A Word From Our Client

“The Legacy Untold team are superstars at the forefront of luxury leisure experiential travel, having pioneered travel to countries like Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan, and perfected hospitality products across 20 African countries. They have their finger on the pulse of the discerning luxury seeking global nomad, what makes them choose a destination, and how to seed their love of a property and loyalty to a country. The Legacy Untold team visited our properties and provided invaluable detailed feedback and strategic advice that solidified the One & Only as Rwanda’s premier luxury hospitality offering. They also created whimsical emotive content and shared a powerful story that went viral on social media. They hosted a notably fabulous evening in New York City curating top thought leaders and tastemakers across so many industries, positioning the One & Only Rwanda among the best properties in the world. At the helm of The Legacy Untold is Mark Lakin, an outstanding visionary, blue-sky thinker, and a captivating speaker whether at our intimate dinner in New York or in Rwanda when he was asked to keynote the Rwanda Tourism Awards. The Legacy Untold is a true pleasure to work with and deliver homeruns time and time again.” – Bonita Mutoni, Director Sales and Marketing, One & Only

The Client

One & Only established a bold presence in Rwanda, the darling of African luxury tourism and conservation. One & Only Rwanda is comprised of two remarkable and diverse properties: Gorilla’s Nest and Nyungwe House, seamlessly connected by a spectacular helicopter ride over the land of 1000 hills. These properties are at the height of experiential luxury, and priced accordingly.

Gorilla’s Nest was built sparing no expense and provides direct access to trek the rarest primate in the world, the mountain gorilla of which only 1000 remain in the wild. The permit alone to track is $1,500 USD per person per day, and with accommodation starting at 3,000 USD per person per night, this experience is designed for the most elite of travelers. Set within a lush Eucalyptus forest, boasting massive free-standing suites, with heated radiant stone floors, bathtubs on expansive terraces, and unspoiled nature all-around, this property can only be adequately described by words akin to sublime, surreal, and dream-like.

Nyungwe House is set within Africa’s oldest rainforest within a high altitude working tea plantation – a breathtakingly gorgeous setting for mindful moments of rest and relaxation, spectacular spa treatments, divine cuisine, and a base for high intensity chimp trekking.

The Task

One & Only hired The Legacy Untold to market these state of the art, exclusive, experiential properties to the elite of New York. The new build and shattered ceiling for uber luxury required thoughtful strategy that spoke to those who can afford to do absolutely anything in a way that suitably conveyed an experience utterly adventurous, evocative, immersive and, off the beaten path.

The Legacy

Our approach involved hosting one of our signature VIP dinner experiences as well as engaging our founder as a social media influencer and a fine art photographer to both experience and capture media. We provided innovation consulting as it pertained to the physical property designs, the experiences on offer, the service, and the food. We developed strategy which positioned One & Only as competitive in a space previously dominated by other providers within close proximity. We ideated and executed a project in the areas of conservation and community upliftment by bringing the empowering gift of solar light to 250 local families.

We led strategy efforts in coordination with their General Managers, their Director of Sales and Marketing, and the Head of Rwanda Tourism as well as the owners of all major inbound destination management companies in Rwanda. Our founder was ultimately asked to deliver the keynote address at the Rwanda Tourism Awards.

Sometimes, nothing less than the most cinematically filmed and perfectly edited content will do. At other times, we see the value of raw, real, and uncut footage for its ability to convey the true reality of an experience. The paragraph below lays the foundation for the heartwarming and compelling unfiltered Instagram footage we created for the One & Only Rwanda during our week-long immersion…

The Rwandan genocide was a mass slaughter of the 800,000 innocent Tutsi, Twa, and moderate Hutu people in Rwanda. The genocide occurred in 1994. Over the course of 100 days, 70% of the Tutsi population was exterminated. They were killed in their own villages and towns by their own neighbors. The genocide ended with the military victory of the Rwandan Patriotic Front in 1994 led by the current President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame. In the two decades since the genocide, President Kagame has led a historic and unprecedented period of peace, justice, and healing. Today a united Rwanda stands as an extraordinary example of the best of humanity. To see remarkable Rwanda today is to see and know that the end of any conflict before us is indeed possible.

Click below to see the Rwanda of today…warm, welcoming, safe, spotlessly clean, and ready to reveal to its visitors some of the greatest luxury resorts and immersive travel experiences on the planet.