Tswalu Kalahari relaunches The Motse
Tswalu Kalahari has reopened its main camp, The Motse following an extensive five-month renovation project which will deliver a new world of luxury, privacy, and exclusivity to guests.
The renovations have seen the redesign of the suites, or legaes, and the communal living areas to create new spaces which resonate with Tswalu’s vision to provide an exciting and inspirational experience to the high-end global luxury travel market.
Tswalu spokesman Russel Binks says that the camp has “been transformed and the results can be seen in the aesthetics, the functionality and the delivery of our hospitality.
“Tswalu’s guests demand that the experience is exciting and inspirational,” says Binks. “We have created a camp that resonates with this vision in every aspect of its offering.
“Our aim was to ensure that The Motse meets the highest standards in comfort, service, aesthetics and design and I believe that we have achieved this.
“At the same time, Tswalu is primarily focused on land restoration and conservation and is honest, authentic and inspirational. In keeping with this focus, the revamp is fittingly unpretentious with a focus on simplicity and comfort.”
Adrian Davidson of Savile Row architects and designers said that the one word that encapsulates the approach to the project is “empathy; empathy to place, empathy to the guest experience, empathy to the environment. Our challenge was, how do we retain what guests love about The Motse and build on that to make their experience all the more exceptional?
“We were clear that the end result had to evoke a mood of intimacy, quiet, and authenticity; a home from home atmosphere, raw yet refined, precise but handmade, rough yet polished - a life-enriching experiential outcome.
“Firstly, we made key architectural interventions that improve the functional and operational aspects that were lacking before and will greatly assist quality of service.
“Our objective was to create serene spaces with reference to location expressed in materials, colours, and artisan finishes.
“Like much of the wildlife, guests would typically stay indoors during the peak heat and glare of the day and then venture out at dusk or early morning. We felt we needed to create a cool, shaded oasis. Deep overhangs constructed out of a lattice of bleached laths were added to all the legae to form private outdoor tsalas for guests to retreat to.
“The essence of luxury is space and we captured this by opening up the already abundant internal areas to the outdoors. Each legae is a calm haven. Beds are orientated to maximise the views and al fresco bathrooms have been created with private indoor gardens with outdoor showers which are open to the exceptional night skies of the Kalahari.”
Davidson said that most of the furniture for the interiors is bespoke, custom designed by Savile Row for the project. “This was to enhance the unique character of The Motse, while our approach was purity of design and no over-decoration.”
“We wanted the new Motse to match the Tswalu experience,” concludes Binks. The renewed camp will reassure any guest of the highest standards of hospitality and constantly surprise them with imagination, detail and a personal approach. But the greatest excitement is still what happens outside the camp and is in discovering and exploring the unscripted treasures of one of the world’s most extraordinary places.”