Meliá Hotels International to create 'off the grid' lodge in Serengeti National Park
by Kim Megson | 27 May 2016
Lounges and restaurants will overlook terraces around an infinity pool with a pool bar and barbecue patios / Meliá Hotels International
Meliá Hotels International is opening a sustainable hotel in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania.
The Meliá Serengeti Lodge, scheduled to open in June 2017, will be located 700m below the peak of Nyamuma mountain, on the western border of the World Heritage Site at Lake Victoria.
Guests to the hotel will have a panoramic view of a river valley that hosts some of the most remarkable scenes in nature: the annual migration of one million blue wildebeests, lions, leopards and zebras, which pass through in search of rains and cooler pastures.
The hotel will cover three natural terraces that descend from an elevated plateau. Its architectural design will adopt the gentle curves of the land while also linking to its rocky outcrops.
There will be 50 guest rooms, including two Serengeti Suites each designed to reflect the natural landscape.
Lounges and restaurants will overlook terraces around an infinity pool with a pool bar and barbecue patios.
Meliá Serengeti Lodge will operate completely ‘off the grid’. In a statement, Meliá said: “Its remote location and total absence of services in the area make it the perfect opportunity to create a state-of-the-art sustainable hotel that will depend solely on fossil fuels for emergency energy supply only.
“The hotel has been designed with an intelligent approach to insulation and ventilation, with fans chosen to cool rooms over air-conditioning units. Building materials will be evaluated based on the carbon footprint they generate; for example, concrete with local pigments and wood flooring will be laid over floor tiles.”
Photovoltaic panels will generate electricity as will a biogas generation system fed by a wastewater treatment plant. Rainwater will be collected and made drinkable using modern technology.
"This is an opportunity to respond to the challenge of offering the ‘real’ African experience that all travellers desire, combined with the safety and comfort of the most exclusive and secure environment,” said Gabriel Escarrer, CEO of Meliá Hotels International.
Meliá Hotels International Serengeti National Park Tanzania hotel design architecture Meliá Serengeti Lodge04 Apr 2013
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Meliá Hotels International is opening a sustainable hotel in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. The Meliá Serengeti Lodge, scheduled to open in June 2017, will be located 700m below the peak of Nyamuma mountain, on the western border of the World Heritage Site at Lake Victoria. Guests to the hotel will have a panoramic view of a river valley that hosts some of the most remarkable scenes in nature: the annual
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