50 Best Hotels in Namibia

If it's rhinos you're after, especially the rare black rhino, then this very remote tented camp in the heart of the private 1-million-acre Palmwag Reserve is a must. Because there are freshwater springs everywhere, you'll see not only the desert-adapted black rhino, but plenty of other game, too, including desert elephants, giraffes, zebras, kudu, and possibly lions, leopards, and cheetahs. The camp collaborates with the Save the Rhino Trust, and one of the highlights of your stay will be tracking the rare black rhino in an open safari vehicle, with the very short final approach done on foot. It's an honor to encounter one of the continent's largest free-ranging populations of these critically endangered animals. Though the landscape is very barren and stark, you'll likely feel very close to the desert in your spacious A-frame canvas and wooden tent with front porch and en-suite bathroom. During a two-night stay, you will be treated to an unforgettable dinner experience by the exceptionally warm-hearted staff. 

This gorgeous glass and natural stone lodge has a spectacular setting on the border of the NamibRand Nature Reserve–Africa's first International Dark Sky Reserve. Its ultra-luxurious desert villas, which face a vast golden-yellow plain ringed by dune peaks, each have a private patio with sun loungers and couches and a large hydraloop swimming pool. Shower in your mega-size bathroom or outside in your own little walled garden. You can lie in bed and watch the stars through the skylight overhead or climb up to the observatory with its state-of-the-art telescope and resident astronomer. The food is as refreshing as the lodge, but if you don't feel like eating in the main dining area, you can make use of the butler hatch in your suite for in-room dining, accompanied by an extensive bar. Recent lodge renovations included the addition of a gym and spa facilities.

As its name suggests, The Delight ticks all the boxes for a wonderful stay: modern decor, the best buffet breakfast in town, cheerful rooms, a funky bar, and a welcoming lounge. The interior is accentuated by bright bursts of color and photo-worthy elements, such as the lobby chandelier made of recycled plastic and upcycled driftwood, a large blue mural depicting the Namib Desert, and a giant map of Africa. The large seascape photo murals in the guest rooms provide a seaside feel and each room has a balcony or a patio (some of which look out onto the central courtyard). This is where you will find the best buffet breakfast in all of Swakopmund—it's so popular, in fact, that even guests need to make reservations---with freshly-prepared omelets, waffles, and desserts, local oysters, sparkling wine, and cold and hot breakfast options. 

When you see the sunset reflecting off the Namib-Naukluft Mountains from this elegant hotel, you’ll understand why this safari shabby chic establishment is done up in accents of dusty pink. From its restaurant and food stations at meal times to the geometric fire-and-water feature at the entrance, Instagram-worthy bar and lounge (called ‘One Night in Namibia’), and collection of large portrait photographs of everyday Namibians, this place is very photogenic. Each airy room is tastefully thought out and has all the necessary mod cons, including a floor-to-ceiling sliding door that looks out onto the horizon. The exceptional service will make you feel right at home.

Constructed from natural materials in a low-impact manner (including being completely solar powered), this luxe tented camp seamlessly blends into its surroundings atop a rocky outcrop that's reminiscent of the Masai Mara all while offering guests every creature comfort. This is the closest you'll get to a safari just 45 minutes from the international airport. Sustainability and conservation are at the heart of this 123,552-acre nature reserve, which also prioritizes health and wellbeing through its retreats, and spa and wellness offerings. Habitas is the epitome of Namibia hospitality and five-star service, from the thoughtful lodge playlist you receive upon reservation to the genuine welcome at your "homecoming" ceremony, and everything else in between—we're warning you, you won’t want to leave. 

