Location
Entebbe, Uganda

Designed to evoke a pastel-toned Italian hillside village complete with campanile, glittering mosaics, rustically arched pool terrace and shaded colonnades, the Lake Victoria Serena Golf Resort & Spa stands on a gentle hill above its own private lakewide marina. Treat yourself to refined elegance at the beginning or end of your safari, amid the rose gardens and cascading waterfalls that surround this classic Roman-style villa. The hotel's 124 air-conditioned guest rooms are housed in Tuscan-style villas. Decorated in shades of terra cotta and cream, they have private balconies to enjoy peaceful views of Lake Victoria. Rooms have one queen-size or two twin beds, a spacious seating area, work space with Wi-Fi and direct-dial phone, private safe, and a lavish marble bathroom with walk-in shower, befitting a Roman palace. The swimming pool is equally dramatic, with sweeping views of the lake as well as the Lweza Hills beneath white arches. The Maisha Mind-Body-Spirit Spa offers solace for weary travelers, while cafés and cocktail terraces encircle the central citadel, which is open all day long for dining. 

The resort works with a wide range of local farms and growers, using organic produce in its restaurants wherever possible and ensuring support to the local community. All menus offer local specialities and full vegetarian options. The grounds and water gardens showcase a unique collection of indigenous plants and butterflies and provide a valuable eco-space for both resident and migratory birds. The gift shop promotes a wide range of items made by local community groups; dance troupes are sourced from the local community; and staff uniforms reflect traditional Ugandan dress. In terms of its own ecological ‘foot print', the resort abides by a code of responsible practice in relation to energy conservation (inverter systems have recently been installed to reduce the hotel's use of diesel-fueled generators), waste recycling (glass, plastics, "wet waste" and the distribution of food waste to local pig farmers), sewage disposal, air emissions, non-CFC use, pesticide use, noise reduction and visual pollution.