Cameroon: Affordable Luxury Meets Unmatched Hospitality at HarvardLux Guest House

By Boris Esono Nwenfor

Located in the serene town of Buea, at the foot of Mount Cameroon, HarvardLux Guest House is redefining the concept of accommodation in Cameroon with its unique blend of affordable luxury and impeccable hospitality. Established by Dr. Asongtia Taku, a seasoned pharmacist and entrepreneur, the guest house offers a haven for families seeking comfort, class, and convenience.

The inspiration behind HarvardLux Guest House stems from Dr Taku’s desire to create a home away from home for guests. With a career spanning healthcare and business management, Dr. Asongtia Taku’s entrepreneurial acumen has been instrumental in transforming a simple idea into a hospitality landmark.

“Our vision is to provide affordable luxury,” says Dr Taku. “We're trying to have people come and stay here, so it should be like that, home away from home. Our business model is affordable luxury; make it beautiful, and affordable so that anybody can use it. You can move from your house and come and have a good time here.”

HarvardLux Guest House in Buea is a state-of-the-art facility designed to cater to families, professionals, and families seeking affordable luxury. Its standout features include spacious apartments with 1-3 bedrooms, en-suite bathrooms, and large living areas. High-speed Starlink internet, 24-hour security, and automatic power backup; Premium amenities such as air conditioning, hot water, high-pressure showers, and Netflix access and on-site restaurant, bar, and plans for future expansions including a pool, gym, and single hotel rooms.

In an interview with the promoter of the facility, Dr Asongtia Taku, he began by sharing the inspiration behind the Harvard Lux guest house and what makes it stand out from the other guest houses in Buea.

Can you shed more light on who Dr Fontem is, and their career?

Dr Asongtia Taku: I am Dr Asongtia Ndemaze Taku. I'm originally from Kumba and moved to the United States in 2003. I did an undergrad in biochemistry and molecular biology, a doctorate in pharmacy, and a master's in business administration with a specialty in healthcare management.

After I graduated school, I worked in the US for quite a bit. Then I moved to Cameroon where I set up my pharmacy. And you'll be surprised, we currently have the largest pharmacy in the South West and North West Region. I am married with three kids. My wife is very supportive and everything that has happened to me or in my life, it's been more of my family and her. They've been very, very supportive. My kids too, they're amazing.

I am that one person that God has blessed a lot and I always say for the many good things that the Lord has done for me, I want to use, everything that we have to glorify him. We are not here to show, we are here to thank God for what he has done for us as a family and to use what he has done for us to glorify him.

Can you tell us about the inspiration behind Harvard Lux Guest House?

Dr Asongtia Taku: I bought the land in 2014 and there was a house and most of the projects we have done, when I say we, that's my wife and I, is mini cite, rental homes and we thought it wise that, we should do something that's like a hotel. With the current trend, the guesthouse will be ideal, so that's just like, okay, let's try a guesthouse and make it in such a way that it's going to be better than what we have seen. So, that's how we came up with the concept.

What was your primary vision when you decided to establish this guest house?

Dr Asongtia Taku: We're trying to have people come and stay here, so it should be like that, home away from home. Our business model is an affordable luxury; make it beautiful, and affordable, so anybody can use it. You can move from your house and come and have a good time here.

How does Harvard Lux stand out from other accommodation options in the region? What amenities and services does Harvard Lux Guest House offer to its guests?

Dr Asongtia Taku: It is a full luxury house, we have a bar and a restaurant, and we have apartments that can take even eight persons. We have a three-bedroom apartment that has three baths, we have two bedrooms, they have two baths and we have one bedroom that comes with one bath and a large living room, high-speed internet, Starlink, 24-hour security, and on-site gen.

The light is always automatic, Netflix, everything that you need to stay comfortably in a guest house, ACs in all the rooms, hot water supply, high-pressure water, in the shower, we basically have everything.

What type of clientele do you typically attract to Harvard Lux Guest House?

Dr Asongtia Taku: Our business model is an affordable luxury, so whoever can afford it, but we are looking at, families, we have different apartments for different people now. We have families, we have single people, weddings, whoever we can get, we don't do the business of choosing. If you come and you like it, we'll give it out to you.

We know that building such a project has not been easy. Before you talk about the challenges, talk to us about, you might not go into detail, about how much the project is worth and talk to us about the challenge.

Dr Asongtia Taku: The place is worth a lot, a lot. I will not want to go into the details of that, but it's worth a lot. The blessing that I have as a person is that I have a very, very good circle of my family, my friends and my spouse. So, when we started this construction, I'll be honest with you, I didn't know it was going to turn out like this.

