Hilton Garden Inn Eswatini (Swaziland)
The Hilton Garden Inn Eswatini is a newly opened hotel, 2019, in the heart of the Mbabane Central Business District and the first Hilton property in Eswatini. The hotel is situated on a hill to the south of the city centre and its unique architecture ” the ship out of the ocean” makes it an unmissable presence in the city of Mbabane.
On arrival at the hotel, it was clear that this hotel has become one of the favourite hotels for business meetings and diplomats. The parking area was full but it was nice to see parking reserved for Diamond Hilton Honors Members. Walking into the modern lobby we were warmly greeted by Stanley who checked us in quickly and efficiently.
It was very evident that the Hilton Garden Inn Eswatini pays a lot of attention to COVID-19 protocols with sanitiser dispensers every were including the elevators. The Hilton Garden Inn has WTTC #SafeTravels accreditation and masks must be worn in all public spaces.
The public areas on the ground floor of the hotel include the large restaurant area that was busy, a modern bar area, a number of guest computers that you can print out PCR tests and boarding passes and various conferencing facilities. Everything is modern, shiny and clean and exactly what you would expect to find in any Hilton globally.
Two glass elevators accessed via your key card takes guests to their respective floors. The hotel has 8 floors with the higher floors over looking the pool area and the city of Mbabane and the surrounding mountains. The hotel offers 124 rooms in 3 categories, king room, deluxe king room, and the stunning one bedroom king suite in which we stayed.
Our room number 706 was a large suite, offering stunning views over the city of Mbabane. Being right in the city, I was worried about possible noise but all the rooms in the hotel offer excellent soundproofing. None of the outside noise intrudes into the room. The room offers electric blinds that I could never figure out how to work properly so it was hard to truly appreciate the rooms views entirely.
The suite offered a separate lounge and seating area with an interconnecting door that could make the suite even larger, perfect for large families. The furniture was modern and clean with a nice flat screen tv, my favourite, a Nespresso style coffee machine and tea making facilities.
The bedroom had a very comfortable king size bed that you could relax in and look out over the city and mountains that surround the hotel. I had a fabulous nights sleep in room 706. The bed linen and layout is exactly the same as any Hilton Garden Inn internationally.
The bathroom has a nice large walk in shower, there is no bath and a single vanity with very nice Crabtree & Evelyn amenities. The shower had great water pressure and it was hard to drag myself out of the shower.
Room facilities at the Hilton Garden Inn Eswatini
- Airconditioning
- Ironing facilities
- Safety deposit box
- Fridge
- Coffee/Tea making facilities
- Soundproofing
- Child safety socket
- Telephone/ Tv
- Free WiFi
- Hairdryer
- Hand sanitiser
- Crabtree & Evelyn amenities
- Non smoking room
- The hotel has a state of the art gym for hotel guests only
In room dining at the Hilton Garden Inn Eswatini
After a very busy day out in Eswatini, in room dining was the easiest option. Ordering was quick and easy with the order repeated a number of times. This is the only part of the stay at the Hilton Garden Inn Eswatini that did not go well and needs some attention.
The food arrived nice and quickly but the order was incorrect. Being hungry and tired, it was decided to just go ahead with what was delivered. The hotel staff did make contact and offered to make a new correct order. The other issues included the pepper shaker being empty, no pepper and the salt shaker was empty with no stop at the bottom. A simple lack of attention to detail when presenting an in room dining meal. The other rather strange request from the server was that we only tip in cash and not add tips to the bill. The food that we ate was very good.
Breakfast at the Hilton Garden Inn Eswatini was excellent. The restaurant offers both a buffet style American breakfast and a made to order option including omelettes. Pancakes were unfortunately not available due to lack of ingredients. The flow of coffee was abundant and there are also juices on offer. The breakfast area was very popular, with local Swazi business people and NGO’s using it as a meeting place. The hotel offers the best breakfast option in Eswatini and the breakfast area is also part of the all day dining area.
Overall , the Hilton Garden Inn Eswatini is an excellent choice if you are either working or visiting Eswatini purely for vacation. It is a clean modern well run hotel with friendly staff and all the amenities you can expect from the Hilton brand. The hotel is situated in the Mbabane Central Business District. You are within walking distance of two malls, all major banks, the open air Swazi market and the government hospital. The Hilton Garden Inn Eswatini is a 40 minute drive from the South African Oshoek border.
Hilton Garden Inn Eswatini Quick Facts
- Hotel Address – Plot 934 and 935 Mhlambanyatsi Road, Mbabane H100 Eswatini
- Tel: +268 2409 2200
- Reservations – [email protected]
- Total number of guest rooms – 124
- Meeting rooms – 8
- Parking – safe secure parking at E40.00 a night.
10 Must Visit Tourist Attractions In Eswatini
- Hiking, Eswatini offers incredible hiking trails. Try hiking Sibebe Rock located 10 km from the capital city Mbabane. It is the second-largest monolith in the world and the largest exposed granite pluton, rising 350m above the valley of the Mbuluzi River.
- Visit the Mbabane craft market that offers Swazi arts and crafts at very reasonable prices.
- Hlane national park offers some of the largest game herds in Swaziland including lions, elephant and rhino.
- Ngwenya Glass offers a range of glassware that includes tableware, drinking glasses, vases, jugs and ornamental African animals, are all handmade from recycled glass.
- Swazi Candles in Malkerns consists of a cluster of handicraft outlets around the showroom and workshop of Swazi Candles, a successful local enterprise that today exports candles worldwide. Inside the workshop you can watch the candle-makers shaping and colouring their creations.
- Mlilwane Wildlife Reserve is one of Swaziland’s first conservation areas and its most popular game reserve. From Mlilwane it is possible to hike to the top of execution rock and watch the sunset set over Eswatini.
- The Malolotja Nature Reserve is the largest protected area in the Eswatini. The name means “river with many rapids and waterfalls” for the reserve is sliced by the Malolotja River, which forms a series of waterfalls, including the country’s highest waterfall, the Malolotja Falls.
- Swazi festivals are a must visit if you are in Eswatini when they are taking place. The Umhlanga or Reed Dance ceremony, is Swaziland’s most famous festival. It takes place during the last week of August or first week of September when young women from around the Southern Africa come to participate in song and dance performance in homage to the Queen mother.
- In December and January, Incwala is a kingship ritual lasting about three weeks. At the beginning of the celebrations, representatives of the Bemanti people bring water from all the main rivers of Swaziland, gathered at the new moon. Young men then build a royal kraal at Lobamba from branches of the lusekwane tree and other plants. The climax is reached on the “great day,” when the king, clad in his finest robes, symbolically tastes the first fruits of the harvest followed by song and dance.
- The MTN BUSHFIRE Festival sees some of Africa’s best artists performing in an intimate and 100% socially responsible festival. Lauded by CNN as one of the “7 African music festivals you really have to see”, and recently named as BBC’s Top African Festival, MTN BUSHFIRE is Eswatini’s internationally acclaimed music & arts festival that celebrates creative expression whilst promoting social responsibility, stimulating the economy and drawing talent and tourists from across Africa and around the world.
