Eden Lodge offers the best of Madagascar in one location: exotic wildlife, excellent snorkelling and a deserted sandy beach with magnificent baobabs. Standing under traditional Malagasy thatched roofs, eight stylish safari-style tents are spread out along a beach on Madagascar’s north coast, close to Nosy Be, but removed from its hubbub.
Accommodation
The rooms are well finished with four-poster beds and en suite bathrooms with flushing toilets and hot-water showers. Each room has both a beach-front verandah, from which you can observe dolphins and the seasonal whale migration, and a terrace overlooking the gardens, to provide privacy for a massage or beauty treatment. The lodge has six double and two twin rooms.
Food
The quality of the cuisine is superb, especially considering the hotels remote location. Breakfasts are taken from the buffet, whilst lunch and dinner are a la carte. You usually have a choice from 2 starters, main courses and deserts and the menu rotates every 2 weeks, so you’ll rarely have the same dish twice. The emphasis is often on sea food but there is also an abundance of meats and the hotel caters very well for vegetarians.
Activities & Facilities
Electricity is provided by solar panels and available round the clock. A mini-bar, safe and private massage table are among the facilities. There is one small generator to power the kitchen and laundry, but otherwise the lodge prides itself on being the first solar-powered luxury hotel in Madagascar.
There is a small activity centre on the beach with kayaks and a hobie-cat – non-motorised activities in keeping with the green ethos of Eden Lodge. Swimming is easy as the beach shelves very gradually and the sand is soft underfoot – no sea urchins in sight. However snorkelling along this coastline is rewarding and healthy coral can be found less than 100 metres offshore. Turtles are still seen most mornings in the sea grass outside the lodge. Divers have easy access to the dive centres on Nosy Be and arrangements can be made through reception. The lodge also offers excursions to nearby Nosy Komba to see the black lemurs and to visit the other islands and beaches of the Nosy Be archipelago.
A number of lemur species inhabit the forest behind the lodge and guided walks (both day and night) into the forest are a main attraction of staying at Eden Lodge. The lemurs can often be seen in the trees around the restaurant and rooms, especially in the afternoon.
Access
Access to the lodge is by boat from Nosy Be or Ankify (about 45 minutes dependent on weather conditions).