A curated collection of Africa's boutique hotels.
Jacaranda exists because the best places to stay across the continent are also the hardest to find. They are small, independent and rarely marketed well, a converted house in Nairobi, a riad behind an unmarked door in Marrakech, eight rooms on a coastal lane in Ghana. We are gathering them into one collection, with the writing and photography they deserve.
We are early. Right now we are selecting the founding houses and building the Jacaranda Club, our membership for travellers. Booking opens when the first hotels go live.
Small and independent
Founder or family-owned houses, usually under forty rooms. No chains, no templates, the design has a point of view because someone had to make every decision themselves.
Chosen in person
We visit before we list. Photographs are easy; the walk from the door to the room, the breakfast, the way the staff handle a late arrival, those are the things we go to see.
A real sense of place
A hotel should tell you where you are. We look for architecture, food and hospitality rooted in the city, coast or country it sits in, not imported wholesale from elsewhere.
Fair to the hotel
Hotels keep their rates, their inventory and their guest relationship. Listing is free, presentation is editorial, and nobody pays to rank higher.