Gately Inn is the perfect place to recover from the long flights to Uganda. This boutique hotel is only 10 minutes from Entebbe International Airport, yet you won’t hear a plane overhead. While Entebbe is just outside Uganda’s capital, the drive to Kampala can take two hours with traffic. You’ll prefer to stay in the quiet suburb of Entebbe on Lake Victoria.
At Gately Inn, you won’t feel like you’re in a generic airport hotel, and it is the perfect introduction to Uganda. Situated in a flower-filled garden, the Inn’s six cottages and main house offer a variety of room choices.
I stayed in a spacious cottage with a high white-washed ceiling. After 36 hours of travel, I was glad to cool off in my sunken pebble shower and then gratefully collapsed into my comfortable bed surrounded by a pale mosquito net.
My cottage featured a closet area, desk, and a flat-screen TV with four satellite channels. The shower and toilet were each in their own separate room. From my private porch I could admire the garden and Uganda’s beautiful light. Guests who stay in the main house’s five rooms have different room styles available, the most popular is the sun-filled luxury family room which can sleep three. Decor is rustically elegant, perfectly befitting East Africa.
Gately Inn is named after the owner’s great aunt who, in the early 1900s, went from Australia to South America by ship and led a “luxurious and adventurous life”. Gately Inn is especially appealing to those with the same adventurous mindset. Fellow guests are from countries all over the world in Uganda for business, NGO-work, or setting off on a Ugandan safari. You’re sure to meet someone interesting hanging out in Gately’s open-air restaurant or relaxing on the terrace’s cushion-filled couches.
The restaurant features international cuisine; I was thrilled to have a Thai dish. Breakfast is included in rates — the eggs Benedict are delicious, and the banana pancakes are almost too pretty to eat. Available all day are fresh juices and yogurt smoothies. The restaurant is famous for its coffee.
Gately Inn is a great place to base yourself for your Uganda travels. Onsite is a gift shop featuring a curated collection of African crafts. Nearby are botanical gardens, the Uganda Wildlife Education Centre, a golf course, a small shopping mall, and the beaches of Lake Victoria.
If you’re travelling around Uganda, be sure to stay at Gately’s original property in Jinja (the source of the Nile), Gately On Nile, which opened in 2000. Bespoke luxury safaris can be designed to introduce you to mountain gorillas, tree-climbing lions, the elusive shoebills, and other Ugandan highlights.
From US$142 for cottages, inclusive of breakfast, 3G wifi and airport pick-up
– Well-trained staff have the perfect combination of professionalism and friendliness.
– A hidden oasis of relaxation.
– Great restaurant, even if you just have an airport layover.
– While the inn is near the main road, you won’t hear traffic over your fan.
Johanna Read
Contributing Editor
Staying in prison was never a dream of mine until I discovered Hotel Katajanokka in Helsinki. This quiet boutique hotel is a comfortable piece of history.
The room I stayed in would have been the laundry room. It’s a spacious suite with tall ceilings, a large bed, pull-out sofa, desk and private sauna. Thick walls ensure a quiet night’s rest and the private sauna provides the ultimate relaxation and warmth from a cold day wandering the city.
The prison cantina in the basement serves three meals a day for your dining pleasure. Don’t be fooled by the utensils, the food is unlike prison food you’ve seen in the movies. Its nordic cuisine is local, organic and delicious. The butter for the bread may have been the best butter I have ever tasted. It was pure magic with every bite and as a rule I avoid it in my everyday life. If the butter was that amazing, just imagine the rest of the meal.
The bars on the windows won’t keep you inside but with all the modern amenities and comfort you might not want to leave. The hotel has been recently remodeled with a modern vibe but don’t worry, there are still a couple original cells that you can tour. There’s a larger sauna for all guests open on the weekends and a 24-hour gym if you prefer to exercise indoors instead of outside in the crisp air.
Early release is not something you’ll hope for at Hotel Katajanokka, think twice before you only book one night. They say “escape the ordinary” and that’s something you’ll experience at this unique hotel.
