Xigera Safari Lodge Botswana
Xigera Safari Lodge
Moremi Game Reserve, NG28, Botswana
www.xigera.com
HOTEL INFORMATION
Group
N/A
Shareholders
Privately owned
Date of Creation
December 2020
Hotel General Manager
With over two decades in luxury hospitality, Ben Seagar says ‘I’m privileged to lead the exceptional team at Xigera. What drew me here was more than the Delta’s beauty, it was the lodge’s philosophy; a living tribute to heritage, people, and purpose. My role is to champion the team who brings this to life daily, and as a father, I’m proud to raise my sons where nature is their classroom, and respect is part of daily life’.
Hotel Positioning
World Leading 5-star Luxury Safari Lodge
Development Strategy
A distinctive legacy of luxury, conservation, and vision in the Okavango Delta. Nestled on the western edge of the Moremi Game Reserve in the Okavango Delta, Xigera Safari Lodge redefines the safari experience, where immersion in nature meets luxury hospitality and a deep commitment to conservation. Every aspect of the lodge’s design and experience has been carefully considered to honour Botswana’s land, its heritage, its wildlife, its people and their future. As a first of it’s kind, Xigera is an ever-shifting tapestry of wild beauty, culture and art, that comes together in an all-inclusive, fully hosted private concession experience, where each guest stay is unique. They call it: ‘Your Safari, Your Story’.
Xigera Safari Lodge
History & Story
Born of the Delta. Crafted for you.
The Tollman family, with over a century in global hospitality, has invested in Botswana’s tourism for more than 30 years. Their journey began in 1995 as the largest shareholder in Wilderness Safaris, actively shaping the company’s growth until 2008. From 2008 the family were less involved and influential in the operational experience of the Company. In 2018, they decided to part ways and embark on a new chapter, transforming one camp, Xigera, from a modest three-star stay into an extraordinary five-star lodge, lovingly crafted to embody the family’s vision of service excellence, sustainability, and artistry.
Date added Extensions
Rooted in Place. Reborn with Purpose
Completed in December 2020, Xigera transformed into a celebration of creative unity. A tangible harmony exists between the bush and luxury, the wild and the tamed – a balance born of sensitive design, a passion for art, and a deep commitment to sustainability and social empowerment.
Main Strengths, Special Touch
A Place Like No Other
Bold in vision and ground-breaking in its scope, the Xigera Art and Design Collection was created by more than 80 of Africa’s most globally acclaimed designers. Conceptualised by Toni Tollman, Philip Fourie and Anton de Kock – in partnership with award- winning South African gallery Southern Guild – the collection features bespoke works commissioned exclusively for the lodge, and is the largest private assemblage of African collectible design in the world. But its resonance goes deeper than this. As you experience the lodge’s considered environment, across the diverse living spaces, you feel a deep connection to the distinct voices, crafts, and narratives that have come together under a singular vision.
Location
In the Heart of the Delta
Resting on the western edge of the Moremi Game Reserve, overlooking the verdant floodplains of the Okavango Delta, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Xigera has the gift of offering remarkable experiences both on land and on the water.
Key sites/activities in the area
Nature: In Rhythm with the Wild
Set within a private 4,500-hectare concession, the surrounding area offers an abundance of wildlife, both on land and water. What guests witness is extraordinary. Leopards who’ve claimed the islands as home. A rare pride of tree-climbing lions moving through the floodplains. Cheetah prowling the open spaces, buffalo gathering in the shadows of wild dog. Red lechwe leaping through channels, as hippos and crocodiles linger in the shallows. Above, Pel’s Fishing Owls watch from the canopy, their calls echoing the night.
Fun Facts
Where the Wild Becomes Personal
Named after the Pied Kingfisher, a sociable bird that makes its home here, Xigera (pronounced kee-jera), is representative of a coming together – a place where souls are touched. From the lodge’s
inception, the Tollman family championed a spirit of authentic creative collaboration, which has infused every aspect of its making.
Children’s Corner
Xigera Welcomes Young Explorers 6 years and older.
Xigera offers wonderful value and hospitality to all children (6+years and older) who accompany their parents during their stay. Complimentary touches for Xigera ‘young explorers’ include the following:
Welcome drink:
Mocktail or Xigera iced tea
Arrival gift:
Xigera backpack with activity book, pencils, eraser, and sharpener
Turndown gift:
African fable book, Xigera cap, turndown treat
Children’s guides activities:
Xigera guides will tailor guiding experiences when children are present, with each young explorer receiving a guidebook to equip them for an exciting bush experience! Activities include: game drives in a private vehicle, fishing (seasonal), mokoro, boating (seasonal), walking safari (seasonal, over 12s only), exploring mini beasts & insects around the lodge (for little ones), night walks around the lodge
Other activities/amenities:
Beading and basket weaving with our housekeeping ladies Family sleepouts at the Baobab Treehouse Stargazing with a telescope and laser pointer Football with the Xigera team Kids’ mocktail classes Kids’ kitchen master classes: chocolate work, bread baking, pizza making, ice cream making, cookie baking, cake decorating, cooking classes (e.g. pasta making) S’mores and hot chocolate around the fire on the star deck Water paint kits in every suite Young Explorers’ menu Swimming pool Animal documentaries Boardgames (Scrabble, Monopoly, Pictionary, Backgammon, Chess, Uno, 30 Seconds, Rummikub) Fully air-conned suites
For an additional charge, young explorers may enjoy the following experiences:
Natures masterpiece, Your Immersion
The Baobab Treehouse offers a truly immersive discovery of the Okavango Delta, situated one kilometre away from the lodge, with a guide stationed close by, guests stay 10m above the floodplain. Here, amid the seclusion of this sculptural treehouse and under the milky way, guests will experience Africa at its most raw, and most remarkable.
