FOREWORD
EXPANDING OPERATIONS IN EAST AFRICA Welcome to the latest edition of Reflections – the in-room and corporate magazine of the Mada Group. Mada Hotels is one of the largest hotel groups in East Africa with properties in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. These comprise a mix of hotels, beach resorts and safari camps. Also part of the group is Adventures Aloft – the region’s largest hot-air balloon operator with bases in both Kenya and Tanzania. For almost everyone in the region’s tourism and hospitality sector the last two years have been difficult due to the Covid-19 pandemic. I can confirm that Mada made every effort to keep our guests and staff safe during this period. We made a top priority of vaccinating all our staff as quickly as possible and ensured that strict protocols were observed at all our properties. International and local travel restrictions naturally meant a drop in guest numbers, but Mada’s main aim during the pandemic was to keep all its staff (who are behind Mada’s success) on board and I am delighted to say that by the turn of 2022, over 90% of all our employees were back at work. During the pandemic we also sought to support the communities within the areas we operate. Many of these heavily rely on tourism for their livelihoods. During a period when Covid-19 was at its height, Mada extended a welcome helping hand to these communities. At the same time, we maintained all our properties to a high standard. In fact, we made significant improvements to all, which our clients are now able to enjoy. We are extremely proud that during the pandemic, HE Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Tibuhaburwa opened our new Kampala Nile Resort (this is our cover story, please turn to page 48). The Kampala Nile Resort is our second Ugandan property, after Jinja Nile Resort, and is in the fast-expanding Namanve Business Park.
Elsewhere in Tanzania, Adventures Aloft is operating from bases in the central Serengeti and in the Ngorongoro Conservancy Areas. Following our success in Tarangire with our original Balloon Camp we are now looking at opportunities in the northern Serengeti, offering the public a similar kind of operation. Protecting our environment and working in harmony with local communities has always been part of the Mada Hotels ethos and so this issue of Reflections contains some interesting features on making our environment a cleaner place and how conservation and local schooling can successfully work together. Like so many things, the Internet has changed how we now book our holidays, but, in the end, hospitality is still very much a people industry and we take great pride in the members of our Mada Hotels team, who are the pillars of our success. The Tick Behind the Tock feature represents just some of the Mada Hotels family and the people behind our product. Location, location, location were Howard Johnson’s three most important factors when considering a new property. At Mada Hotels, our locations are one of our key selling points, allowing guests to have the best experience wherever they choose to stay. In the Room with a View feature, we share with you some of the spectacular vistas from guestrooms at our hotels, camps and resorts to give you a better feel of what Mada really has to offer. In addition, our executive chef Somesh has included one of his signature dishes in this issue with an easy-to-follow recipe (page 70). Do try it and enjoy! Thank you to our guests and agents who have always supported us and we look forward to offering the very best of the Mada Hotels hospitality.
A further addition to our property portfolio is in the pipeline as Mada Hotels is also busy with the completion of the Zanzibar Resort, which we expect to open in 2023.
Tinu Mhajan Chief Executive Mada Group
MADAHOTELS.COM
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