The Tranquil Oasis in the Heart of Gaborone

This landmark motel has been on the forefront of Gaborone accommodation since 1979, hosting innumerable guests from all over the world. Even to date, the serene and tranquil backdrop in the centre of a bustling city makes this hotel an oasis, true to the name. Discussing the image of the motel, Jaudat Siddiqi, Owner, states, “Our hotel has been here for more than 30 years. We are the most recognized brand in Botswana besides Gaborone Sun, so everyone who came here in the eighties had very few options, and is familiar with the Oasis brand”.

The motel is backed by employees with great enthusiasm, providing high quality service for every visitor and the ambience, the food and the rooms leave a long lasting impression. Just a mere five kilometres from city centre, Oasis Motel is the first noticeable accommodation on the main Tlokweng-Zeerust Road, for travellers entering through the South African border. Due to the convenient location and easy approach from South Africa, the Oasis motel is a popular choice for every tourist entering the country. Jaudat Siddiqi explains that generally Botswana attracts local tourists, derived from the private companies and government institutions, and specifically Gaborone attracts mostly business tourists. He says, “Most of our business relies on providing service for the local public sector. In this context, 80% of our visitors come from the governmental institutions and semi-governmental agencies and 20% of our clients come from the international business segment, aiming to work with the governmental institutions and the private companies”. Jaudat Siddiqi adds, “The challenge comes with the international clients, where the brand comes into play, we need to work on the international brand awareness”.

Spacious Rooms and Lovely Terrace Restaurant

Oasis Motel has a total of 112 rooms divided in five different categories – single rooms, standard rooms, family rooms, chalets and executive rooms. Each room offers air conditioning, a safety deposit box, tea-and-coffee making facilities and a TV with selected satellite channels and free Wi-Fi Internet. “Our advantage is that our rooms are more spacious than the rest of the hotels, so we offer that luxury of space that the other hotels don’t have and we put a special emphasis on cleanliness”, says Jaudat Siddiqi. All rooms have parking available right next to the room itself, making it convenient for guests travelling in their own cars.

Cosmopolitan and very welcoming, the Oasis Motel features Terrace Restaurant located in the idyllic poolside and surrounded by large shady trees, epitomizing the finest traditions of Oasis cuisine and a variety of continental dishes.

Choice of Well-Equipped Meeting Rooms

Designed for business visitors the Oasis motel also offers conference centre equipped with standard conference amenities. As a leading venue for corporate meetings and seminars, the motel also offers experienced hosts and services that cater to the highest level of international business, diplomatic and corporate gatherings. Jaudat Siddiqi adds, “We have large conference facility, consisting of five conference rooms which can accommodate 10-200 people at affordable prices. Most of the brands here are more expensive than us, and are less flexible in prices”. All conference and function rooms feature state-of-the-art audio-visual equipment, including complimentary wireless broadband Internet access, LCD projector, PA system and flip chart.

Outside Catering Services

Oasis Motel specializes in outside caterings of all types, providing catering services on site, at any location within Gaborone. The motel hosts and caters anniversaries, business and corporate events, cocktails, conferences, launches, seminars, workshops, baby showers, birthday parties and weddings. Jaudat Siddiqi, explains, “We have been a pioneer on the local market in the catering industry, we were the first and the largest catering institution in Botswana. We have one of the largest outside catering set-up in the country and can cater for any number of guests”.

Openness to Foreign Investments

Discussing future plans, Jaudat Siddiqi, points out the idea of opening a hotel school. He says, “With the increased number of hotel openings, there is no proper hotel school in Gaborone. We have some education centres that are offering degrees, but there is no hotel school. We want to be the first in the market, to be a pioneer in the market with hotel school”.

The Hotel brand remains open to foreign investors and new partnerships, both in terms of skills and capital. He adds, “We are actually interested in franchises that would give us stability and image. We also have plenty of land, around 20.000 square meters, and we are planning to build a hotel on a part of that land.”

Jaudat Siddiqi believes that the country offers great destinations for tourists and appealing conditions for foreign investors. He finishes, “We are the most stable African country and crime rates are almost zero. Our currency exchange rates and tax regime are very relaxed. We have beautiful destinations and most of them are visited from a lot of European tourists”.