Now, when we started and they did the glasswork, if you check the glass, it's 10-millimetre glass and it's tinted, so it's just very, very expensive.

When we started the glasswork, the guy came and did the estimates for the glass in the place and it came out like 24 million, excluding the ones in the bathroom. I looked at it and I showed it to my wife, I said, this is what she's like, oh, I'm going do it. My elder brother came in I think May of last year and he gave me a lot of money, in Cameroon standard, it's a lot of money.

My best friend too, Dr Leslie Atem, I'll say it, he gave me 50 million for this project that he likes what I'm doing. This is not borrowed, this money that he gave me, he supported me, and then myself, I've been working. I haven't been to Kumba, where my pharmacy is for the past, I think five months. I've been here working. So, if you come here on the field, you'll see me carrying blocks, you'll see me painting and whatever they do, you'll see me doing it.

If I show a video of September this year and now, it's a big transformation, it's a very big transformation because I was here to do the work.

Challenges, workers, it's extremely difficult to work with people in Cameroon, it's extremely difficult. So let me give you an example, like the electrician. The electrician will call, okay, he's coming today and he doesn't show up. Now the plumber can't do his work because they need the electrician to pass the cable. So, it's just the management of workers. You have the people that came to do the tiles, they will just do it and just block something and now we have to come and we do it.

How do you measure success in the hospitality industry, particularly for Harvard Lux?

Dr Asongtia Taku: Success when it comes to this project is seeing the project the way it is, right? As a person, I'm that one person that I don't measure success by maybe money. I don't look so much into money, but just looking at the project and knowing that it turned out right, I'm, I'm, I'm happy.

Where do you see Harvard Lux Guest House in the next five to ten years?

Dr Asongtia Taku: In the next five to ten years, it's going to be amazing because this is the first part of the project. We're not done with the project, we have that area where the house is, which is where we're going to do a pool. We are going to do a gym; we're going to do a restaurant and we'll have these single hotel rooms. So, in another five to ten years, we'll have all that. Maybe in another two years, we'll have all that, but it's going to be a complete space that is, that will be amazing.

And how do you plan to keep Harvard Lux relevant and competitive in the hospitality industry?

Dr Asongtia Taku: It's to maintain our standard; we plan to maintain our standard. In my experience working, I know a little bit of marketing I know how to maintain standards and I know how to treat my employees. So, that's just it. And I'll be in every business that I work, every business that we own, I'm on hand. You’ll come here, you'll see I'll be mopping, I have to make sure that the thing is the way it's supposed to be. So, that's how.

As the founder, what is the most rewarding aspect of running this guest house?

Dr Asongtia Taku: Having people come here and be like, oh, this is the best day I've seen. It's beautiful. We had a guest that came from the U.S. and they told me, Man, we haven't seen this standard in Cameroon. So, that gives me pleasure.

Do you have a personal message for current and potential guests of Harvard Lux?

Dr Asongtia Taku: I would love them to come and see for themselves, to come and see at the rate that we offer. They should come and see what we offer, the rates that we offer, it's amazing. I'll challenge you, if you take, for instance, this apartment, the most expensive hotel in Buea, the penthouse is not this standard. It goes for 1 million, right? This goes for 59 thousand. Think about it.
We have the three-bedroom apartment, three complete baths, with everything, like a full house for 69,000. We have a two bedroom, the one with the L-shaped balcony, mountain view, sea view, two-bedroom complete, that goes for 59 thousand. We have another two bedroom that has only the mountain view, that goes for 55 thousand. Then we have the one-bedroom apartments that go for 45 and 40 thousand.

Any final remarks as we wrap up the interview?

Dr Asongtia Taku: I just want to thank everybody who helped me realize this. Dr Leslie Atem, my wife, my elder brother, my elder sister, Ebotaku and my elder brother too, Laurean. Laurean is a big brother. We grew up together when they moved to Kumba. We grew up together and he's been very supportive. These are people that I go to for advice. Like I said, the Lord has blessed me with a very, very good circle of friends and family. So I am that one person that I've never gone to a bank to get money, but I'm a business person, and that should be the way it goes. Right. But I have people that I can call today and I say, hey, I need 100 million and I'll give you in 10 days, in one month, two months. But I have people like that. So, I've been blessed like that and I can only thank God.

*For bookings and reservations , contact +237 6 50 44 07 68, email Harvardluxbuea@gmail.com