Zanzibar
Stone Town location with excursions to the beach
Located in the heart of Stone Town, the Zanzibar Serena Hotel is set in two historic seafront buildings now integrated into a single property. One building was an 18th-century house, the other the offices of telecommunications in later colonial times.
Combining elegance and romance, all bedrooms and suites overlook the Indian Ocean. All have poster beds, private balconies, air-conditioning, satellite TV and free WiFi, tea- and coffee-making facilities and hair dryers. There’s a swimming pool overlooking the ocean and a choice of restaurants. An evening highlight is a Swahili feast accompanied by Taarab music.
A recommended excursion is to the Serena-owned Mangapwani Beach Club, a short drive from the hotel. Here guests can spend the day on white, sandy beaches, enjoying a lavish seafood barbecue lunch under thatch. The beach club offers luxury day beds, change rooms and a bar with a selection of cool refreshments throughout the day.
Other activities to be enjoyed from Zanzibar Serena Hotel and Mangapwani Beach Club include excursions to Stone Town, visits to the Sultan’s Baths, Mangapwani Slave Caves or local dhow-building communities, scuba diving and snorkelling.
Per Aquum opens in 2017
Minor Hotels’ Per Aquum brand will be introduced in Africa next year, when the luxury hotel Essque Zalu Zanzibar on the north-east coast of the island is rebranded.
Featuring 40 suites and eight three- and four-bedroom villas, the hotel has two restaurants, a kids’ club and an organic-only spa.
Per Aquum, with properties in the Maldives and the UAE, differentiates its product with ‘world first’ experiences such as underwater spas, floating restaurants and entertainment delivered by globally recognised artists.
Mozambique
Two Minor Hotels brands in Mozambique
The Minor Hotels group has properties in both Mozambican Indian Ocean Island chains.
In the Quirimbas it manages the intimate Anantara Medjumbe Island Resort, a 12-villa, adults-only hideaway on an island 1km long and 300m wide. Some of its high points are the chance to watch turtles come ashore to lay eggs, the opportunity to learn how to sail a dhow, or to sleep outdoors in a four-poster ‘star bed’ beneath a twinkling sky.
Under another brand, the group also operates the 185-room AVANI Pemba Beach Hotel and Spa in Pemba, gateway to the Quirimbas. It has a spa, four swimming pools and a conference room for 200.
In Bazaruto, the Anantara Bazaruto Island Resort is a 44-villa property set on 12 000ha with a rustic appeal and understated luxury. Six culinary experiences are on offer, and the spa was recently voted the best in Mozambique. A conference room seats 60.
Seychelles
Within close distance of airport and capital
The Eden Bleu on Mahé is a few minutes’ drive from Seychelles International Airport and the capital, Victoria. It is convenient for business travellers, while making an ideal base for leisure travellers to explore the rest of the country.
“The welcoming, palm-lined entrance leads into an airy reception area beyond which a sun deck and infinity pool offer captivating views over Eden Island's international marina and Mahé's granitic mountains,” says Célia Ponzo, the hotel’s Sales and Marketing Manager.
Seven standard rooms, 67 deluxe rooms, 12 luxury suites and a Presidential suite provide views of the marina and Eden Island. The hotel is digitally advanced, scoring points for high-tech conferencing and meeting amenities. Its location puts medical services, dining options, night clubs and a casino, all within walking distance.
“We offer paddle boarding, canoeing, and organise beach picnics and catamaran cruises,” says Ponzo.
Families welcome at Sainte Anne
On a 220ha private island, Sainte Anne, Mauritian-based hotel chain Beachcomber Hotels offers a resort in a marine park, just a 10-minute boat ride from Mahé. Here 87 villas have been constructed in tropical forest surrounds. The property stretches over 1.5km across four beaches, two of them protected year-round from winds.
The resort is a sanctuary for flora and fauna, a nesting ground for sea turtles and great for snorkelling. Accommodation can be easily adapted for families and activities at the kids’ club are oriented towards nature. Dining variety is supplied by four restaurants.
Barefoot luxury on North Island
Some 20 years of rehabilitation have gone into the development of North Island in the Seychelles, undertaken by ecotourism company, Wilderness Safaris. In an operation known as Noah’s Ark, the once ecologically depleted island was transformed into a haven for endemic fauna and flora, not least the endangered Seychelles white-eye, a warbler-like perching bird.
Just 30km from the main island of Mahé, North Island has 11 villas of 450sqm built with materials reaped from the rehabilitation process. A lounge, dining room and library, scenically located health spa and gym, world-class dive centre, and a rim-flow swimming pool are all built into a granitic outcrop. A sunset bar and restaurant are tucked away on the western beach of the island.
The resort is operated on an all-inclusive basis with accommodation, food, beverages and activities included. Guests get around the island on foot, bicycle or island buggy, all of which have a minimal impact on the environment.
Sea and land activities can be enjoyed, from scuba diving and snorkelling to guided walks and yoga. Boat trips to nearby islands are arranged at an additional cost.
Mauritius
Sheraton to debut next year
The first deal to be signed since Marriott completed its acquisition of Sheraton, the Sheraton brand will make its debut in Mauritius next year, with the opening of Sheraton Mauritius St Felix Resort and The Residences at Sheraton Mauritius St Felix Resort.
Owned by Clear Ocean Hotel Resorts Limited, the resort on the south-western coast of the island will be part of a mixed-use development with a boutique retail mall and branded residences.
With 800m of beachfront and a marina with water-sport facilities, the resort is scheduled for opening in early 2017. It will have 152 guestrooms and suites and 37 branded apartments and villas. It will also feature the Sheraton Club Lounge; restaurant amenities, including an all-day dining venue; a speciality restaurant, the Pavilion restaurant and bar; as well as Sheraton’s inventive lobby bar menu concept, Paired, combining artisanal small plates alongside premium wines.
Over 2 000 sqm of event space include a ballroom and three meeting rooms that will cater for conferences and events. Other leisure facilities are a 500 sqm fitness centre, a luxurious pool and the 15-treatment-room Shine Spa.
Madagascar
Varied views of Madagascar on lodge safari
Jenman Madagascar Safaris’ most popular programme is an 11-day tour, ‘1 000 Views of Madagascar’. Billed as a ‘small group lodge safari’, it starts and ends in the capital, Antananarivo, and makes use of lodge accommodation close to national parks.
Highlights include a night walk in the Andasibe forests to observe lemurs and other nocturnal animals; a visit to the eroded hills of Andasibe; long walks in the Ranomafana National Park; a wine tasting in Ambalavao; a hike in the Isalo National Park; experience of a Vezo fisherman’s life or a visit to Reserve Domergue with its interesting fauna and flora.
On this tour, guests can also visit a solar cooker community project that Jenman is supporting for its environmental benefits, encouraging locals to save on wood and coal and reduce carbon emissions.
