Dutchess Hotel Fort Portal | An Intimate Hotel in the heart of Fort Portal
Located just 3 minutes away from the main Fort Portal city center you find a quiet yet intimate hotel with friendly staff and a quiet ambiance. Dutchess Hotel is arguably one of the best hotels in Fort Portal and has over the years maintained a standard of great service and good food with the most talked about being their oven baked pizzas.
Dutchess Hotel is located on Plot 11, Mugurusi Road, the hotel’s central location makes it easily accessible and is within walking distance from shops, markets and shopping centers. Fort Portal is a tourism city and visitors to the town are always looking for a central place to stay – Dutchess Hotel makes for a good base hotel.
Fort Portal City is one of Uganda’s most talked about towns and welcomes a significant number of visitors each year. Visitors to Fort Portal are drawn by the numerous attractions within and near Fort Portal. The town is close to key attractions like Kibale Forest National Park that is known for chimpanzee trekking, Queen Elizabeth National Park that is known for its abundance of wildlife, Semuliki National Park which is an ideal destination for birding, “Amabere ga Nyinamwiru” caves and Mount Rwenzori National Park that draws hiking enthusiasts.
Accommodation at Dutchess Hotel Fort Portal
Double room at the hotel
Dutchess Hotel features 6 rooms in total, all rooms are elegantly decorated and situated upstairs so you have the hotel’s main areas down stairs and the rooms upstairs. Of the 6 rooms 4 are double rooms and 2 are family rooms. The family rooms are arranged in such a way that they can act as both a double room and a family room when there is need for more occupancy. The family room has convertible wooden couch beds.
The occupancy at Dutchess Hotel can be single, double, or twin depending on your preference. The rooms are spacious with warm lighting and each of the rooms have a touch of African inspired decor pieces. The rooms also have interesting names as they are named after Uganda’s National Parks like Bwindi, Murchison Falls, Queen Elizabeth and other parks.
Each room at Dutchess Hotel Fort Portal consists of;
A comfortable King sized bed with clean white linen bed sheets, pillows and a duvet. The bed has a mosquito net hanging from a wooden hanger.
En-suite bathroom with clean towels, a bowl sink, a mirror, bathing soap, body lotion, shower gel, shampoo, a shower and flush toilet.
Bathroom slippers.
A hair dryer.
Hot and cold running water throughout the day.
An in-room safe.
A reading desk and chair.
Complimentary drinking water.
Wardrobe that acts as storage space with hangers.
An extra blanket for cold nights.
A reasonably sized balcony with seats. The family rooms have the best view of the lush hotel gardens.
Facilities and Services at Dutchess Hotel
Restaurant – The restaurant at Dutchess Hotel serves breakfast, lunch and dinners as well as snacks. The restaurant has an a la carte menu, a take away menu for guests that would like to order food to go and a chef’s special of the day. The chef’s special is usually changed daily and the restaurant switches it up a bit so on some days you get a taste of international cuisine and on other days you get a taste of African local dishes. The restaurant has enough sitting space and is cozy with warm lighting, perfect for a meal! The restaurant caters to guest’s dietary requirements you just have to let the staff know before hand or inform your tour operator during the booking process.
Restaurant at Dutchess Hotel
Terrace and Gazebo – The hotel features a terrace with seats and tables overlooking the lush hotel gardens. The gardens usually attract some bird species like sun birds, common bulbuls and flycatchers that you might spot while sitting at the terrace. Guests at the hotel choose to sit and eat or work at the terrace.
Terrace overlooking the hotel gardens
The gazebo is situated in a separate section of Dutchess Hotel, the gazebo offers privacy for guests who would like to eat and spend time away from the hotel’s main areas. The staff can also serve your meals or drinks at the gazebo.
The Gazebo at Dutchess Hotel
Lounge – Dutchess Hotel features a lounge with comfortable sofas, chairs and charging sockets. The lounge is in the main area next to the terrace. The warm lighting makes it a perfect area to relax and take a break away from your room. The lounge also has a few art pieces that are for sale so you can stop by admire the art or purchase if you would like.
Lounge
Reception – The hotel features a reception area where you always find two staff members. The briefing before being taken up to your room happens at the reception. The reception also has jars with cookies for sale, Ugandan coffee, chocolate made by The Latitude Company as well as other freshly baked pastries. The Dutch cookies called Speculaas are a great buy, very tasty!
