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Go Inside Botswana’s Most Jaw-Dropping Hotel Suite
Building on its gallery-worthy collection of African art, Xigera Safari Lodge adds a wildly unique triplex to its offerings
Notable for its bungalows with sweeping views of Botswana’s Okavango Delta, Xigera Safari Lodge also features a major collection of African art. Amassed in collaboration with South African gallery Southern Guild, it includes pieces by Porky Hefer, Atang Tshikare, and Andile Dyalvane, among others.
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The main bedroom inside the Baobab Treehouse at Xigera Safari Lodge. Photo: Courtesy of Xigera Safari Lodge
Now the hotel’s latest installation raises the bar with an exceptional work of experiential art. A towering 33-foot-tall sculpture, inspired by an iconic 1946 artwork of a lone baobab tree by South African landscape painter Jacobus Hendrik Pierneef, houses a one-of-a-kind suite. “The Tollman family specifically wanted a tree house as a special destination experience for guests during their stay at Xigera,” says architect Anton De Kock of the founder, Beatrice Tollman, and her daughters, Victoria and Toni, who oversee the property.
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Look out over the Okavango Delta or sleep under the stars on the Baobab Treehouse roofdeck. Photo: Courtesy of Xigera Safari Lodge
The three-level accommodation—which can be accessed by glass-bottom boat through a floodplain and entered via a spiral staircase in the trunk—is filled with furnishings by Cape Town craftspeople, including John Vogel, Chuma Maweni, and Adam Birch. Canvas walls can completely open to the environment, offering 360-degree vistas of the UNESCO World Heritage site. A roof-deck provides a stunning perch to dine alfresco or fall asleep under the stars listening to the nightly symphony of lions, hyenas, and owls.
See more images below.
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The baobab treehouse at Xigera Safari Lodge. Photo: Courtesy of Xigera Safari Lodge
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The main bath. Photo: Courtesy of Xigera Safari Lodge
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Photo: Courtesy of Xigera Safari Lodge
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Photo: Courtesy of Xigera Safari Lodge
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Photo: Courtesy of Xigera Safari Lodge
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Photo: Courtesy of Xigera Safari Lodge
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Photo: Courtesy of Xigera Safari Lodge
A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2022 Summer Issue under the headline “New Heights.” Subscribe to the magazine.