In 2006, SouthWild began offering “guaranteed Jaguars” on the 100 km of river channels upstream from Porto Jofre. Since then, we tried various lodging solutions, including hotels in Porto Jofre, three different tented camps, and a variety of cramped houseboats. In 2013, we built our own spacious floating hotel, Jaguar Suites, and anchored it end-to-end with Flotel on a wild river in the middle of the Jaguars. These are not “houseboats” with cramped cabins and jam-packed dining rooms, but rather true floating hotels with WIFI, AC, spacious guest rooms, 12 of which are 30 square meters, a dining room of 80 square meters, a lecture room of 40 square meters, and a giant, open top deck of 210 square meters complete with a shaded dining area, barbecue equipment, wet bar, sun deck, and women’s and men’s bathrooms.
The 12 identical guest rooms of Jaguar Suites, which are the largest rooms in the two-hotel complex, were designed specifically by Charles Munn, who listened carefully to decades of requests from many of the world’s leading wildlife photographers and documentary filmmakers. They invariably requested extensive work space and open-format shelf space. Additionally, Charles risked style criticism by insisting on 24 electrical sockets in each Jaguar Suites room, more than are found in any other normal hotel room on Earth. Many of the myriad sockets are extra easy to find in very visible locations just above the 2.5-m-long and 2.2-m-long work desks. Each desk has a well-cushioned, adjustable-height desk chair on wheels. The huge desks, numerous sockets, adjustable chairs, and wifi mean that photographers can plug in battery chargers for still and video cameras, laptops, smart phones, and more and yet have plenty of space for editing photos and plugging in even more devices such as shavers and hair dryers. The long, open shelves at head-level above the work desks allow guests to see all their clothes and equipment at a single glance.
Charles Munn also personally designed the optional, ultra-fine mosquito nets hung ready for use above each of the two 128-cm-wide beds in each Jaguar Suite room. We also have gigantic nets to hang over the 2.56-m-wide, “super-king” bed configuration. Munn based these net design features on lessons learned during his 50 years of field work in 20 tropical and subtropical countries. The nets have no overlapping openings on the side, are extra fine, and are extra long, thus allowing them to lie loose on the floor around the beds. Guests are invited to ask us for our bulletin about why ours are the world’s best mosquitos nets.
Each of the 12 Jaguar Suites rooms are 30 sq. m. (320 square feet) and feature WIFI, ensuite hot-shower bathrooms, split air-conditioning, and enormous floor-to-ceiling windows gazing out across the 100-meter-wide Piquiri River at the uninhabited forests of the 270,0000-acre Meeting of the Waters State Park. This Mato Grosso State protected area, which boasts the world’s highest recorded density for both Jaguars and for Giant Otters, is twice as large as the largest national park of Costa Rica or a bit larger than the U.S. state of Rhode Island.
The sister-hotel of the Jaguar Suites floating hotel is the equally-enormous Flotel. This second ”flotel” is fastened end-to-end to the Jaguar Suites flotel, and the two hotels are tied to the forested south bank of the Piquiri River at a point four kilometers upstream from its confluence with the Cuiabá River. Flotel offers eight guest rooms that are smaller, less grand, and more economical than Jaguar Suites. The very large dining room and large lecture room of Flotel serve the guests of both Jaguar Suites and Flotel.
✓ 12 rooms in Jaguar Suites (30 sq. m. each) and 8 rooms in Flotel (sizes vary), all with WIFI, split air-conditioning, and ensuite bathrooms;
✓ Huge, open-air top deck on Jaguar Suites flotel, with shaded dining tables, sunbathing area, barbecue, wet bar, and women’s and men’s bathrooms;
✓ Enormous, enclosed, air-conditioned dining room with panoramic view of wild Piquiri River and Rhode-Island-sized protected area;
✓ Large lecture room for SouthWild’s rotating series of wildlife lectures by our resident naturalist about Jaguars, Giant Otters, Caimans, and Capybaras;
✓ Located in middle of the 100 km of “Jaguarland”, so no long morning or afternoon commutes to the Jags, and even private Jags seen often on the Piquiri;
✓ Enjoy the earliest and latest, golden light on the river and with the Jaguars (not wasted in long, noisy, windy boat rides from/to Porto Jofre).
