August 24, 2015
Expansive sea views, live music, art galleries and global dining, the top hotels in Lagos offer more than just a place to rest your head. Whether you’re visiting for work, rest or play, we’ve selected the city’s top hotels to help you decide where to stay in Lagos.
Eko Hotels & Suites is situated in the heart of Victoria Island. One of West Africa’s most prestigious accommodation choices, it’s actually four hotels rolled into one – which explains the 825 room count. Eko Signature, Eko Suites, Eko Hotel and Eko Gardens are the four hotels that are located here, with most offering exquisite choices of sea and city views. The venue’s eight restaurants include the recently opened Red Chinese Restaurant & Lounge, while the Crossroads Tex- Mex, which features a tapas bar, is set to open towards the end of 2015. There’s a 7,000-seater conference room, a state of the art health and fitness centre and the in-house Art Twenty One contemporary art space, all of which provide so much in the way of things to do, you could almost opt to stay within the Eko environment for the whole of your Lagos stay.
The Pacific Coast comes to Lagos – or at least that’s what a stay at Clear Essence in Ikoyi feels like. A boutique hotel, it’s well known for being one of Lagos’s most serene, contemplative and pretty rare garden areas. Inside, mind, body and soul are the main concerns. Eighteen rooms, a Vineyard Fine Dining Restaurant, Hollywood Lounge Bar, a 200-seater event hall and a spa area are on offer for visitors seeking a quiet, high-end Nigerian experience.
The central casino area at Victoria Island’s luxurious Federal Palace Hotel contains a unique history. Once the hotel boardroom, in which the country’s 1960 Declaration of Independence was signed, it’s now a setting for high rollers who can incorporate Blackjack, Poker and Roulette into their Lagos experience. Many of the hotel’s 150 rooms overlook the Atlantic Ocean, and there’s also a member’s Pool Club featuring a mini water world, two tennis courts, an 18-hole golf course, outdoor exercise circuit and an Olympic-sized pool.
Wondering where to stay in Lagos for an authentic taste of city life? Bogobiri House is a consistent Lagos favourite, and regularly draws in locals as well as visitors. Inside, the décor and vibe draws in an eclectic crowd who come to soak up some live music and dine in the Bamboo Bar, where standard or African-style breakfasts (with yam or plantain options) are available, as well as spicy meat, fish or vegetarian meals for lunch or dinner. A boutique accommodation venue with sixteen rooms, Bogobiri is also home to the Nimbus Gallery, which displays and sells African art and sculpture. Regular events include open mic nights, film festivals and a lively selection of DJs and musicians.
Despite its relaxed ambiance in the midst of upscale Ikoyi, The Wheatbaker has become a destination for high-powered business meetings, local hangouts and restorative retreats”¦for locals as well as visitors. With 65 rooms to choose from as well as a spa centre, outdoor pool and buzzing restaurant and bar areas, there’s plenty to keep you occupied at this beautiful boutique property. The rooms facing the pool offer the best views, but those facing away from it are significantly quieter.
Virgin Atlantic operates daily direct flights to Lagos from London Heathrow. Book your trip today and experience some of these top Lagos hotels.
Have you stayed at any of these Lagos hotels? Which hotels would you recommend to visitors wondering where to stay in Lagos? Let us know in the comments section below.
Written by Nana Ocran
Nana Ocran is a London-based writer and editor specialising in contemporary African culture. She was Editor-in-Chief for the Time Out Group’s series of guides to Lagos and Abuja and has consulted on and established publications on West African culture for the Danish Film Institute, the Arts Council England and the Institute of International Visual Arts. She was a nominee for CNN’s African Journalist of the Year (2011), and curatorial advisor for the Afrofuture programme at La Rinascente during Milan Design Week 2013. Nana is a regular features writer for Arik Airline’s in flight magazine, Wings, in which she writes about art, lifestyle, innovation and enterprise issues relating to Arik’s African, European and US destinations. She has been a jury member for Film Africa (London) and the Festival del Cinema Africano, d'Asia e America Latina (Milan).
