The Litchi Tree

You’ll be impressed by the grand staircase at the entrance, and as you move through the historical space, what the owner has done with it will put a pleasing smile on your face. The dining room is on par with any private club in Europe, there’s a small lounge and bar - all adorned with African curious, tasteful antique furniture, exposed wooden rafters and flowers carefully arranged. It’s intimate and you can feel care has been taken with the space.

The six spacious guest rooms are minimally but tastefully decorated. Each has a quiet corner with a writer's desk and luggage rack, a spacious en suite bathroom and a queen-size four-poster bed which has linen in a burst of colour and a mosquito net. The whitewashed stone walls and locally crafted, dark wood furniture add to the African-island atmosphere. Some rooms have a private bougainvillea-adorned wooden deck.

You’ll want to hole up here for a while but once you’ve got your groove back head to the tropical forest of Amber Mountain National Park. There are eight different lemur species to be found here as well as a curious creature called the fossa. Another major highlight is the Ankarana massif, a 2500 hectare display of jagged middle Jurassic coral or the Red Tsingy, a unique geological formation of red laterite stone.