It’s the happiest happy hour.
Smack in the middle of the African bush, as the Tanzanian sunset blazes behind the acacia trees and herds of wildebeest and zebras gallop by, there you are, enjoying cocktails and homemade cured beef on the tableclothed hood of a Land Rover in what has got to be one of the most beautiful places on earth.
Voted the No. 1 hotel in the world by Conde Nast Traveler last year, Singita’s Grumeti property in Tanzania (from $1,200 per person per night) has actually been upping the ante for other outfits since the early aughts.
In 2003, Paul Tudor Jones, a billionaire hedge fund honcho from Greenwich, Conn., purchased the access rights to the 340,000 acres bordering the western boundary of the Serengeti National Park — then a hunting concession with rampant poaching. Three years later, he brought in Singita, a top safari company, to manage the property, transforming it into an ultra high-end, extremely photogenic experience.
It’s been a hit with adventure-seekers and A-listers ever since.
Oprah and George Bush have stayed there — plus honeymooners Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel and George and Amal Clooney. Microsoft’s Paul Allen is currently building a private home on the grounds.
Singita’s allure is two-fold: unparalleled access to animals with some of the best-trained guides in Tanzania; and almost laughably luxurious service, with a five-star meal served pretty much on the hour.
While other safari companies have fully enclosed vehicles that aren’t allowed off road, or charge extra for game drives in the very crowded national park, where tens of trucks are crowded around a single pride of lions, Singita gets up close and personal.
More times than not, it’s just your party and the assigned guide out on the plains. There’s something otherworldly about being the only vehicle alongside a cheetah as she stalks her prey.
Now, for the luxury. Each person has his or her own banakeli, a butler who manages to be simultaneously ever-present and unobtrusive. Like lemon with your water? No one will ever forget to bring you a slice. Mention to your spouse over lunch that you’d love to learn how to make the soup they served? You’ll be emailed a complete list of recipes upon your departure.
The staff goes above and beyond to make sure each guest’s stay is perfectly personalized.
They’ll set up an impromptu South African wine tasting with the safari’s impressive sommelier at an hour’s notice; a private dinner on your lantern-strewn balcony as giraffes graze nearby; a bubble bath somehow perfectly drawn to coincide with your arrival home after a long day in the bush. If you want to go for a run, a security detail will follow you to make sure you’re not trampled by elephants. A walking safari strikes your fancy? You’ll get your own band of Indiana Joneses to traipse through the savanna with you.
Typically guests do two game drives a day: one in the morning and one in the late afternoon — though the guides are flexible, so feel free to squeeze in that spa treatment and head out at your leisure.
When you’re not chasing a leopard or watching hyenas and vultures fight over a lion’s scraps, expect to be eating. There’s the early morning pre-drive breakfast, a post-drive breakfast, a three-course lunch, a high tea, cocktails, and, of course, dinner (all food and wine is included).
Everything is delicious. You will gain weight. Just embrace it.
Singita Grumeti has five different lodges (guests can bounce from one to another during their stays). There’s the Sasakwa lodge, which looks straight out of a Ralph Lauren ad and sits high on a mountain overlooking the Serengeti. This is the most formal of them all.
Then there’s the Sabora tented camp, a 1920s-style setup overflowing with antiques and Persian rugs; Faru Faru, a riverside lodge with an eco-friendly design and sandy spots that bring you straight to the beaches of Zanzibar (their lunch platter alone is worth checking out); the Serengeti House, a private residence for the most discerning of guests (Clooney allegedly rented out the $50,000 to $70,000-a-week home for his honeymoon); and Explore, a more authentic, “rustic” tented camp for single families that comes with its own chef and staff.
How to get there
There are no direct flights to Tanzania from NYC. Hop on a plane to either London or Amsterdam and to Kilimanjaro from there. Most international flights land late at night, and the bush planes to Singita can only fly during the day. We recommend staying overnight in Arusha (an hour’s drive from the Kilimanjaro airport) at the Legendary Lodge, which sits on a coffee plantation and is the perfect introduction to luxe safari living. The next morning, it’s a quick 10-minute drive to the Arusha airport, where you’ll fly straight to the Serengeti.