This intimate and luxurious lodge in the 66,718-acre private Kulala Wilderness Reserve faces the mesmerizing red dunes of Namib-Naukluft Park with the ever-shifting sands and a waterhole that attracts all manner of game and birdlife. The recently renovated lodge is very tastefully decorated in colors, textures, and raw materials that pay homage to the landscape's uniqueness. Elevated wooden walkways radiate from the main lodge to the elegant, air-conditioned suites where every creature comfort is attended to—think a plunge pool alongside a shaded, king-size day bed; a rooftop sundowner deck where personalized dinners can be served; and an indoor and outdoor shower set in an indigenous garden. Rooms also boast art supplies, wellness and workout equipment, and a tablet device for star-watching that comes in handy if you opt to sleep beneath the Milky Way in summer. The impressive wine cellar hosts tasting evenings and private dinners. 

The picturesque Mowani Mountain Camp lies atop a scattered pile of giant ochre-colored boulders in sight of the impressive Brandberg Mountain. It offers one of the most unique settings and landscapes in the region. Each of the rooms are set back, almost camouflaged in the boulders with views of the hilltop vista or the valley, where guides take guests in search of desert-adapted elephants. In between game drives and nature walks, guests can plunge into the pool that’s been carved into the boulders, sunbathe on the pool loungers or relax in the laid-back lounge. Everything from the location to the camp, well-appointed rooms, friendly staff, and mouth-watering food will have you wishing you had booked for longer. Camp Kipwe, a few minutes away, is their newer sister property which attracts younger travelers for its more modern and funky take on safari décor, and as all the rooms have a/c.

If you're a fan of old-fashioned luxury, warm service, and accommodations that combine the authenticity of the bush with a stylish and comfortable interior, then this is an excellent option. Situated close to the Von Lindequist Gate on the eastern side of Etosha, the Outpost is perfectly placed to take advantage of the park's game-thick eastern section, especially if you opt for the fully inclusive rate that includes two game drives. The lodge has a comfortable rambling feel to it with a large farm-style main house. The eight luxury tents made from canvas and wood are delightfully well-appointed on the inside, ensuring that after a day of game drives you'll be able to relax and recharge your batteries while sitting on your deck among the shady trees. 

Windhoek's premier boutique hotel, the Olive Exclusive, with its six large suites each decorated thematically according to each of Namibia's regions, is an upmarket treat either before or after your safari. As each suite is equipped with all the mod-cons—laptops, Wi-Fi, espresso machines, minibars, and satellite TV—it's the right kind of place to manage your transition from the solitude of the bush to the connectivity of the city and vice versa. The decor strikes an elegant balance between chic and African without overdoing the latter (as many lodges do) and while the huge suites have their own plunge pools, guests can also use the communal pool. The Olive Exclusive restaurant, with its playful menu that features great Namibian produce, is an intimate spot worth visiting even if you aren't a guest at the hotel.

This flagship lodge in the Onguma Game Reserve on the eastern border of Etosha National Park's Fischer Pan is the epitome of luxury and style blending unique Moroccan-style fort architecture with subtle hints of color and raw African textures. The main lodge’s wide deck overlooks the stark expanse of the pan and a waterhole, which is visited by many animals that have wandered across from Etosha. You get a strong sense that you're at the edge of civilization here. The 13 exquisitely appointed suites stretch to either side of the lodge with equally astonishing pan views, outdoor showers, and cool stone interiors. The staff are like a well-oiled machine and you feel as though you are a VIP. Its newest offering, the Dream Cruiser Sleep Out experience—a custom-built Land Cruiser with a wooden deck, double bed, seating and dining area upstairs, and a full bathroom downstairs with hot running water and flush toilet—can be booked in conjunction with a stay at any of Onguma’s other properties. 

Built from the old Lighthouse and Port Authority building, this completely unique lodge is as beautiful as it is stark. Positioned on the farthest point of Pelican Point, the remoteness of this lodge will give you your first taste of a Skeleton-Coast-type experience as the fog rolls in and isolates the property. A photographer's paradise, the flat colors of the surrounding beach, old ship artifacts, and rusting metal shapes will provide you with an endless canvas for images. On entering the lodge you will feel as though you have found a cocoon of luxury and warmth; with arresting photography adorning the walls. The 10 comfortable suites, all with a view, are inspired by the textures of the beach and ocean, each with a unique location photograph as the focal point. Despite running on generator power, there is total silence and you will feel as though you can completely reset. Close proximity to the enormous seal colony allows you to walk around and view them at ease; or take a kayak trip with one of the guides to get some close-up photographs. Even if you have a 4x4, if you do not have a lot of experience driving in very soft sand rather opt for their transfer service and leave your car at the safe Protea Pelican Bay Hotel.

