andBeyond’s Sossusvlei Desert Lodge will open October 16, 2019 after a 10-month complete rebuild in Namibia’s NamibRand Nature Reserve – located in the world’s oldest desert and the continent’s only Dark Sky Reserve. (There are only 13 Dark Sky Reserves in the world, designated areas with extremely clear skies and very minimal light pollution.) South African-based Fox Browne Creative, a long-time design partner of andBeyond, designed the lodge to maximize views of both landscape and skyscape through floor-to-ceiling glass walls and above-bed retractable skylights while embracing andBeyond’s core ethos of sustainability with as light a footprint as possible. Each self-sustaining suite acts as its own solar power plant, producing enough energy to power electricity, air conditioning, and water treatment and recycling systems. The lodge offers a completely different safari experience to the rest of the portfolio in the African bush, with day trips to Deadvlei (a former oasis in the desert that has since dried up, leaving an eerie area of petrified trees) and the Sossusvlei dunes (“Big Daddy” being the highest dune in the Sossusvlei area at over 1,000 feet); non-guided walks exploring the dunes; hot air balloon rides over the desert; and stargazing at night with the resident astronomer. Kids can join andBeyond’s brand wide WILDchild program where guides lead fun and educational activities like dune surfing, beetle hunting, nature walks, and scorpion spotting.
The ten 1,400 square-foot guest suites will have desert views from every corner with thoughtful touches like butler hatches with secret, solar-powered freezer drawers stocked with ice cream and Namibian craft beer; in-room fireplaces and artist easels; large private verandas with outdoor showers and fire pits; chilled plunge pools; and a desert-essential rack complete with sunblock, facial spritzer, kikoi (African pareo), sun hat, walking stick, and Swarovski Optik binoculars. The new two-bedroom Star Dune Suite is perfect for families or groups.
Sustainability
The lodge’s water recycling system will recycle more than 26,417 gallons of grey water a month. $600,000 has been invested in state-of-the-art sustainability initiatives, including the addition of a water bottling plant. By bottling water on site and using recycled glass bottles, the lodge saves a significant amount of CO² per month, absorbing the carbon footprint of the delivery truck used to bring in bottled water and eliminating more than 45,000 plastic water bottles. All cleaning products used at the lodge are environmentally friendly and 100% biodegradable; the monthly energy and water usage are strictly monitored; and the lodge undergoes an annual sustainability audit to determine its environmental impact.
Design
The new buildings comprise a series of glass, rock, and steel pavilions with a color palette inspired by the shades of the mountainside – slate grey, stone, and sun-bleached timber, with accents of tanned leather. Deliberately contrasting the bright, clay-colored dunes, the lodge creates a calm escape from the harsh environment. The interiors’ chic, desert-inspired minimalism uses local minerals such as semi-precious agate and quartz, and quirky accents harken back to the reserve’s past as a working farm. Fox Browne worked with local Namibian artisans to create custom basket-ware, wool wall hangings and rugs by Karukulia weavers (a local textile company using Namibia wool), and ostrich leather products.
As andBeyond alumni (they met while both working at andBeyond), Debra Fox and Christopher Browne have a mixed background in both design and hospitality, and hold sustainability close to their hearts. Their goal is to generate spaces conducive to beautiful guest experiences while making a meaningful difference to the environments in which they operate. They have designed many of andBeyond’s lodges, blending innovative design with sustainable materials and technology, eschewing concrete for lodges in the Okavango Delta and adding solar panels on each suite here.
Dining
Guests dine in a new venue each meal, from personalized dinners on the terrace or the rooftop underneath the stars to or a surprise sand dune picnic or lunch in the nearby fairy circles (mysterious circles with no vegetation growing in them found in grasslands of the Namib Desert). Desert-inspired dishes will include Namibian venison grilled on desert salt rocks, the occasional oyster brought from Namibian beach town, Swakopmund, as well as pickled, preserved, and fermented foods that play on traditional cooking methods for survival in the desert. A new interactive kitchen will allow guests to get their hands dirty with cooking lessons from curing light and sustainable game meat to making ice cream.
Wellness
The new wellness center is built on the roof of the guest area to conserve the lodge’s footprint on its sensitive environment. A gym is strategically positioned to catch the desert sunrise for early-morning yoga flows or a pre-breakfast treadmill run. The spa includes a treatment room, private spa bath, wet treatment room complete with its own skylight for early-evening stargazing, and Healing Earth products, a range of eco-friendly spa amenities made with African ingredients, such as Kalahari melon, marula, and pinotage.
Rates start at NAD 9,265 per person per night (approximately $645 USD) including F&B, safari activities, and airstrip transfers.)
For more information, visit www.andBeyond.com.