Four Seasons Safari Lodge Serengeti

The lodge sits in the central Serengeti, out on open grassland, and what makes it unusual is the natural waterhole right beside it, where elephants and other game come to drink. From the restaurant, from the infinity pool, even from some of the private balconies, you may watch a herd pass in front of you — the game drive is over for the day, you are sitting in the lodge, and the Serengeti simply carries on.

The stay itself is another matter entirely: large rooms, deep tubs, private decks, water and power that never falter, plus a pool, spa, gym and several restaurants — unremarkable in a city five-star, remarkable in the middle of the Serengeti, and some suites and villas even have their own infinity pool. What really sets Four Seasons apart, though, is the service and the food: this is not luxury hardware alone, it is the service culture of a top international hotel brought into the African bush. Recent guests come back again and again to the attentiveness of the staff, the quality of the meals and the standard of service overall.