Phakalane Golf Estate Hotel Resort

Rooms and decor

Picture a resort set in an upscale estate on low rise of land north of Gaborone, ringed by green fairways, a lake catching the morning light, and big trees where native birds land to say hello — that's the first impression as you drive through the gate at Phakalane Golf Estate Hotel Resort. The hotel is a low-rise building in contemporary South African resort style, earth tones blending into the landscape, with around 78 rooms and suites arranged around the pool and garden courtyards. Many open onto a balcony or small terrace facing the fairway, so you wake to easy green grass and the dry Highveld air that's hard to find in town. Interiors are understated rather than flashy — cream and soft-brown tones, soft king beds, good linens, and a desk by the window for anyone working. Bathrooms are roomy with a shower and tub. Plenty of reviews call the rooms here bigger than you'd expect from a Gaborone 4-star, and seriously quiet in a way in-town hotels can't match. If you prefer a relaxed resort feel over a business hotel, you'll likely take to it from the first night.

Food and amenities

The heart of the place is the 18-hole championship golf course, designed by Peter Matkovich to USGA standard, laid out across an estate of several hundred hectares with a lake, white-sand bunkers and big trees the whole way around. Golfers' reviews line up almost unanimously to call it the best course in Botswana — it's both the draw and the reason people fly in specifically to stay. Non-golfers have plenty too. The large garden pool comes with sun loungers and umbrellas, and the late-afternoon shade-and-breeze hour here is a real treat for anyone who likes to laze by the water. Nearby there's a fitness room and a spa for a massage after a round. On the food side, the hotel's branch of The Cape Town Fish Market is a popular restaurant with both guests and locals, serving South African-style seafood with fresh fish and prawns that are hard to find in Gaborone — a fitting setting for a relaxed or romantic dinner. There's a lobby bar for a cold drink after your round, and the golf clubhouse serves light food with a casual view over the 18th green.

Location and getting there

Phakalane's location is something to understand at booking time — the hotel isn't in central Gaborone but inside Phakalane Estate, a private upscale area north of the city, roughly 25 km from the center and about a 30-minute drive north on the A1 highway. That means you stay in a quiet estate of luxury homes, a clubhouse and several hundred hectares of green space, waking to a South African-Botswana countryside feel instead of capital-city traffic and noise. Sir Seretse Khama Airport (GBE) is only about 30–35 minutes by car, which suits anyone flying in on a layover or coming in and out of the country. For trips into town, Yango and Uber both work in Gaborone, are easy to hail, and run cheaper than the taxis out front; anyone planning to sightsee or go back and forth often should rent a car for the most freedom. In short: if your ideal trip is resort downtime, a round of golf, and not needing town every day, this location is ideal — but if you're here for daily meetings or errands in the center, factor in the cost and time of the trip.

Things to know before booking

Straight talk to help you decide. The thing reviews agree on most is the location far from the city center, roughly 25 km out, so without a rental car you're calling a taxi or Yango/Uber every time you want to go in — and several trips combined can make the total less of a bargain than it looks. If your plan is sightseeing in town every day, an in-town 4-star may be handier; but for resort downtime, golf and layovers, this distance is fine. The second point is patchy Wi-Fi, especially in rooms farther from the lobby. If you have online meetings or work hard over the network, check before booking that you get a room near the main building, or carry a Botswana data SIM (Orange or Mascom) as backup. The third is inconsistent food and service — some reviews note the breakfast buffet runs out fast on busy days, the taste shifts day to day, and restaurant service is sometimes slower than expected. A few reviews mention small maintenance details, like a tap or bathroom light that should be sharper for a 4-star. If something's off, flag the lobby right away; staff are mostly friendly and sort it out.

Our take

From reading a stack of real reviews, Phakalane Golf Estate Hotel Resort delivers the full package — resort mood in an upscale out-of-town estate, the best 18-hole golf course in Botswana, and big rooms with green fairway views — in a way no hotel in central Gaborone can. If the trip in your head is a round of golf in the morning, the poolside in the afternoon, a seafood dinner at Cape Town Fish Market, then back to a quiet room under the Highveld stars, this hits the mark completely. It's a strong fit for golfers, couples dodging the bustle, travelers in on a layover who want to sleep near the airport in good surroundings, or businesspeople in for a meeting around the city's North Gate. But if the heart of your trip is walking the city center and hitting malls and restaurants every day, the distance out may cost you more time and fare than you'd want to spend. Overall we give it 8.2/10 — one of the top golf resorts in Gaborone, and good value if you know from the start you're here for resort life, not city sightseeing.