This astonishingly different and dramatically sited camp in the extreme northwest of Namibia on the Angolan border is the most remote camp in southern Africa and you are guaranteed to gasp with awe when you first catch sight of the camp from a high sand dune. Located along the Kunene River within the Marienfluss Conservancy, which is largely owned by the region's indigenous Himba people, this camp operates on a mutually beneficial public-private partnership that prioritizes these custodians of the land, and allows guests to respectfully engage with the local community during their visit. This award-winning model has been widely commended and serves as an example for other hospitality businesses to follow. Stay for three nights to make the most of the experience. Although tents (on raised platforms) are luxurious and have private bathrooms, don't come here if you aren't tough. The flight from Windhoek is long and may be bumpy, and the terrain harsh and demanding, but the experience is surreal. This is one-of-a-kind Africa.

At this family-friendly hotel within the 1901 Old Station Building, the huge, bustling lobby is a reminder of the building's previous incarnation as a railway station. Rooms, which look out onto the central courtyard, are comfortable, large, and kitted out with all the modern necessities. The hotel—owned by Legacy Hotels and Resorts—boasts numerous facilities and services, which make it ideal for traveling families; these include an adjacent cinema, casino, gym, child minding services; and the Victorian-style Platform One restaurant, which serves an a la carte menu and a buffet. The Whistle Stop Lounge and Bar is a popular stop, and the large pool, necklaced by a luscious garden, makes for an ideal place to relax on the loungers with a book or a bite and sundowner from the terrace menu.

Tucked away behind a clump of enormous granite boulders, this lodge is synonymous with the Erongo region of Namibia: quietly comfortable. Located inside the Erongo Mountain Nature Conservancy, on the edge of a 130-million-year-old volcano ruin, this area is worth a visit if you're traveling from Windhoek to Swakopmund, even if it's just to sit by the pool and watch the glowing African sun set over a grassy plain with Brandberg Mountain in the distance. While you're there, visit the many extraordinary rock painting sites with one of the lodge's knowledgeable guides, do a guided walking trail or nature drive, or go birding.

This comfortable and elegant hotel has all the conveniences of a large, smooth-running operation, with staff on hand at every corner to assist and pleasant rooms that characterize the property. Britain's Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip stayed here in 1990, the year of Namibia's independence. Ultimately it's the hotel's central location that makes it an attractive option, though the new rooftop ballroom restaurant, bar, and pool are a worthy spot for a sundowner.

Walking into Cornerstone one is struck by the lovely manicured garden and the pleasantly homey ambience. Rooms are not huge but are comfortable and have free Wi-Fi and small personal patios. The breakfast here is famously tasty, and the owners are incredibly helpful and friendly. Within walking distance from most of Swakops' main attractions, this place is very popular and often full. However, if you find this to be the case, inquire about the three self-catering apartments, also owned by the management.

A joint community venture with the Torra Conservancy (the local community), this desolate camp is on the Huab River in central Damaraland, midway between Khorixas and the coast. Perched on a raised wooden platform, the views from the gorgeous and spacious adobe-style, thatch units take in a landscape of craggy beauty formed by millions of years of unending geological movement. You'll drive with an experienced ranger in an open 4x4 to see the famous Welwitschia plant and track desert elephants. After a day in the desert, cool off in the natural rock pool and watch the desert birds, or relax with a drink in the spacious, airy lodge, where stunning and surreal views are the name of the game.

