Why Stay At Sossusvlei Lodge?

With there being a number of Lodges in the Sossusvlei area...

• What makes Sossusvlei Lodge the accommodation destination of choice?
• What can Sossusvlei Lodge offer you that others can't?
• What are you really paying for when you stay with us at Sossusvlei Lodge?
• Are you getting value for your money?

These are just some of the questions we will answer for you here in order to give you a better insight as to who we are and what we stand for in the Namibian tourism trade.

Sossusvlei Lodge is located directly adjacent to the entrance gate to the Namib-Naukluft Park.

With the Lodge being less than 500 metres from the entrance gate to the National Park, it saves guests precious travelling time in order to gain entry to the park as early as possible. Why is this so important you might ask? The magnificent dunes of the Namib Desert in the Sossusvlei area are at their best shortly after sunrise - this is when the contrasts are the most stunning. With this distance advantage, guests at the Lodge do not have to rise with the sparrows in the morning in order to enter the gate as soon as it opens, as is the case with other accommodation establishments who still need to travel at least 30 kilometres in order to just get to the park's gate. The same is true for self-drive visitors travelling between Swakopmund in the north and Helmeringhausen/Lüderitz in the south - Sossusvlei Lodge is the ideal stopping point due to its location adjacent to the gate and therefore saves money as there is no additional and unnecessary travel to commute between other accommodation establishments and the Park while staying over in the area.

Sossusvlei Lodge is locally and internationally recognized for its excellent all-round service.

When you enter Sossusvlei Lodge, you enter a classic lifestyle of comfort filled with the thoughtful touch of attentive staff. The Lodge has a well-known reputation for having the friendliest and best trained staff in the area - a silver medal award by the Hospitality Association of Namibia bears testament to this. The Lodge invests in their staff, affording them the best in-house accommodation and facilities in the area, as well as frequently giving them training in their tasks and involving them in regular team building events. This all results in excellent service on their part to you, our valued guests. We advocate and practice the true art of hospitality at Sossusvlei Lodge - the ability to make our guests feel at home along with a sense of relaxation and familiarity. Its a personal commitment that makes for a welcome that is as warm as it is genuine.

Sossusvlei Lodge is renowned for its international standard cuisine and specialist catering.

Sossusvlei Lodge is renowned throughout Namibia for it's buffet dinners - this also claimed by Tour Guides who have stayed at all the lodges in Namibia. The buffet is presented outside on the terrace under the stars of an evening with a magnificent view of the floodlit waterhole a mere fifty metres away where the local game come to drink while you eat. The five star cuisine covers the whole meal from the chef's soup of the day, numerous entrées, the main course with its many choices of meats, game, vegetables and stir-fry, right through to a multitude of mouth watering desserts along with cheese and biscuits to choose from. Our executive chef and his staff take pride in their cooking creativity and only the best is good enough for them. If you have any special culinary requirements, they will only be too glad to accommodate you.

Sossusvlei Lodge demonstrates proficiency and flexibility in catering for all guests and occasions.

Sossusvlei Lodge caters specifically for all people and also the physically challenged, having wheelchair-friendly rooms and facilities. The Lodge pays special attention to every detail and no event is too small for us to handle - from a wedding or anniversary right through to a birthday or special occasion! We are well known for our specialist outdoor catering too. Bush dinners for special occasions are "once-in-a-lifetime - never to be forgotten" functions that are held in true 'bush style' away from the main complex in pristine nature but with all the comfort and style of a hotel dining room. Sossusvlei Lodge is also equipped to host conferences, incentive groups, product launches, film shoots and other outdoor functions. If you have an idea, contact us and we will see if we can make it a reality for you.

Sossusvlei Lodge fosters and promotes eco-friendliness.

Sossusvlei Lodge is constantly aware of and concerned about the delicate desert environment and the effect that tourism has on it. The Lodge was therefore designed and built as eco-friendly as possible. The accommodation units are uniquely constructed combining both tent and plaster so as to blend in as much as possible with the desert location and surroundings. Everything from the electricty supply, heating facilities, waste management, layout and activities are geared for eco-friendliness (see the paragraph below on the day-to-day logisitics behind it all).

Sossusvlei Lodge Adventure Centre provides experience in promoting planned activities of discovery.

