Institutional depth, held across a small number of irreplaceable positions.
Belmond's place in the SafariSeven® collection rests on a quality most operators cannot claim: institutional depth across properties that occupy irreplaceable historical and ecological positions. The Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town has operated since 1899. Belmond's two operating Botswana lodges occupy ecological positions in Chobe and the Okavango Delta chosen for wildlife significance. What Belmond offers, and what SafariSeven® values in them, is historical access and operational excellence in a small number of locations where that combination genuinely matters. Belmond is a global luxury group, and we present it as such — honestly framed.
The Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town has operated since 1899 — one of fewer than a dozen hotels on the African continent with more than a century of continuous history, set in gardens at the foot of Table Mountain where it has served as the arrival point for generations of extraordinary travellers to Southern Africa.
The Mount Nelson was built to receive passengers arriving by ship from Europe and to serve as their first experience of Southern Africa. That founding purpose still shapes the hotel's character: the pink façade, the landscaped gardens, the service culture that carries the weight of 125 years of institutional knowledge. To stay at the Mount Nelson before or after a Botswana safari is not simply convenient. It is to use a property that understands its role as a gateway, and has been refining that role for over a century. Belmond acquired the hotel in 1988 (then trading as Orient-Express Hotels), and it became part of the LVMH portfolio in 2019 — but the building, the gardens, and the institutional memory predate both.
Belmond is part of the LVMH group and its hospitality standard is global in scope and consistency. In Africa, that means service trained to an international luxury standard, logistical precision, and properties maintained at a level that few African-based operators can match independently. What Belmond does not claim — and what SafariSeven® does not attribute to them — is conservation leadership of the order Singita or Wilderness provide. Their contribution to the ecosystems they operate in is real, but differently proportioned. A SafariSeven® Travel Designer will place Belmond within a wider Southern African itinerary and advise on the sequence that suits your timing.
"The case for Belmond is historic access, operational excellence, and exceptional wildlife positions in a small number of irreplaceable locations."
Belmond's two operating Botswana lodges — Savute Elephant Lodge in Chobe National Park and Eagle Island Lodge in the Okavango Delta — occupy ecological positions selected for wildlife significance, not infrastructure proximity. Each sits within one of Southern Africa's most important wildlife ecosystems. (Belmond's third Botswana lodge, Khwai River Lodge in the Moremi area, closed in 2023 when its land lease was not renewed.)
Savute Elephant Lodge sits in the Savute Channel region of Chobe — an area known for the largest elephant population in Africa and for exceptional predator density in the dry season, when game concentrates around the channel. Eagle Island Lodge is built on an island in the Okavango Delta, surrounded by papyrus channels and permanent water, offering mokoro and boat-based safari in a landscape that has no road equivalent.
Belmond operates three properties in Africa: the Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town, Savute Elephant Lodge in Chobe National Park, and Eagle Island Lodge in the Okavango Delta. Each occupies a specific position — historical in Cape Town, ecological in Botswana — and together they form a coherent Southern Africa itinerary from city arrival to wilderness immersion.
Open since 1899 — the historical anchor of Belmond's Africa portfolio, at the foot of Table Mountain.
Explore South Africa →The Savute Channel — Africa's largest elephant population and exceptional dry-season predator density.
Explore Botswana →An island lodge in papyrus channels — mokoro, motorboat, and exceptional Delta birdlife.
Explore Botswana →Belmond operates three properties in Africa: the Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town (open since 1899, set at the foot of Table Mountain), Savute Elephant Lodge in Chobe National Park, and Eagle Island Lodge in the Okavango Delta. Each occupies a specific position — historical in Cape Town, ecological in Botswana — and together they form a coherent Southern Africa itinerary from city arrival to wilderness immersion. Belmond's former Moremi property, Khwai River Lodge, closed in 2023.
The Mount Nelson Hotel has operated continuously since 1899, making it one of fewer than a dozen hotels on the African continent with a century or more of unbroken history. Built to receive passengers arriving by sea from Europe, it served as Southern Africa's most significant arrival hotel for generations of travellers. Set in landscaped gardens at the foot of Table Mountain, it now forms the Cape Town anchor for Belmond's Africa portfolio. The institutional knowledge embedded in its service culture is the product of 125 years of hosting extraordinary guests.
Eagle Island Lodge is Belmond's Okavango Delta property and the most distinctive of the three Botswana lodges. Built on an island surrounded by channels and papyrus beds, it offers a water-based safari experience — mokoro canoe, motorboat, guided walks on dry islands — that is different in character from a game-drive safari. The Delta's birdlife here is exceptional, and the water-based access means no roads, no dust, and an intimacy with the waterscape that is among the most distinct experiences in Southern African travel.
Belmond is a global luxury hospitality group, and it is important to frame it accurately. Its properties operate in ecosystems of high conservation significance — Chobe, the Okavango, Moremi — and Belmond participates in responsible tourism practices and local community support. However, its conservation role is not of the same order as Singita, Wilderness, or African Bush Camps, all of whom have founded independent conservation organisations with verifiable outcomes. Belmond's value proposition is institutional luxury excellence and exceptional wildlife positions. That is the case SafariSeven® makes for them.
Speak with a SafariSeven® Travel Designer to shape a private safari around Belmond, matched to your season, your pace, and the experience you are seeking.
