The Best Hotels and Resorts in Africa and the Middle East: The Gold List 2024
"Built in the style of an Edwardian stone manor house, overlooking the Serengeti, this safari lodge has had gold standards since it opened in 2007. Its elegant, antique-clad interiors ooze romance, adorned with crystal chandeliers and wingback chairs, Persian rugs and African artefacts by the acclaimed Cape Town designers Cécile & Boyd. From the clifftop infinity pool, there are views for hundreds of miles over the 350,000-acre Grumeti Reserve and neighboring Serengeti, land on which wildlife migrates to Kenya’s Masai Mara. Between the lodge’s wraparound verandas and plunge pools, birds flit, filling the dawn air with song. There are terraces and tree-shaded tables for long Mediterranean-style lunches; cosy sitting rooms in which to sip fine wines by a fire, and candlelit baths to wallow in beneath shooting stars. And, of course, there’s wildlife. Since Luke Bailes launched Singita in 1993 on his South African family farm, its mission has been to preserve Africa’s wilderness while enriching communities. In Tanzania, in part thanks to the deep pockets of the Grumeti Fund started by American philanthropist Paul Tudor Jones, Grumeti is home to creatures from big cats to tiny gem-colored birds that can be viewed from well-fitted vehicles, hot-air balloons or on foot with expert guides. As there are only five camps on the reserve (a sixth is due in 2024), safari experiences feel private, but there’s also a tennis court, pool, spa and boutique. This is a place you never want to leave, and to which many return, year after year. From $4,861. —Lisa Grainger" - CNT Editors
