Great Escapes // Africa

From the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean, the vast Sahara to the Cape Verde archipelago, Africa offers a lifetime of travel adventures. Whether you’re a wide-eyed newcomer or an ever-returning visitor, the continent promises 54 extraordinarily diverse countries, urban creative hubs, pristine night skies and wildlife, as well as a momentous sense of our human past.

In this visual journey through Africa, we discover glimpses of postcard-ready landscapes, rich culture, and incredible interiors, all spied through the doorways and windows of the continent’s most stunning hotels. Angelika Taschen takes us to hidden gems across Mozambique, South Africa, and Ethiopia; from a Tanzanian coffee plantation, where guests can enjoy the ultimate Arabica brew in breathtaking surroundings; the iconic Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town, painted pink at the end of the First World War and host to many meditators since; to the moving Serengeti Safari Camp, boasting of just a handful of tents that follow the migrations of wildlife all year round.

In this updated guide, we discover each hotel through crisp photography as well as key information including directions, contact details, and recommended reading for each destination.

The editor
Angelika Taschen studied art history and German literature in Heidelberg, gaining her doctorate in 1986. Working for TASCHEN from 1987, she has published numerous titles on art, architecture, photography, design, travel, and lifestyle.

Texts by
Shelley-Maree Cassidy is a writer and marketing specialist who has written two books on hotels around the world and has contributed travel articles to magazines and journals. Her particular interest in hotels stems from her family background - as her great-grandparents owned several of the first hotels in New Zealand, where she lives.

Christiane Reiter is a freelance author based in Brussels. She studied journalism at the University of Eichstätt and worked as a travel editor for Ringier Publishing in Munich and Zurich. Later, she established the travel section of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.