Set among the Dolomite hills in the previously off-limits western section of the park, this camp is for those looking for something unique and far from the madding crowd with its sports bar, sunset deck, and infinity pool perfect for scoping out the scorched plains and hills while cooling off. Tented deluxe chalets with mesmerizing views are elegantly appointed and some have plunge pools. Having been untouched by tourists for almost 50 years, this section of the park has allowed animals like black rhino and black-faced impala to breed successfully. You may also be lucky enough to see roan antelope, Moneiro's hornbill, and Hartmann's zebra—species specific to the area.

Blending into the backdrop and set amid stony slopes, rugged boulders, the distant Entendeka Mountains, and the pink and russet sandstone cliffs of Twyfelfontein to the south (where you can visit some of the most famous San rock paintings and engravings in the world), this is classic Damaraland. The wood, canvas and thatch camp offers 360-degree views of this fascinating landscape and the chance to see the desert-adapted elephants. The sturdy en-suite units have indoor and outdoor showers. You can relax in the rim-flow style pool after a day's activities, or climb up to the roof area of the main building to sip sundowners or watch the blazing stars. Birders will delight in seeing a few of the country’s endemic species, such as Rüpell's korhaan, Carp's tit, and Damara hornbill. 

With its vibrant sprawling gardens, this new, family-owned establishment will make you do a double take when you realize it’s within the capital city. Large trees wrapped in fairy lights add to the property's charm, while a private wine-cellar dining experience, a trendy restaurant, and a spa set Droombos apart from other properties in Windhoek. Rooms are on the small side but are elegantly decorated with all the modern conveniences you'd expect for a comfortable night's rest.

Located just 2 km (1.2 miles) from the busy Anderson Gate at Etosha National Park, this lodge is like a cool shady escape from the dusty roads and crowds of the park. The lodge with its three inviting swimming pools (two of which are childrens' pools), open air restaurant, and bar, as well as spacious rooms, is built amid a leafy mopane forest. A combination of comfort, modern amenities, and attentive service makes this lodge a really good value-for-money choice. 

This hotel has one of the most spectacular views of the Walvis Bay Lagoon with its peaceful flamingos and idyllic sunsets. The hotel's fine dining restaurant and bar, which specializes in inventive cocktails, is also very popular with locals. They have thought of everything when it comes to standard hotel amenities. Touches of leather and marble with fluffy white bathrobes and crisp linen add a certain level of opulence to the suites. 

Just on the outskirts of Windhoek, this well-appointed lodge has all the safari charm and sophistication of a luxury lodge. Perched on top of a rocky hill, in a 6,000-hectare (14,000-acre) reserve, the lodge blends in with the surrounding countryside due to the use of natural elements in the building and decor. Glossy wooden chalets have thatched roofs and sunken baths that look out over the bush. Two waterholes, on either side, are well-visited all day long by antelope. GocheGanas offers a unique wellness village with an indoor pool—set in a high-roofed cave-room—surrounded by loungers, a spa, and endless bush views. The 360-degree Toko Bar is a perfect spot to catch an African sunset before heading to a delicious Namibian dinner.

This old-world grand dame, which was established in 1905 a few years after the town was founded, gives guests a Belle Epoque-era feeling with its hushed solicitude, gleaming brass and manicured garden. Standard rooms are comfortable and though some of their furnishings remain somewhat dated, the much larger suites are done up in historical decor which give them the kind of charm you'd expect of this very popular hotel. There are now also self-catering units available. Book a room that overlooks the central garden courtyard and has a renovated, modern bathroom with a shower. A warm atmosphere, central location, one of the town's best German-style restaurants with bilingual staff (Hansa Hotel Main Restaurant), adjoining coffee shop (Bojos Café) and cozy bar complete the picture. Breakfast is great and it's well worth eating dinner here too.