The Sossusvlei Lodge Adventure Centre was specifically established to provide guests with various planned activities of discovery into the Sossusvlei area while understanding and respecting their needs for an independent and private style of travel. The Adventure Centre offers products to suit all and even those who have already "been there and done that" and who are looking for excellent service and something different. The Adventure Centre, along with its team of experienced and trained guides, operates independently from, but complementary to, the reservations apsect of the Lodge, thereby being able to provide dedicated and specialist service in this key area of any guest's visit to Sossusvlei. The Lodge's Curio Shop specialises in stock that is true and unique not only to Namibia in general but relevant to the Namib Desert in particular, having a wide range of books and imagery on the area.

Sossusvlei Lodge is located on its own 43 000 hectare private nature reserve.

Sossusvlei Lodge owns 43 000 hectares of private and unspoilt nature reserve adjacent to the Namib-Naukluft Park and as such can offer guests a wide variety of 'in-house' activities without the inconvenience of having to travel to other destinations to experience the same. Once guests arrive at Sossusvlei Lodge, they are "at home" with activities like eco-friendly quad biking, hot air ballooning, bush dinners and sundowner excursions being offered right on the doorstep. With the Lodge having its own airstrip adjacent to the complex, air transfers and scenic flights offer the same accessibility and ease of use to guests wishing to fly.

IMPORTANT NOTE!

The Logistics Behind An Eco-Friendly Lodge In The Desert...

Did you ever stop to think what some of the logistics are behind running an eco-friendly accommodation establishment in one of the remotest parts of Namibia? People often take the luxury of Sossusvlei Lodge for granted or don't fully realise all that goes into running the Lodge on a day-to-day basis within a highly eco-sensitive environment. Here are some important facts about the Lodge in this respect:

• Water
  The management and staff of Sossusvlei Lodge are extremely conscious and respectful of their limited water resources. Water comes from various boreholes on the reserve and is purified and prepared for human consumption and use by the addition of eco-friendly water softeners. All rooms are only equipped with showers so as not to waste this very precious commodity in the desert. For the same reason, most of the Lodge's laundry is sent to Windhoek every week for dry cleaning. Sossusvlei Lodge sells local still and sparkling mineral water in the bar that is specially bottled and labelled for them and originates from the Spreetshoogte Mountain region to the north.

• Supplies And Victuals
  Windhoek, the nearest sizable commercial centre, is 330 kilometres away from the Lodge. Being located in the Namib desert, there is no option of "popping round the corner" to purchase all the supplies and victuals that any large accommodation establishment needs on a daily basis in order to function properly and to provide guests with the luxury that they expect. Suppliers are also unable to provide a 'routine delivery sevice' at this distance. Therefore, immense and calculated planning is necessary by management and staff of all departments in the ordering process so as not to run short on supplies. A once weekly delivery of ordered goods occurs by road.

• Waste
  Sossusvlei Lodge does not dispose of any organic or inorganic waste material on their property or in the area. All solid waste is packed in special hygenic bags and stored in a designated cold room until Saturdays when the fresh supplies are delivered by truck from Windhoek. Once these fresh supplies have been offloaded, all waste bags are loaded onto the truck and taken by road to Windhoek where it is disposed of at the local municipal dump. The soak-away sewage system is so designed as to drain waste from all rooms and facilities into one pit from where it is treated with environmentally friendly chemicals and then pumped to a set of three eco-friendly dams. In these dams, the liquid waste is broken down naturally and the remaining water evaporates.

• Electricity
  There is no commercial electricity supply in the Sesriem/Sossusvlei area. The Lodge has its own high capacity generator complex housing two large diesel generators that run 24/7 in 12 hour alternating shifts. Noise is kept to a minimum by the substantial walls of the compound as well as the addition of an secondary surrounding wall and it is indeed difficult to discern the generating operation at any time. This system generates enough electricity to supply the Lodge's main complex and all the rooms. Electrical points supplying 220V are located in every room.

• Communications
  There are no commercial line telecommunication services in the area nor is there any television, radio or mobile cellphone coverage - the unique and remote location of Sossusvlei Lodge ensures this! Telecommunication services to and from the Lodge are by way of a VSAT satellite transceiver system and include telephone and fax lines. Due to this and its limited capabilities and bandwidth, there are no telephones in the rooms but a line for guest usage is available at Reception. When one stays at the Lodge, one really "gets away from it all" and the worries of the world are left behind in the city.

• Fuel
  Fuel and oil for the generators, Lodge vehicles and aircraft have to be trucked in by road on a demand basis, usually once monthly. Care must always be taken to ensure enough stock of each to cover the daily routine consumption as well as any unforeseen additional requirements so as not to run short before the new consignment arrives. There is a service station at the gate of the Namib-Naukluft Park at Sesriem providing fuel, oil and limited service facilities for public vehicles.