Best Hotels & Lodges

A lodge that lives up to its name, Namib Outpost lies in a remote location at Sossusvlei, in the southern Namib. If peace and natural splendour are your thing, and if you love sand dunes, then this is the place to come – Sossuvlei's large salt and clay pan is surrounded by some of the highest dunes in the world. The views are spectacular, especially at sunset, when the sand is rosy and you can hear geckos barking and hyaenas calling. Recently renovated, the lodge's atmosphere is relaxed, the accommodation is great and you can explore the desert on horseback.

In recent years, Akagera National Park, Rwanda's only sanctuary for savannah species, has become a formidable force for conservation in central Africa. Situated on a secluded peninsula within a private concession of the park, Magashi Peninsula offers its guests a chance to fully immerse themselves in the wilderness whilst also actively working to protect it. The lodge was built to have the lightest footprint possible and it’s entirely solar-powered with a team that hail from the neighbouring communities. Looking out across the cerulean waters of Lake Rwanyakazinga and the Mutumba Mountains to the west, this intimate safari lodge is the perfect place for an adventure...

Nestled on a private beach with uninterrupted views of the Flores Sea, the resort offers luxurious villas, a beachfront restaurant, and an inviting infinity pool. Whether you're lounging by the ocean, snorkelling in crystal-clear waters, or planning a day trip to see the famed Komodo dragons, every moment here feels like pure paradise. With exceptional service, delicious cuisine, and easy access to nearby islands, it's the perfect base for exploring Komodo or simply unwinding in style.

Baraza Resort and Spa offers stunning facilities for guests to enjoy a range of watersports, a comprehensive spa with a lap pool and tennis court, cooking classes, cultural excursions and all on the most stunning stretch or Zanzibarian beach. Baraza showcases a fusion of Arabic, Swahili and Indian designs and rooms are adorned with beautiful antiques, handmade furniture and intricate brass lanterns. A gorgeous coral reef stretches along the coast, providing safe waters for swimming, snorkelling or kite surfing. This reef also ensures the finest powder white sand beach.

Imagine an exclusive private home in a neighbourhood far removed from your own. Instead, you're in a vast, vast wilderness, and your neighbours are wild – elephant, giraffe, zebra and rhino, and 300-odd bird species. Imagine riding on horseback through hills and savannas. Then make it real. Lengishu is a family-owned estate set in the 13,000-hectare Borana Conservancy in northern Kenya. It sleeps up to 12 in great comfort, attended to by a dedicated staff of chefs, housekeepers, and a private guide. Borana's boundary with neighbouring Lewa Downs Conservancy is unfenced, so there's plenty of scope to realise your dreams.

Kutali Camp is a realisation of the dream of Luke Evans and Kyle Branch, two young men who have spent the past decade guiding travellers throughout southern and East Africa's most sought-after sanctuaries. They've come to know the essential ingredients of a great bush experience. A truly wild, beautiful and productive wilderness – in this case, Zambia's Lower Zambezi National Park. Dedicated, knowledgeable guides – the owners themselves. And the atmosphere – there's certainly little to beat the under-the-stars campfire spirit, with good food and wine.

Ensconced by dramatic, sunbaked desert, Onduli Ridge is a cool and collected part of the Damaraland scene. Practically sculpted into the granite boulders, the camp is seamless in design and fits right in with its surroundings. Every space maximises the views and by night, it's the tapestry of stars that steals the show. Spend your days relaxing by the pool, enjoying some of Namibia's finest food and exploring this sandy playground - which just happens to include Namibia's highest mountain, the Brandberg. Sounds pretty good to us.

The Gothic bulk of the Palais des Papes rises directly across the lane from this cardinal's house, close enough to fill the bedroom windows. Inside, the Stein family spent three years layering antiques, silks and papers until it looked as though one household had been decorating since the popes left. Out back, a walled garden of fig trees and roses swallows the city whole. Add three restaurants and a cookery school in the old kitchen, and you begin to see why the cardinal chose the spot: Avignon, not Rome, was the seat of the papacy for most of the 14th century, and he wanted to live as close to the action as he could get. He got his wish. So do you.

Pull up alongside that storied waterway and prepare to be transported to a world where cherubs perch on marble staircases and centuries-old frescoes tell tales of nobility past. This 15th-century masterpiece has earned its status as a National Monument, and rightfully so. Each morning, throw open your windows to watch the theatre of daily life unfold at the historical market opposite, as vendors arrange their wares just as they have done for hundreds of years.

As you might have guessed, Great Plains' latest camp is set on a gloriously private island in the Northern Okavango. On arrival, you'll scarcely believe such a place exists, with every corner providing a front row seat to this startlingly beautiful corner of Botswana. Hosting a maximum of eight guests, you'll have your guide's utmost attention whilst exploring the channels and lagoons, watching hippos wallow, elephant swimming, and the birdlife a-fluttering. And how could we forget the shy sitatunga antelope dwelling in the reeds of the Delta from which the camp takes its name?

'Kith' is an old Scots word for the people and places that feel like home, which sets the tone rather nicely. This shiny boutique hotel is in the middle of St Andrews, the medieval university town that gave the world golf, and it wears its heritage lightly. Behind three restored 1847 facades you'll find 44 design-forward rooms, a chef-led restaurant the locals have already adopted, and a front door barely 200 yards from the Old Course's 18th green. Elegant without being stuffy, it's equally happy hosting golfers, visiting parents and anyone after a smart Scottish weekend. Dogs are welcome, too.