use by the Himba folks) and a Khoi natural compress with crops favoured for his or her restorative properties. Wellness experiences happen past the canvas-tent spa too, from dawn yoga on the deck to sound journey meditation within the bush.

The realm
The 50,000-hectare reserve is a brief drive from the capital Windhoek, so it is a handy spot for these not desirous to drive for hours or fork out for mild plane flights. It’s additionally very helpful in case you want a PCR Covid check earlier than departure, as you may get a check in Windhoek earlier than or throughout your keep. The reserve has white rhinos, giraffes, zebras, wildebeest and hippos, all of which you’ll stand a great likelihood of seeing; leopards and cheetahs are tougher to seek out. There are plans to introduce elephants within the subsequent 12 to 18 months.

The service
The Habitas staff are heat, environment friendly and switched on. Your espresso choice might be remembered; your wine glass won’t ever be empty. There’s no stilted customer support formality right here: replying to a WhatsApp affirmation that sure, all is properly, thanks, Jean from the entrance desk solutions ‘Amazeballs’. The guides elevate the safari expertise by representing completely different locations and folks of Namibia, from the coastal cities of Swakopmund and Walvis Bay to the Himba within the far north-west and the Khwe Bushmen of the north-east. A typical recreation drive will contain not simply wildlife information, however conventional cultural data that makes the expertise really feel extra holistic.

Eco effort
Photo voltaic-powered; no single-use plastics within the loos or for water.

Accessibility for these with mobility impairments
Not wheelchair accessible.

Something left to say?
There’s a robust group component at Habitas – visitors are inspired to get entangled with no matter’s taking place, however you too can do your personal factor and there’s no strain to participate in any exercise in case you don’t really feel prefer it. That stated, it’s an ideal place to softly push boundaries, be it by meditation, music or dance.

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