Best Hotels & Lodges

The Central Serengeti, home to a dizzying array of wildlife, big cats galore, those quintessential rippling grass plains and the rather lovely Nyikani Camp. A relative newcomer to the Serengeti safari scene, the camp is perched atop a small hill, the bush views stretch endlessly from your tent door and the high season crowds seem a distant memory. Nothing is too much trouble here and the experienced team will spoil you from the moment you leap off the Jeep. It may be fresh-faced, but Nyikani is all about old-school hospitality and game viewing that you will never forget.

Ol Malo is a privately owned game sanctuary and working ranch in northern Kenya’s Laikipia Plateau, spanning 5,000 acres of rugged hills and valleys overlooking Mount Kenya. Once an overgrazed cattle farm, Ol Malo has been transformed into a conservation area, literally teeming with wildlife. Ol Malo House is a stunning six-bedroomed homestead perched on a rocky outcrop with sweeping views of the valleys and hills beyond. With a range of fabulous (and some totally unusual!) activities, this is the perfect bush break for anyone looking for excellent game-viewing and a whole lot of fun. For families and groups of friends, the house can be booked exclusively.

Thirty minutes from central Cape Town, in the beachside suburb of Hout Bay, lies a truly breathtaking mountain retreat that exemplifies the essence of African communal heritage. Maison Noir, "black house" in French, is a private family estate in which each member owns a small home. The architect drew his inspiration from the many cultures that have taken root in South Africa, and he's created a winner. The homestead incorporates indoor/outdoor design around an interior courtyard in a setting that'll appeal to lovers of fine design, and those keen to explore Table Mountain National Park – just steps away.

You could not be further from the madding crowd than in a tented camp in the wide-open plains of the Serengeti. During the Great Migration, expect breathtaking wildlife sightings as the grazing animals move as one in search of new pastures, their every move monitored by their tireless followers – lion, hyaena, leopard, cheetah and lesser predators. Your accommodation is simple but comfortably stylish, as tents have en-suite bathrooms, spacious bedrooms and great food. Nasikia Mobile's sister camp, Nasikia Central, is in the central Rongai area.

Il Ngwesi is one of Kenya’s most pioneering bush camps. Lying within a vast community conservation and livestock region north of the wildlife-rich Lewa Conservancy, the lodge is one of the first of its kind to be entirely owned and staffed by members of the local Masai tribe. This small camp, with just six rooms, sits on the thickly forested slopes of a hill in a remote corner of the conservancy. We appreciate the authentic, all-round Kenyan experience, and the focus that's equally weighted between the region’s traditional culture and heritage and the abundant plains game and birdlife.