Luxury brand One&Only Resorts has launched a new concept in hospitality, moving away from exclusive coastal establishments to the countryside. Baroque Travel finds out all the details
One&Only Resorts has developed a new concept in vacations, Nature Resorts, magnificent luxury establishments that offer a different, unique and customized vacation as well as a once-in-a-lifetime experience. These resorts are not located in cities or at the coast; instead they are located in lesser-known areas, where fewer luxury establishments exist. Nature, conservation and environmentally friendly resorts are in demand, and to this end, One&Only have created two brand new resorts in Rwanda in Africa, to offer a unique safari experience in a location that has remained known only to a privileged few.
These resorts are not the first. The original One&Only Nature Resorts to be built is Wolgan Valley, which opened in 2010 in Australia. It is the first luxury hotel in the world to achieve internationally accredited carbon-neutral certification by CarbonZero, a greenhouse gas-certification scheme. The two new future Nature Resorts, which are being built in Rwanda, will also work to achieve this distinction.
The Nature Resorts will also provide guests with an opportunity to contribute directly to local charities if they wish. They can enjoy hands-on, interactive experiences with the local community. The resorts themselves have also been built with minimal impact to the environment.
The two Nature Resorts in Rwanda are One&Only Nyungwe House, located in Gisakura, a working tea plantation on the edge of the Nyungwe National Park, and One&Only Gorilla’s Nest, situated close to the village of Kingi which is in the foothills of the Virunga Volcano range.
One&Only Nyungwe House is designed to fit harmoniously into its natural surroundings. It features modern luxury suites and villas with traditional African touches, each overlooking the vast African terrain with private decks and fireplaces. It is due to open this later this year.
Gorilla’s Nest is a beautiful resort, nestling amongst a forest of eucalyptus trees and offering scenic views of the Rwandan hills and the slopes of the Volcanoes National Park. This resort is being built to cater to the many visitors who travel to Rwanda to see the mountain gorillas. There are just 780 gorillas estimated to still be living in the wild and one third of those are said to be in Rwanda. When this resort opens in 2018, it will be a base for those who wish to observe the animals resident in this area. The resort will offer daytime treks to observe the eight families of wild gorillas located nearby.
Eventually, guests will be able to enjoy a week-long stay at both of these properties, with four days at Nyungwe House and three at Gorilla’s Nest.
One&Only also plans to create other Nature Resorts in locations around the world, including a ski destination, a resort in the US and another in the Middle East.