Best Western Premier Garden Hotel Entebbe holds fifty-one rooms in the centre of town, set on Berkely Road beside the Victoria Shopping Mall. It is built for the practical first or last night of a Ugandan trip. A few minutes from Entebbe International Airport on the Kampala road, it sits close enough to arrive late and leave early without a long transfer at either end of a journey.
It is built for the practical first or last night of a Ugandan trip
The Entebbe Botanical Garden lies near the hotel, its lakeside stands of forest holding black-and-white colobus and vervet monkeys among a long list of resident and migrant birds. Lake Victoria is nearby, and both the Entebbe Golf Club and the Uganda Wildlife Conservation Education Centre are within walking distance. This is a working city rather than the bush, with the garden supplying the greenery.
Days here tend to bracket the wilder parts of a Uganda safari. Guests fly in for gorilla trekking in Bwindi or chimpanzee tracking in Kibale, and pass through Entebbe at either end. The hotel is where they reset before onward flights or the long road west. The rooms are soundproofed, an asset in a place this central, and the breakfast buffet runs with fresh fruit and freshly squeezed juice.
Days here tend to bracket the wilder parts of a Uganda safari
Beyond the airport run, the surroundings reward a spare afternoon. Mabamba Wetland, west across the lake, holds shoebill storks among the papyrus, and Ngamba Island shelters rescued chimpanzees within reach by boat. The Botanical Garden and golf club sit close by. For most guests, the hotel earns its place through convenience, with shops, restaurants and the terminal all close at hand.
The garden setting does more for the atmosphere than any single feature. An outdoor pool and landscaped courtyards give the hotel a calmer feel than its central position suggests, and the Jacaranda Restaurant serves international and Ugandan dishes through the day. There is a terrace bar for drinks and a coffee bar that runs around the clock. Fresh juice, fruit and prepared breakfast are a regular feature of a stay here, and the kitchen keeps a children’s menu for the families passing through.
Rooms run from Deluxe through Executive to Junior Suites and larger suites, several with private balconies over the garden or pool. The interiors are contemporary and uncluttered, with air conditioning, soundproofing and premium bedding throughout. It is the balcony rooms facing the greenery that are worth requesting. The morning light catches the garden below, where the monkeys move through the trees while breakfast is still being laid.
The morning light catches the garden below, where the monkeys move through the trees
The facilities lean towards the full-service end. There is a sauna and steam room, a billiards room and games area, and a children’s pool and playground that make the hotel workable for families. Conference space takes in business and events custom, giving the place a mixed rhythm of safari guests, corporate visitors and travellers in transit. Its link to the Victoria Shopping Mall puts shops, cafes and errands under the same roof, useful for last-minute supplies before heading into the field.
What the hotel offers is a smooth transition into and out of Uganda rather than a wildlife experience of its own, and it knows exactly what it is for. The staff are practised at the arrival-and-departure rhythm, handling early starts and late arrivals without fuss, and the location keeps the airport, the lake and the Botanical Garden all within easy reach. It serves as a considered base for the first and last nights of a trip built around the forests and savannahs further afield.
accommodation
51 rooms across Deluxe, Executive, Junior Suite and larger suite categories, with queen, twin or king configurations. All are air-conditioned, soundproofed and fitted with premium bedding, minibar, safe, flat-screen TV and free Wi-Fi. Several have private balconies over the garden or pool.
activities
On site: an outdoor pool, sauna, steam room and games room. Nearby, within walking distance, are the Entebbe Botanical Garden, Entebbe Golf Club and the Uganda Wildlife Conservation Education Centre. Boat trips to Mabamba Wetland for shoebills and Ngamba Island for chimpanzees can be arranged.
conservation
No conservation projects or community partnerships run directly by the hotel appear in available records. Its connection to local wildlife efforts is indirect, through proximity to the Uganda Wildlife Conservation Education Centre and boat trips to the Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary on Lake Victoria.
Get in touch and let’s start the conversation. An initial consultation helps us understand what you’re looking for, whether that’s specific experiences, luxury touches, or marking a special occasion, and from there we’ll guide you through what’s possible so you can decide if we’re the right fit.
By road, and it is one of the shortest transfers in Uganda. The hotel stands on the Entebbe to Kampala road a little over seven kilometres from Entebbe International Airport, a drive of ten to fifteen minutes, and we arrange it so a driver is waiting whenever your flight lands. There is no light-aircraft leg to reach the hotel and no baggage limit on the drive, so hard suitcases are no problem on this part of the journey.
The same short run works in reverse on departure day, which is the point of staying here: however early the flight, the terminal is minutes away rather than hours.
Yes, this is exactly what the hotel is for. The scheduled light aircraft to Kihihi and Kisoro, the airstrips serving the gorillas of Bwindi Impenetrable, leave Entebbe from seven in the morning, and with the terminal a few minutes away by road the early start is a mild one. We book the flights, time the transfer and have you at check-in with room to spare.
Pack for the light aircraft before you leave home: the scheduled services take soft bags only, fifteen kilograms per person. If the timetable does not suit the shape of your trip, we can arrange a private charter to the same airstrips, typically a Cessna Caravan or Pilatus PC-12.
Yes. The whole of Uganda carries a high risk of malaria throughout the year, and Entebbe, warm and low on the shore of Lake Victoria, is included, so a town stay is not a break from precautions. Both the UK's official travel health advice and the CDC recommend antimalarial tablets for travel anywhere in the country, the cities included.
Guidance is reviewed regularly, so confirm the current position with a travel clinic or your doctor before you travel, and keep up the simple defences after dark: repellent, and long sleeves and trousers once the light goes.
Yes. Stays are bed and breakfast, with the buffet included in the rate, so the first meal after a night flight and the last one before a dawn departure are already taken care of. Lunch and dinner are ordered from the menu and settled as you go, which suits the way most guests use the hotel, arriving late and leaving early with a spare afternoon at most, and we will tell you honestly whether that spare afternoon is better spent by the pool or out on the lake.
Yes, and for families it is often the easiest night of a Uganda itinerary. Cots are available for the youngest, and babysitting can be arranged for an additional charge, useful when parents want a quiet dinner after the long flight in. Tell us the ages when we plan and we will set the rooms up to match.
One planning note for families heading on to the gorillas: trekking permits carry a minimum age of 15, so if younger children are travelling we shape the rest of the safari around activities without age limits, and we will be straight with you about what fits now and what is worth saving for a return trip.
Yes, wifi is free and covers the whole property, the public areas as well as the rooms. Mobile coverage in Entebbe on Uganda's main networks, MTN and Airtel, is strong too, so this is the stop for backing up photographs, downloading maps and making the calls home before the lodges further west, where the signal thins with every hour on the road.
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our approach
Every journey starts with a conversation. We take the time to understand your vision before we start planning.
Whether by phone or in person, we work with you directly to shape something that is considered, personal, and expertly delivered.
