Bilila Lodge Kempinski to open in Tanzania
Bilila Lodge Kempinski will open on June 1, 2009, in the Serengeti National Park, one of Tanzania’s UNESCO World Heritage sites, according to an announcement by Kempinski in March.
The property, which claims it is the only global hotel chain to have a stake in the lodge market, has just 74 rooms (including two private villas). Bilila Lodge Kempinski combines the intimacy of a lodge and the facilities expected of a much larger hotel, such as an infinity pool overlooking the grasslands and an Anantara Spa. Due to strict building controls in the National Park, this will be the largest lodge ever built in the Serengeti.
As expected of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Lodge has been built in keeping with the landscape. Not only does the arc-shaped building follow the natural contours of the land, but as far as possible only local materials have been used in its construction to ensure that it blends into its surrounds. For example, over a million traditional “chelewa” brooms have been used to create the thatched roof and the stone for the walls was sourced from nearby Mugumu. The interiors also reflect the natural colours of the African landscape, with the work of local artists adding colourful highlights.
Public areas include a restaurant with an open kitchen, a lounge, a bar, a wine cellar, an authentic boma (or corral) where guests can enjoy moonlit barbecues, a conference room accommodating up to 80 people, a library, a play room, a fitness centre, an art gallery and a gift shop. All the guest rooms have luxury ensuite bathrooms, multimedia DVD players, over 50 satellite TV and radio channels, coffee/tea making facilities and a teak deck for relaxing while watching game (personal telescope included); suites have their own private plunge pool.
Bilila Lodge Kempinski is located in the Central North of the Serengeti National Park, in an untouched part of the Park where the hotel will have its own private game drives. The hotel is a 45-minute drive from the Seronera airstrip, which in turn is a 50-minute flight from Arusha, the nearest international airport, into which KLM currently flies on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Airlines such as SWISS, Emirates, British Airways, South African Airways and Qatar fly into either Nairobi or Dar-es-Salaam, from where connecting flights to Arusha can be picked up.
Bilila Lodge Kempinski is a destination in its own right, but can also be twinned with its sister property Zamani Zanzibar Kempinski for a two-centre holiday, combining the best safari and beach destinations.
By Chitra Mogul
Chitra Mogul
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