Kisawa Sanctuary Mozambique
Kisawa Sanctuary
Benguerra Island, Vilankulos, Inhambane Province, 1304, Mozambique
https://kisawasanctuary.com/
HOTEL INFORMATION
Shareholders
Privately owned
Date of Creation
November 2021
Hotel General Manager:
Mathias Gerds. Originally from Germany, Mathias’ portfolio spans Asia, Europe and the CIS. His brand experience spans 20 years and includes the Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas, St. Regis Hotels & Resorts and Kempinski Hotels.
Hotel Positioning
5-star luxury island escape – NO brand affiliation.
Development Strategy
Property is brand new so no plans for additional developments in the very near future.
Kisawa Sanctuary
History & Story
Kisawa Sanctuary is a new concept in luxury hospitality located on Benguerra Island, Mozambique. Sitting on 5km of pristine tropical coastline, Kisawa has been created to ensure maximum privacy, with minimum impact on the natural environment, showcasing a rich design culture that celebrates craft and heritage.
Date Renovation
The design, by NJF is a crucial part of Kisawa’s DNA, whereby careful decisions have been taken to protect the surrounding nature by blending in, rather than interrupting the local landscape.
Kisawa treads a light footprint on the land through new ways of “conscious” construction methodologies that replace commonplace techniques, to reduce impact where possible
Main Strengths, Special Touch
Award winning design. Holistic wellness offering. Unparalleled privacy – the ‘space to be you’. Spectacular nature and marine wildlife. Supporting ocean research. Celebrating the Benguerra Island culture. Young and optimistic team offering service from the heart. Incredible guest experiences to immerse into the environment.
Location
Benguerra Island, Mozambique. Benguerra Island is situated 14 kilometres off Mozambique, on the Eastern Coast of Africa and is part of the Bazaruto Archipelago.
It is the second largest island in the archipelago, which consists of five idyllic islands strung across the Mozambique Channel: Bazaruto, Magaruque, Santa Carolina, Bangue and Benguerra.
Key sites/activities in the area
Marine wildlife expeditions, Bazaruto Center for Scientific Studies (BCSS), wind surfing, kite surfing, horse back riding, helicopter safaris, PADI diving.
Fun Facts
Did you know: Kisawa hopes to spark interest in how African craft can be extrapolated from its original uses and applied in new ways. One notable example being the commission of a local weaving style, a time consuming process practiced only by Benguerra Island’s women and traditionally used for the production of household objects, that has been utilised on a much larger scale within the interiors of every guest bungalow.
Guests can upgrade their rooms to River View, Scenic Bath with an additional charge of KRW 50,000++.
Children’s Corner
Bespoke childrens programme including traditional arts and crafts, shell hunting, pizza making, glamping, PADI bubble making course, rock fishing – in addition to incredible wildlife expeditions to see dugongs, dolphins, turtles and manta rays.
HOTEL FEATURES
Accommodation
• Number of suites: 11
• Number of Luxury rooms: NA
• Number of rooms, (keys) in all: NA – The property has 11 residences in a total of 17 villas (some residences are composed by 2 or 3 villas hence the 17 villas for 11 residences)
Each Residence hosts a generous living room, a king bedroom, two dressing rooms and a joint bathroom with two individual powder rooms. Plus a seperate day area, an infinity pool, private beachfront, open air deck and an outdoor kitchen. Each Residence has a dedicated Electronic Mini Moke. Bathroom amenities are provided by Vanaveda.
Interior room sizes begin at 150m2 with each Residence sitting on it’s own one acre plot, overlooking a view of either the swell of the ocean or the calm cove side of Benguerra Island.
Restaurants & Bars
All dining experiences are included in the Kisawa rate.
•The Main Terrace – Serving breakfast, lunch, dinner + afternoon tea service. Refined global cuisine + Robata Grill.
• Baracca: Evening barefoot dining, South African cuisine with Indian flavours (beautiful sunsets)
• Ocean Mussassa : ocean side all day beach café specialising in Crudo Bar/Ceviche
• Cove Mussassa: cove side all day beach café specialising in fresh produce, share plates, local flavours
Wellness
• Extensive Ayurvedic treatment list aligning body mind and spirit.
• A state of the art Japanese Iyashi dome uses gentle infrared heat to promote healing.
• Fully equipped (TechnoGym) gym
• Pilates reformer machines + yoga studio
• Central Lagoon Pool is 25m
Corporate & Celebration Events
We can create bespoke events with he buyout of the property (max 34 persons) on various sites of the property (beach, the different restaurant, around the Lagoon Pool etc)
Extra notable feature
• Guests are invited to actively take part in our conservation mission with sister non-for-profit, BCSS, by working with marine scientists on their research vessels as they tag sharks, monitor ecosystems and dive with 3D printed reefs.
• Each Residence has it’s own personal service team and tailor made butler service
• A complimentary 60 minute Jet lag recovery massage is offered as part of every booking.
• Our guest experiences include a swimming with turtles, a hike to crocodile lake, sunset cocktails on the red dune and glamping under the stars.
Hotel and restaurant Awards
• 2022 Veranda (USA), Most Beautiful Hotels
• 2022 Architectural Digest’s Design Awards: Hotels
• 2022 AFAR Best New Hotels
• 2021 Travel + Leisure Global Innovation Award + IT List
•2021 Nat Geo Traveller UK – Hotel Awards, Best Island Escape
• 2021 Time Magazine’s World’s Greatest Places List
Number of employees
170