Staff Writer
Onduli Ridge, the desert lodge operated by local tourism and conservation company ultimate.earth, has been named among the 50 most incredible hotels in the world for 2027 by Fodor’s Travel, one of the travel industry’s most established and respected editorial authorities.
The recognition places Onduli Ridge in an exceptionally select group of just 50 hotels worldwide.
The safari lodge set within one of the country’s most spectacular desert landscapes, the accolade represents a significant international endorsement of its distinctive approach to luxury hospitality and Namibia’s growing reputation as a destination for world-class travel experiences.
For its 2027 edition, Fodor’s has narrowed its selection from 100 properties in previous editions to just 50 hotels around the world.
The resulting collection celebrates properties that offer something genuinely exceptional, rather than attempting to reduce vastly different hospitality experiences to a numerical ranking.
Set among dramatic granite boulders in Namibia’s rugged desert landscape, Onduli Ridge offers an intimate encounter with one of the planet’s most distinctive natural environments.
Tristan Cowley, managing director of ultimate.earth, said:
“Being recognised by Fodor’s among just 50 of the most incredible hotels in the world is an extraordinary honour, and one that we are immensely proud of. What makes this particularly meaningful is the credibility of the selection. This is not something you can buy or achieve simply by having the biggest marketing budget. It is an independent editorial recognition of the experience a property delivers and what makes it genuinely special.”
In 2024, Onduli Ridge received the Richard Bangs Best Hotels in the World Award, adding to its international profile among outstanding hospitality experiences.
The accolade followed its success at the 2023 PURE Awards, where Onduli Ridge won the Award for Creativity, recognising the lodge’s distinctive design and its approach to sustainability and conservation.
“We are incredibly proud of what this means for Onduli Ridge, but we also see it as a win for Namibia,” said Cowley. “We are a relatively small country competing on a global stage, and we don’t have the marketing budgets of many of the world’s better-known destinations. When a property in Namibia receives recognition of this calibre, it gives the country visibility and credibility that would be difficult and expensive to achieve through marketing alone.”
He said high-value, nature-based tourism has the potential to create lasting benefits when developed responsibly.
He added that it can generate employment, support local enterprises, contribute to conservation efforts, and create economic opportunities in places where alternative livelihoods may be limited.
