If we were to travel somewhere as exotic as Goma on the eastern edge of the Democratic Republic of Congo, we'd be hoping for an equally exotic view from our hotel window. And while the VIP Palace Goma seems to be otherwise a pretty decent hotel--at least for a war-torn country in a town located on the Great Rift Valley, constantly subject to threat from earthquakes and volcanoes--the view from some rooms is really much too ordinary.
So when intrepid traveler amalthya checked into the VIP Palace, she found her room had a definitely-not-for-VIPs view of the washing line. It kind of goes to prove that some things are the same the world over, but when we go to Goma we'll be expecting something better.
Cubicle Dreamin' is a feature in which we ask the hotel mavens to take some time out of their busy work day, surf the Internet, and tell us what hotel they wish they could beam themselves to right that very second--all on the slave driving companies dime, of course. Oh, like these people aren't surfing aimlessly anyway--at least now their purposeless clicking will be cobbled together into useful hotel stories--we hope. Have a destination hotel you are just dying to leave your cube for? Send the story our way.
In this episode, Hotel Maven Amanda K dreams about a trip to Africa. Enjoy.
With Madonna making the headlines again with another trip to Malawi, I thought it was about time I asked myself--Mala-where?
I soon found it's actually a skinny sliver of a land-locked nation in south-eastern Africa, but the lack of an ocean's not enough to stop me from dreaming of a holiday there--if Madonna finds it an interesting enough place to visit and adopt from, then that makes it intriguing for me, at the very least.
The commercial capital of Malawi, Blantyre, has a few quite reasonable sounding hotels and this time I've picked the Protea Hotel Ryalls mainly because I think protea flowers are pretty impressive. The hotel describes itself as being "the most technologically-advanced hotel in the country" and it does have free internet access, without explaining exactly what kind. And the only TripAdvisor commenter to check into the Protea and report back has such great things to say, I'm convinced I've made the right choice:
This is a really terrific place. Very well maintained, modern, beautiful finish in both the rooms and all the public places - quite a bit more 5 star than I expected. The bar is beautiful and the breakfast is good and abundant. I can't find a fault with this place.
Since I don't have much idea of what I'll actually do while holidaying in Malawi (unless Madonna's in town and I can chase her), I have to rely on the hotel blurb which tells me about the massive Lake Malawi (and its great beaches--I told you not being on the ocean wasn't a problem), the country's nine wilderness reserves and the Michiru Mountain Park, so if the hotel staff know their stuff I'll be getting plenty of tips and then trips.
Cubicle Dreamin' is a feature in which we ask the hotel mavens to take some time out of their busy work day, surf the Internet, and tell us what hotel they wish they could beam themselves to right that very second--all on the slave driving companies dime, of course. Oh, like these people aren't surfing aimlessly anyway--at least now their purposeless clicking will be cobbled together into useful hotel stories--we hope. Have a destination hotel you are just dying to leave your cube for? Send the story our way.
When you realise you've got nearly halfway through February and you still haven't started what you really want to do this year, it's time to shake things up a bit. And what better way than getting a bit wild in Africa: in a luxury safari lodge, of course (there's wild and then there's just uncomfortable). My pick today is Tanzania's Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge, a luxury resort built on the edge of a crater. The website is a touch on the over-poetic side, describing the resort as:
Sensitively constructed so as to take nothing from its environment whilst affording endless vistas over the heat-shimmering reaches of the crater below, the clustered boulder-built buildings of the Lodge hug the crater rim, linked by rope-lashed timber walkways that skirt the buttressed roots of ancient, liana-hung trees.
It goes on to talk about the "concentrated hush of a game-viewing hide" and finally describes the Lodge as "a unique blend of world-class luxury, timeless volcanic splendour and ethnic style". While nearly nothing on earth could be quite as magical as they describe (and nearly nobody on earth knows so many positive-sounding adjectives), guest reviews almost unanimously agree that the Ngorongoro is a marvellous place to stay. While you're there, you can do wildlife walks, crater hikes, visit Maasai villages and even have a massage. Rooms come complete with your own cave-style wall paintings of giraffes and gazelle.
The UK Times this week decided to dish us up a serve of underground accommodation options for those of us feeling we're spending too much time up on earth. So if you're feeling like you need a change of scenery, there seem to be two highlights from the Times' diggings.
First off, the Cappadocia Caves in Turkey, in an area where entire villages are dug underground:
Some of these ancient cave homes have been turned into elegant hotels and self-catering apartments, decked out with antiques and featuring whirlpool baths and Turkish steam rooms dug deep in the bowels of the earth.
That certainly sounds cosy. An alternative is the underground village of Matmata in Tunisia, inspiration for and location of some of the filming of the Star Wars movies. Here some of the traditional Berber houses have been converted into hotels, with tunnels and interconnecting craters and pits.
The Times goes on to give tips about other underground accommodation options in Spain, France and Greece, so almost whichever warm part of Europe you're headed for, you'll be able to get the troglodyte experience.
While hotels in middle America are getting in on the boutique hotel trends, this one hotel in Africa seems to be starting a retro kind of trend. That of the Hotel Band.
The Sheraton Kampala Hotel has done just that with the announcement of their new band from Bulgaria--Moon Vision. The band is sure to appease those who were sick of house music and the $1,500 martini. What's more, this band is ready to appeal to a mélange of cultures:
"We play all kinds of music in Arabic, Spanish, English, French and Italian," says Krastava, who has her own songs in French and English. The duo, in close links with the Sheraton chain of hotels, will be at Kampala Sheraton for the entire October.
Hmmm...now that we think of it, this band reminds us of the cheesy lounge acts in "Lost in Translation." And would you really travel to Africa and stay at a Sheraton just to see them?
Image of a hotel band that is not Moon Vision via !geoff/Flickr
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by amandak
