Southern Sun – The city in front, the sea in the back

“Where did the border between day and night begin? The border between water and land? Between the blue and lilac?” These verses by Ana Mafalda Leite echo us as the morning approaches. We open the window and let in the light breeze that the surf announces. The sun rises over the raging sea. And then we realise what the name – Southern Sun – already suggested.

The building of the hotel, in Maputo, resembles an ambitious octopus stretching its tentacles as if it wanted to embrace the sea, all of it. And it makes physical the architectural memory that gives the city of Maputo unique facades. But it is always necessary to go beyond the skin, as Júlio Carrilho taught us.

The hotel’s interior stairs, which curl like snails, lead to narrow corridors, with paintings nailed to the walls, signs of light showing us the way to the rooms. There are a total of 269 rooms, more than 70% with sea views, including executive rooms and a presidential suite. The image that comes to us from the gym or the garden terrace or the restaurant, whose exterior leaves us by the pool and in the shade of the palm trees, also brings us back to this great Indian bedsheet. The Southern Sun holds the city in front and the sea in the back. From here, you can go on excursions to islands such as Xefina, Inhaca or Portuguese or to the life that pulsates through the walks of a city that speaks many languages.

▶ How to go

The hotel is 7 km from the Maputo Airport. Located on the waterfront, it is easily accessible.

▶ Where to eat

The Southern Sun’s restaurant offers a varied menu. But you can always try other flavours that define the city of Maputo, such as the Mercado do Peixe, which is not far from the hotel.

▶ What to do

The experience of walking through the streets of the city, always with curious characters, also allows this encounter with the outlines of national designers or those coming from disparate parts, which is what makes Maputo such an architectural amalgam. But you can always stop by the Maputo Fortress, the Art Museum, the Art and Crafts Fair or let yourself be carried away by the nightlife of a city that has learned to have its own voice.

▶ Contacts

+258 (21) 495050 or +258 (21) 497700

E-mail: ssmaputo.reservations@tsogosun.com

▶ Price on request

▶ Number of Nights Suggested – 2

Issue 73 May/Jun | Download.