Ziwani Lodge

The Moroccan-like buildings stand like fortresses on a scrub-covered hillside. Indoors, the main area has classic Zanzibari touches, with rough, whitewashed walls and antique painted wooden doors highlighted with bright cushions and curtains. The lounge is clean, cool and comfortable, and the dining room has a smart, minimalist atmosphere with dark-wood chairs and tables and crisp white linens. There are several shaded seating areas on the veranda and a gorgeous, Celtic-cross shaped pool with sunloungers, perfect for maximising the view.

The Moroccan/Zanzibari style continues in the seven, stand-alone rooms, including one family cottage. The whitewashed interior walls that keep them bright and cool are complemented perfectly with antique dark-wood furniture and shutters at the doors and windows. King-sized beds are draped in flowing white mosquito nets, and each large covered veranda has additional seating, though the best view is from the roof-top terrace. The en-suite bathrooms have huge walk-in showers, double basins and a W/C.

Besides putting your feet up in a gorgeous setting, the main attraction here is the opportunity to interact with the local people, who have almost completely rejected the modern world. Accompany the Hadzabe hunters, who catch their dinner with bows and arrows; admire the skills of the silversmithing Datoga; and see how the Mbulu, or Iraqw, people go about farming. The lodge overlooks Lake Eyasi, a seasonal soda lake. When water arrives, it attracts a "flamboyance" of flamingos. We're hooked.