Nimali Mara

Nominated as the Best Luxury Lodge in the world many times over, Singita Sasakwa is just that. Singita Sasakwa has 10 opulent cottages where you can totally relax and and be feel completely pampered. Each cottage has a private heated plunge pool with views spanning across the stunning reserve and a private lounge with a fireplace to keep you warm on those chilly nights. Varying between one and four rooms, you will be able to enjoy your own little bit of class on this stunning reserve regardless of your numbers. Swarovski telescopes give you the chance to do some serious game spotting from the comfort of your own room, and with game roaming so freely around the grounds of the lodge, you’ll have a zoom big enough to count eyelashes. The main house is built in a remarkable likeness to an Edwardian manor house with grand furniture, silverware and high ceilings. As you walk in you will feel quite regal and as the staff do their magic, you don’t have to worry about anything whatsoever. You can simply relax and make the most of your time either out with the game or reading a book by the open fire.

Rather uniquely designed, this lodge sits in its own private game reserve on the fringes of Tarangire National Park. The main area is built around a remarkable 700 year old Baobab tree, and is warmly decorated to fit in with the African bush that surrounds the lodge. Each of the 20 open-fronted tree houses (yes, tree houses!) are enormous and offer a luxury that is rather bizarrely perched up high with views spanning the Tarangire’s splendour. The large deck in front of your house is ideal for bird watching or simply enjoying an ice cold drink after some great game experiences. You have prime access to the National Park itself and can spend the day driving through the park, but due to restrictions of the Park you would have to return for the evening. You will not miss out of night drives however, as the lodge has access to the private reserve that it is located within and this affords you opportunities to see nocturnal animals on their moonlit strolls. You are also able to participate in some excellent guided bush walks to witness some of the finer details of the bush.

Lamai Serengeti Lodge has a pride of place up on a kopje overlooking the vast open Serengeti plains towards the Maasai Mara in Kenya. With just 12 delightfully stylish rooms all perched in, around and on top of the rock, you will be extremely well catered for and feel heartened by this little bit of paradise. Ideally placed to catch sightings of the migration as it attempts to cross the Mara River (July to October), this lodge offers you an experience that is highly sought after in relation to the epic journey of these fantastic beasts. The northern Serengeti, which is where Lamai is perfectly located, is a rather different world to the southern part of the park. With a continuous supply of lush foliage to munch on, the plains game in this area rarely needs to move on in search for greener pastures. This in turn means that the predators don’t have to leave the sanctuary of their territories to hunt and they remain rather smug in the areas around the lodge. Although leopards have a larger territorial space to traverse, they don’t need to exhaust themselves and can sometimes be seen elusively stalking among the kopjes that are so typical of this part of the Serengeti. Not far from the main lodge is a smaller, more private and exclusive lodge which has four rooms and neither lodge has any idea they exist. Each camp has its own pool, dining and lounge areas. Both are classically designed and made to completely fit in with their surroundings. Making use of the rocks they are built on, the rooms are a mix of canvas and more sturdy materials and have spectacular views from on high. Each has its own private viewing deck and veranda for those spectacular sundowners.

Perched up high on the edge of this remarkable natural wonder, the Ngorongoro Crater Lodge holds a prime position. With views spanning the spectacular caldera, you can enjoy a relaxing visit to this otherwise bustling attraction and dip into a world that’s the permanent home to roughly 25,000 animals. The huge amounts of game that find sanctuary here roam over 20 kilometres on the crater floor and this allows for some excellent game viewing opportunities. Prides of bachelor lions are sometimes seen spanning the landscape, on the hunt for their own families and, dotted among the plains game, you might be lucky enough to spot a rhino in the distance. Morning and afternoon game drives are taken by highly experienced guides with visits to the nearby Olduvai Gorge available when vehicle occupancy allows. The crater itself can get quite busy but there’s a peaceful quiet that flows through the rooms, social areas and outside spaces of the lodge. North and South Camp both have twelve beautiful suites and the Tree Camp, slightly set apart from the others, has just six. Raised up on stilts, these rooms are all tastefully decorated with Tanzanian hardwoods and silk curtains which make the rooms cosy and warm; the ridge can get quite nippy, after all. The dining areas have viewing decks and comfortable indoor lounges which are ideal for catching up on some midday afternoon reading, or ticking off the birds that you might have seen so far. You could also decide to have a relaxing massage in your room, and completely pamper yourself.