Best Hotels & Lodges

This relatively small tented camp is situated on Hunda Island, the largest island in the Jao reserve, on the western side of the Okavango Delta. While its sister camps Little Tubu, Kwetsani, Jacana and Jao, are more wetland focused, Tubu offers some of the best dryland viewing in the area. The camp has its own airstrip, which adds to the sense of exclusivity. Its surrounding forests are a great space to see leopard, while its other areas offer a consistent variety of typical large and small Delta game.

With a steadfast reputation as one of Botswana’s best safari camps, the luxuriously exclusive and award-winning Chief’s Camp, an A&K Sanctuary has recently been rebuilt to incorporate top notch amenities, whilst offering an authentic safari experience. Situated in the Mombo Concession of the renowned Moremi Game Reserve, one of Chief’s Camp's principal draws is the opportunity to observe vast numbers of wildlife in this rich ecosystem, year-round, accompanied by expert guides. The camp’s design allows for maximum comfort and privacy; the layout is spacious, lending wonderful views from all angles, whilst the attention to detail is impeccable. Truly, a first class experience.

The Alphen is an elegant boutique hotel in Cape Town's historic Constantia Valley, one of the oldest and most renowned wine producing regions in the Cape. With a history dating back to its origins as a wine farm in the early seventeenth century, this beautiful hotel still has a timeless Cape Dutch feel, with a modern designer edge and exceptional facilities. Accommodation consists of 19 plush suites in glorious park-like grounds, and the three restaurant are simply fabulous, as are the eateries in the surrounding vineyards. In fact, you might not even have enough time to try them all!

528 Victoria Falls is a unique boutique guest house located just 2.5km from Victoria Falls Town and a stone's throw from the iconic waterfall. You are invited to experience 528's uniquely adorned spaces and personalised service. The architecture of 528 is complemented by rich colours and textures within the space. Wall carvings, murals and bespoke pieces such as the chandeliers have been made by Zimbabwe’s talented artisans. The crowning glory is 528's rooftop bar ‘Treetops’ with spectacular views to the ribbon of the Zambezi and Zambia beyond. Sip a gin and tonic (or any other beverage) as you bear witness to one of the astounding sunsets and watch the lights of Livingstone and the stars emerge. Other facilities include a separate lounge and dining room, with views over the pool and leafy gardens.

Hotels at Cape Town’s world-famous V&A Waterfront tend to be of the large and sprawling variety. Nothing wrong with that, but sometimes you just want some peace and quiet… Enter the Dock House, a rather splendid boutique hotel with just six uber-luxurious rooms. Restored by interiors guru Francois du Plessis, the pretty Victorian house is cool, creamy and very contemporary and the whole glamorous picture is completed by dazzling postcard-perfect views; the vibrant harbour to the front and Table Mountain and Lions Head behind. And the best bit? Some of the city’s best shopping, wining and dining is a mere stroll from the front door.

The Masai Mara is Kenya's safari headliner, but the main reserve can feel like rush hour when the migration's on. Mara North Conservancy, where Hemingways River Camp Mara sits on the banks of the Njageteck River, is the antidote: 73,000 acres of community-owned wilderness with a fraction of the vehicles. Founded by late conservationist Richard Roberts, the camp has just had a top-to-toe refurbishment under the Hemingways Collection, who've kept the old-school safari soul intact. Eight canvas tents, a resident lion pride that hunts within earshot, and guides who'll happily revolve the whole day around you. Safari the way it used to be done.

The dilemma with Victoria Falls is a familiar one: do you want a safari, or do you want the falls? The answer, at this tented camp on the banks of the Masuwe River, is a firm both. Operated by Wild Horizons — the largest eco-tourism outfit in the area — the lodge sits within a 4,500-acre private wildlife sanctuary inside Victoria Falls National Park, where elephants, crocodiles and a reliable cast of other wildlife treat the riverbank as their own. The mist from Mosi-Oa-Tunya hangs on the skyline. The falls themselves are a twenty-minute transfer away. This is not a compromise between two experiences — it's a genuinely well-placed base for all of them, designed by Craig White with the same solar-powered, plastic-free sustainability credentials that run through Wild Horizons' other properties. The chitenge fabric cushion covers and handmade local touches give the whole place a warmth that the word "eco" doesn't always promise.

Located on the sloping hills of the central Serengeti, and overlooking the Moru Kopjes, is Serengeti Pioneer Camp. All 12 of the canvas tents are reminiscent of the early pioneers and the glamour of 1930s safaris, but furnished with modern and fully-functional luxuries. It is across the great Serengeti plains that the wildebeest of the Great Migration roam, and the members of the Big Five lurk in the bushes and among the kopjes - spot them from the comfort of your tent, on a game drive, or even from the high reaches of a hot-air balloon safari.