HOTEL FEATURES
Accommodation
• Number of suites: 12
The Suites: Where Art, Wilderness & You Meet
Xigera’s boasts 12 expansive and individually designed guest suites that span 190m²+ of indoor of outdoor living; plus one family suite of 250 m². Each takes full advantage of the remarkable location, cocooned by the boughs of indigenous forests and gazing out over seasonal floodplains filled with wildlife.
Spread across two islands to retain the aura of wilderness, and ensure privacy and peacefulness for guests, each suite sits on raised stilts, allowing both wildlife and the life-giving waters of the Okavango to pass beneath.
Guests will revel in a perfect medley of materials, textures and colours. Within each suite, design exists cohesively in a jewel-like layering of materials and texture including timber, bronze and hand-carved wood. Individually, each suite is remarkable. Each includes a private deck, gazebo & daybed overlooking the Delta; Indoor & outdoor showers and freestanding bathtub with open views.
Restaurants & Bars
Tastes of The Delta
Executive Chef Ziyaad Brown present unparalleled all day, all-inclusive dining offering. Food at Xigera is more than flavour, it’s connection to land, season, and culture. Over 90% of ingredients are sourced within 100 kilometres: hydroponic greens from Maun, hormone-free poultry from small farms, quail eggs and wild herbs from women-led cooperatives. Grass-fed beef is aged in-house; seafood arrives only from sustainable, seasonal fisheries.
Wellness
More than a Journey. A return to self.
At Xigera, both the land and the self are sacred. In a world saturated with distraction, this is where clarity returns and awe takes root.
The award-winning spa, built from timber and light, blends Tata Harper’s botanical skincare with indigenous plant wisdom. Yoga unfolds on open-air decks; guided meditation follows the rhythms of birdsong. For movement, retreat to the sunlit, air-conditioned Technogym or swim in a pool framed by wilderness.
Corporate & Celebration Events
Executive and Incentive Stays: Where Leaders Disconnect to Reconnect
A unique environment designed for clarity, connection and decisive leadership. Xigera offers flexible indoor and outdoor spaces coupled with world leading shared experiences to build team unity fast, perfect for Board & EXCO sessions, strategy offsites, leadership summits, and innovation and culture resets.
Extra Notable Features
Sustainability: Light on the Land. Deep In Commitment.
Sustainability here isn’t a feature, it’s a foundation. The lodge runs on 92% solar power. Hot water is heated by thermodynamic geysers. Drinking water is purified through reverse osmosis and remineralised. Single-use plastics are eliminated.
Organic waste nourishes gardens in the nearby Habu Village, where Xigera also supports education, sustainable farming, clean energy, and skills training.
With Botswana-based NGO Wild Entrust, Xigera monitors predators, tracks leopards and wild dogs, supports giraffe hybridisation research, endangered bird conservation, and anti-poaching initiatives.
Every stay strengthens the Delta’s future in protecting what it can’t protect itself.
Hotel and restaurant Awards
• Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards – 2nd Best Resort in the Rest of Africa – 2025
• Experientialist Awards by OutThere Magazine – The Adventurer award – 2025
• World Spa Awards – Botswana’s Best Safari Spa – 2025 & 2024
• CondéAfrica – 2024
• Condé Nast Traveller Readers’ Choice Awards – 9th Best Resort in the Rest of Africa – 2024
• Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards – Red Carnation Hotels voted 4th Best Hotel Brand in the World – 2024
• Richard Bangs Best Hotels in the World – Named one of the Best Hotels in the World – 2024
• Haute Grandeur Global Spa Awards – Best Spa Getaway in Africa – 2024
• Haute Grandeur Global Spa Awards – Best Spa Destination in Botswana – 2024
• The Luxury Spa Edit Awards – Best Spa Retreat’ Africa – 2024
• Andrew Harper Member’s Choice Award – Top 10 Safari Lodges – 2024
• World Spa Awards | Botswana’s Best Safari Spa – 2023
• World Travel Awards | Botswana’s Leading Safari Lodge – 2023
• Les Nouvelles Esthétiques | Best Safari Spa in Africa – 2022
• World Spa Awards | Botswana’s Best Safari Spa – 2022 & 2021
• Les Nouvelles Esthétiques | Best Safari Spa in Africa – 2022
• The Good Web Guide | Winner in the ‘Travel’ category – 2021
• Skift IDEA Awards | Winner for Sustainability – 2021
• Elite Traveller Awards | Top 100 Suites – 2021
Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards – 6th Best Resort in the Rest of
Number of employees
At Xigera, people are at the heart of everything we do. The Xigera Citizen Employee Trust is a pioneering initiative that afforded 16% of the lodge being owned by its local Botswanan team members, allowing them to directly share in its success. The lodge employs a permanent team of over 120, supporting more than 1,000 people through extended families. Salaries exceed industry standards, complemented by pension contributions, medical aid, and individual en-suite staff housing of the highest standard in the region.