This luxurious and completely solar-powered, low-impact camp is located in the remote, broad valley of the Hoanib River; with one foot in the dramatic Namibian Kaokoveld and the other in the Skeleton Coast National Park, the unique and exquisitely appointed tented rooms look out over scenery that's hard to find adjectives to describe. This part of the Skeleton Coast also lends itself to exploring the shipwrecks and Cape fur seal colonies along the otherwise deserted coastline, with the opportunity to spot desert-adapted elephants, lions and brown hyaenas. The large shaded deck of the rooms or the sparkling swimming pool are the perfect place to sit and stare out at the arresting scenery while escaping the heat of the day. The day-long coastal excursion (for guests staying three nights or longer) is a memorable experience of a lifetime that includes a beach lunch and a (weather permitting) scenic flight back to camp.

This is your chance to stay in a turn-of-the-20th-century castle, a white fort with battlements set high on a hill and commissioned by a German count for his fiancée in 1914. The spacious interiors have a luxurious fairy-tale quality, with handmade furniture, mirrors, and chandeliers, and beautiful fabrics that transport you to a stylish bygone age perfectly mixed with state-of-the-art modern comforts. The hotel also has amazing views of the city, and offers an excellent breakfast on the gorgeous outdoor patio. The fine-dining food and wine at Leo's at the Castle are synonymous with the style of the hotel.

Book well in advance, as this is a sought-after hotel in the city.

In the heart of the Namib, set on a private wilderness reserve that borders the Namib-Naukluft Park with an exclusive-use entrance gate, this is the closest you could possibly stay to the famous red dunes of Sossusvlei (along with Wilderness Safaris's adjoining property on the same reserve). This proximity also offers a remarkable setting with superb mountain scenery and vast open plains, while the main lodge truly exudes this sense of place with the large tree trunks that act as pillars. The wrap-around wooden deck leads from the swimming pool to an extended verandah (for alfresco dining), fire pit, and indoor dining area, making it the perfect place to watch or photograph the magnificent desert sunset. The tented, double-layer canvas, thatch-roofed chalets (kulala) sit on a wooden platform overlooking the dry Tsauchab riverbed and desert landscape, and while they don't have air-conditioning, they are designed in such a way that allows for natural airflow and cooling. On summer nights, you can request a star bed rollout with your turndown service to sleep under the night sky. 

You might be lucky enough to encounter wildlife in and around this unfenced, thatched lodge that’s located under huge jackalberry and mangosteen trees in a private concession within Mudumu National Park. As you sip on a G&T from the lodge’s elevated wooden deck, you can watch hippos wallow amid water lilies and crocs float along the backwaters of the Kwando River. Even if you don’t partake in the daily water cruises and game drives, the owner-run lodge is a peaceful place to relax and offers superb birding with more than 400 species. The chalets are spacious brick and thatch en-suite units that are suitably comfortable but somewhat dated, especially when compared to newer lodges; it can be booked on a dinner, bed and breakfast basis.

Situated in a tall shady forest, this lodge stands on its tiptoes high up off the ground overlooking the lush floodplain below. In order to preserve the natural pathways of the elephants that pass through the area regularly, wooden walkways weave through the tops of the trees connecting roomy luxury tents and the main lodge area. You don’t have to go far here to spot game, as sometimes it may be passing right underneath you while you laze the day away on your treetop deck. Special touches like a delivery of coffee and biscuits in the early morning and star-lit dinners or conversations around the bonfire at the main lodge and a hot bath awaiting your return from an evening game drive make this lodge feel all the more personal. The area has abundant birdlife and the boat cruise is well worth it.

These eco-friendly, solar-powered chalets with spacious wood decks balance atop grassy sand dunes that show off stunning sunset vistas. Classified as a soft adventure camp, you will still see some game and birds, but this location is all about the scenery and the experience of sleeping in the desert beneath the stars. You'll have everything you need for a restful and extremely comfortable night (including lights, hot water, and lots of warm bedding), without having to rough it. The reception area, where you check in, has free Wi-Fi, a swimming pool, and a small shop that sells general items and souvenirs.