Pizza Kitchen – Dutchess Hotel is famously known around Fort Portal for their delicious pizzas and the hotel has a pizza kitchen dedicated to just that. Chicken pizzas, meat pizzas, and vegetable pizzas are served. You can choose to order for pizza with a thin crust or Bombay (thick crust pizza). Extra ingredients like rocket lettuce, Cajun spiced onion, jalapenos, pesto, sausages, and extra cheese can be added on request.
Pizza Kitchen outside the main area
Bar – Dutchess Hotel also features a bar located next to the pizza kitchen. The bar is a medium sized with alcoholic drinks that include local beers, wines and spirits. The bar is not a big bar but the drinks are enough for guests that would like a bottle or more. The bar also serves cocktails and mocktails.
Bar section with a bartender
Crafts – The hotel has crafts spread out on different areas of the hotel which is a nice way to display the crafts because if anything catches your eye as you hang out in any of the areas you can simply ask the staff about the pieces. Handmade bags, beaded jewelry, décor handmade pieces and baskets are available. The pieces are all from organizations like YAWE Foundation and YES(Youth Encouragement Services), these are community organizations that impact the lives of vulnerable locals through training them in basket weaving, handmade crafts and other income generating activities.
Handmade bags from YAWE Foundation at Dutchess Hotel
Other services at the hotel include daily housekeeping, Wi-Fi, a courtyard car parking area and security available 24/7.
Attractions and Activities
One might wonder what activities to engage in while on a visit to Fort Portal or staying at Dutchess Hotel, well there is so much to do because Fort Portal is a tourism city so it has a lot to offer. Below are activities you can consider;
Chimpanzee Trekking in Kibale Forest – A chimpanzee trek is a great choice for the visitor who would like to come close to these amazing primates who are our closest relatives. The chimpanzee trekking adventure begins at Kanyanchu visitor centre in Kibale Forest National Park which is 30 minutes away from Dutchess Hotel. Your tour operator will arrange the tour for you and have the driver guide pick you up and drop you off at the hotel at the end of the day.
Game drives in Queen Elizabeth National Park – The Park is a two and a half hour drive away from Fort Portal and is great for an up close experience with wildlife in the wild. Game drives will have you looking out for lions,buffaloes, Uganda kobs, elephants, water bucks, spotted hyena, olive baboons etc. While here you can also go on the Kazinga Channel Boat ride.Queen Elizabeth National Park is best explored on a 3 Days Wildlife Safari.
Spotted Hyena seen while on a morning game drive in Queen Elizabeth National Park
Kasenda Crater Lakes – The crater lakes are located approximately 20-30 km south of Fort Portal. The lakes have stunning views from the top and a hike up to see the crater lakes from the top is worth it. The crater lakes include Lake Nkuruba, Lake Nyabikere, Lake Kifuruka and Lake Nyinambuga. The crater lakes with their very steep walls and forested surroundings offer great photo moments and are best visited on a day tour.
Birding Semuliki National Park – Birding in Uganda is a rewarding activity for the keen birding enthusiast and Semuliki National Park is a top birding destination. Semuliki is mainly visited to look for the 35 Guinea-Congo forest biome bird species which are only found in this park and nowhere else in East Africa. Bird species to look out for in the park while on a birding safari include Yellow-throated cuckoo, Brown-eared woodpecker, White-crested Hornbill, Yellow-throated nicator, Red-Tailed Greenbull, African crake, Abyssinian Ground hornbill, African Dwarf Kingfisher, Marsh tchagra, Leaflove, Congo serpent eagle, Papyrus gonolek, Long-tailed hawk, Black-wattled hornbill, Carruthers’s cisticola, owls, Standard-winged night jars among other species.
Fort Portal City Tour – A 1 day Fort Portal City tour is a great way to explore the town and visit the main attractions within the city. Places that you visit on the day tour include the “Omukama Palace” which is the King’s place, the Empaako monument, two local markets for an experience of the local life, River Mpanga, Gerald Portal monument and have lunch at a local food restaurant.
Entrance to the King’s Palace
Tooro Botanical Gardens – A visit to Tooro Botanical Gardens is one of the easiest activities to do while staying at Duchess Hotel. The Botanical gardens are located within Fort Portal in Booma and are an 8 minute drive away from Dutchess Hotel. On arrival you can take a forest walk through the gardens, and do some birding as you also see different types of trees. Tooro Botanical Gardens is a bio-diversity hub and is one of the largest tree nurseries in Uganda, over 117 indigenous trees are found at the botanical gardens and a variety of plant species.
