Xigera Safari Lodge
Okavango Delta, Botswana
Moremi Game Reserve
Vibe
Stilted timber walkways wind between riverine trees, connecting solar-powered pavilions filled with custom African artworks and fireside gathering spaces.
“Living gallery outpost”
Stilted pavilions showcase bespoke pan-African art commissions, hand-beaten copper fireplaces, and Porky Hefer woven nests.
Dedicated private guides and butlers orchestrate floodplain game excursions, starlit dinners, and bespoke wilderness itineraries.
Traditional glass-bottom canoe excursions and stilted timber walkways immerse guests directly in Okavango Delta floodplains.
On Paradise Island in the Okavango Delta, surrounded by floodplains on Moremi Game Reserve's western edge.
“the lodge itself, which is full of the work of local artists, designers, and craftspeople.”
Rooms
Canvas suites float over floodplains on timber stilts, featuring expansive viewing decks with daybeds, freestanding copper baths, and bronze lily sinks.
“The 12 suites, most facing east over the floodplains, are linked to the main areas by elevated boardwalks winding between the trees filled with birdlife.”
Wellness
Two stilted treatment suites look across the delta floodplains, accompanied by an open-air yoga deck, fitness studio, and outdoor swimming pool.
“Xigera’s idiosyncratic aesthetic is a love letter to African design, challenging preconceptions and reimagining what it is to be a modern safari lodge…”
Backstory
The property reimagines Botswana's first Wilderness Safaris camp from the 1980s, transformed by the Tollman family into a fully solar-powered art sanctuary.
“The Xigera Safari Lodge is 95% solar powered and boasts 12 guest suites immersed in the surrounding grassland of the Okavango Delta...”
Eat & drink
Bush breakfasts unfold on sandbanks, while open-air boma dinners center on communal fires beneath the stars with South African estate wines.
“the sustainably built lodge has design inspired by the Okavango Delta… Each of the 12 suites—including one two-bedroom family suite—and public areas will feature artwork by leading African artists.”
The neighborhood
Set on Paradise Island within Moremi Game Reserve, where glass-bottom canoe excursions and game drives track wildlife across the Okavango waterways.
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The app
This is one hotel. The app has every one we rate, in your pocket, for the whole trip.
Our shorthand
What makes a hotel special, how well they pull it off, and what it feels like outside the door.
How well they pull it off
Extremely rare. Sets the global standard.
Brilliant execution. And we’re picky.
They did this well. You’ll notice.
A defining trait. Makes the hotel what it is.
The eight vibes
Architecture and interiors lead. There’s a creative vision at work.
The guest is conspicuously well cared for. Requests met before they’re made.
Rooted in place. Local character runs through the whole stay.
Energy and scene. Where the city goes out, whether or not it’s sleeping here.
A building with history. The story of the place is part of the stay.
Built around feeling better. Rest, sweat, soak, spa.
A hotel the city grew up with. Same rituals, same regulars.
A world of its own. No reason to leave the property.
Scene — what’s outside the door
Where things happen: restaurants, shops, people.
Well-located: walkable to some things, a short ride to more.
Away from the crowds. Getting around takes intention.
A place apart: the property is the destination.