Elegant Desert Lodge, Namib Desert — Rates & Booking

A green garden on the road to Sossusvlei

The drive in from the C19 is five kilometres of gravel along the D854, and the first thing you notice is the colour. After several hours of ochre plains the lodge appears as a band of lawn, trees and flowering shrub against the Betesda mountains — an oasis in the literal sense, fed and kept green in the middle of one of the driest places on earth.

The rooms were built from flat rock quarried out of those mountains, set in a long low line under thatch so that every one of them faces the open plain. Inside they are cool, plain and comfortable rather than showy: air-conditioning, a shower, a safe, a bar fridge, and a seating area and patio to watch the light change from.

What makes the lodge unusual for this area is that it takes campers as well. Six sites sit on the same property, sharing the pool, the bar and the restaurant, so a group travelling in two styles does not have to split up for the night.

Accommodation at Elegant Desert Lodge

Twenty-seven rooms and six campsites, all on one farm, all looking out over the same open plain.

Double room with seating area at Elegant Desert Lodge

Double or Twin Room

Sleeps two, on either a double bed or two singles — say which you would prefer when you enquire.
Built from local stone under thatch, each room has its own seating area and a patio facing the plain.
Air-conditioning, a private en-suite bathroom with a shower, a safe for valuables, a bar fridge and tea and coffee making facilities are provided, along with linen and towels.

These are the standard rooms and there are twenty-three of them, so they are usually the easiest to get at short notice.

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Family Room

Four of the twenty-seven rooms are set up for families, each furnished with four single beds for up to four people in one room.
Like the doubles they are air-conditioned and have an en-suite bathroom with a shower, plus a seating area and a veranda of their own.

There are only four of them, so they go early in high season. If you are travelling with children it is worth enquiring well ahead.

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Campsite

Six campsites on the lodge property, for travellers with their own tent or a rooftop tent on a hired 4x4.
Each site has power, a braai and shade from the trees, with ablutions and running water shared between them.

Campers use the lodge’s pool, bar and restaurant, so you can camp and still eat a proper dinner — useful on a long self-drive. Book ahead: six sites is not many for this stretch of road.

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What to do

Why stay at Elegant Desert Lodge?

The lodge sits 38 km from the Sesriem gate, roughly 45 minutes on gravel. That is far enough out that you are not in the scrum at the gate, and close enough for a comfortable half-day run to Sossusvlei and back.

Be straight with yourself about the timing, though. Staying outside the park means the outer gate opens at sunrise, not before it, so the photographers’ dawn on the dunes belongs to guests sleeping inside the park. If that shot is the reason for your trip, ask us and we will tell you honestly which places can deliver it.

What you get instead is a working farm with a great deal of shade and quiet, a pool worth using after a day in the sand, and a good deal more space than the properties clustered at the gate.

It is also one of the few places on this road where a group can split between rooms and camping without splitting up for the evening.

Activities

Half-day Sossusvlei and Deadvlei excursion
Scenic drive with sundowner drinks
Quad bike scenic drive, with or without breakfast
Guided and unguided walking trails
Game viewing at the waterhole on the property
Hot air ballooning in the area

Things to see

Sossusvlei, Deadvlei and Hidden Vlei
Dune 45, Big Daddy, Big Momma and Elim Dune
Sesriem Canyon
The open plains and mountains of the NamibRand

Facilities

Air-conditioned guest lounge with outdoor seating
Restaurant serving buffet-style Namibian farm cooking
Bar and pool bar
Swimming pool with sun loungers
Fire pit
Wi-Fi in communal areas
Library
Tea and coffee available
Safe at the front desk
Self-serve laundry on request
Landing strip with transfers to the lodge

Getting there

5 km along the D854, off the C19
38 km from the Sesriem gate
300 km from Windhoek
357 km from Walvis Bay
Gravel roads throughout — a sedan manages in normal conditions, but drive slowly

Elegant Desert Lodge in pictures

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Check availability at Elegant Desert Lodge

Send us your dates and number of people and one of our team — a real person — will reply with the best price, and honest advice if another option would suit you better, or if this one is not available on the dates you want.

You pay the lodge's own rate. Our service costs you nothing on top.