"Slap-bang in the middle of the Okavango Delta on game-rich Chief’s Island, this is Wilderness Safaris’ star safari lodge, magnificently reimagined after a recent overhaul. The number of regulars who choose to return here year after year is almost as impressive as the astonishingly good game viewing on this 111,000-acre concession. So how do you improve on such a popular classic? This was the challenge put to architect Nick Plewman and interior designer Caline Williams-Wynn—and the result is a glamorous showstopper with the comfortable feel of a pair of soft Italian-leather boots. It is distinctly vintage (antique brass; Chesterfield sofas), yet slick where you want it to be, with handmade Mervyn Gers ceramics, Belgian-linen sheets on hand-stitched, crackled-leather beds, and an iPad in place of printed information. In between game drives, guests can take private yoga classes, relax in the library, swim lengths in the lap pool, or sign up for a firm-handed massage in the Africology spa. The food has gone modern, with nourishing buddha bowls and blow-out burgers with truffled fries, and there’s no pressure to take meals communally as before, although a party atmosphere pervades in the boma, which has been fashioned from wood recycled from the old camp. From about $1,800 per person per night." - CNT Editors