From US $162 with private sauna and buffet breakfast
– Quiet residential neighborhood, close to the water.
– Tram stops right out front. 15-minute walk to downtown are, 10 minutes by tram.
– Modern amenities in a boutique, historic hotel.
– Not many close restaurants or attractions.
– Hotel sauna is only open on the weekends or by appointment.
– The terrace restaurant is only open in the summer, otherwise it’s too chilly.
IDW Esperanza is a small resort and spa, away from the hustle of the city, nestled among 27 acres of trees and a private lake near Trakai. The hotel is a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World and you’ll feel that luxury not only in the location but in the many activities and spa services. The hotel may be small but they offer many treatments to help your mind and body relax.
If you are not into booking the extra spa services you will still have use of the pool, sauna, steam room, jacuzzi, vitamin D, infrared and collagen light therapies. Those treatments alone will leave you relaxed and wanting to extend your stay. The spa building is overlooking the lake so you’ll never be far from nature. During the summer you can lounge on the private beach and in winter you can walk across the frozen lake — the two best times to experience this magical place.
In the restaurant, La Esperanza, located right next to the spa overlooking the lake, the food is fresh, never frozen. In the summer the gardens provide a bounty. In the winter, regular deliveries stock the restaurant with organic food and specially selected wines so you are sure to have delicious food and wine pairings at every meal. The flavor fusion of these meals is incredible and will leave you wanting seconds, but you’ll be so full you’ll have to save it for another night. In the dining room we were also able to listen to an impromptu piano serenade from one of the talented and friendly staff members.
Between the spa and the meals I was not able to enjoy the large game room on site. I was really excited to see two bowling lanes, foosball, air hockey and a pool table. If I wasn’t keeping up my activities by wandering in the forest and along the lake I would have also enjoyed the gym. This place truly has your best interest at heart with all the activities and treatments. You’ll never have time to miss the busy city as you’ll be finding peace and tranquility at this private retreat.
I wished I was planning my destination wedding as this would be the perfect oasis for the ceremony and the honeymoon. It’s also a great place for a corporate retreat. But alas, though I only had one gloriously relaxing night, it was the perfect refresh in the middle of my European trip.
From US$90 includes spa access and deluxe breakfast buffet
– A private lake and 27 acres of forest surround the hotel.
– Included spa facilities are more than you would get at other resorts.
– The resort is intentionally small so guests feel an intimate, relaxing experience.
– Bedrooms can be considered dated and small but they are adequately luxurious and comfortable.
– In the winter the restaurant on the lake is not open.
This restaurant with rooms is a culinary feast in a gorgeous setting. Owned and run by a husband and wife team whose dream to return to their home county has been realised through this venture, this old doctor’s house has been beautifully refurbished to include limestone baths, walk-in showers, and locally-woven blankets and fabrics.
As the hotel is an ideal base for exploring the Pembrokeshire coastline, you are sure to work up a healthy appetite and this is just as well as the undoubted star of the show at Llys Meddyg is the food. Local produce features heavily on a well-crafted menu. The cosy cellar restaurant offers the perfect setting for a romantic meal with excellent and unobtrusive service. The soft candle light and belting wood burner will be a perfect antidote to a chilly winter’s evening.
Breakfasts are a feast of local produce, including some lovely touches such as their gloriously tasty home-smoked salmon (it was so good we even took half a side home, a very popular late addition to our Christmas menu.) After a lazy start, enjoy some of the coastal walks on offer or potter around the pretty villages of Newport or St David’s (a scenic half an hour drive away). Returning to the hotel you can indulge in a soak in the deep luxurious bath tub before pulling up a stool at the friendly bar to explore their serious home-flavoured gin and vodka selection!
From US$140 including breakfast
– Local arts and crafts in abundance
– Pretty village setting
– Secluded get-away vibe
– Fairly steep staircase to some of the rooms
– Easy to get lost on route to the region (or maybe that was just us, it was a dark winter’s evening!)
Chris & Hannah
Directors