Review: Singita Sasakwa Lodge

Where is it? Sasakwa Lodge, with its infinity views over the Serengeti, has become the diamond in Singita's tiara, gazing out over what appear to be shinier, more abundant animals and plains than can be found anywhere else in the ecosystem. Singita isn't one lodge, but a collection of camps all within one vast private reserve contiguous with the Serengeti. This means you get the migration.

What’s the vibe? The flagship (with roaring stone lions at the entrance to remind you) is Sasakwa Lodge, which has possibly the best viewing point in East Africa: up on a plateau, with the plains reaching out for miles. For some, Sasakwa's opulence—the crystal, leather, and grand bathtubs—may be a step too luxe; this is where you stay if you're the sort never to order a house wine. You could stay here and see the Big Five without ever getting up from your armchair. Great for (money no object) mixed-gen family groups. For a more easygoing vibe, look to Singita Faru Faru Lodge: contemporary mint-on-white, almost like Lamu-in-the-bush, but not hard-edged. The kind of place where you do a game drive in the morning, and laze around the pool all afternoon watching the wildlife with a glass of rosé in hand. Great for couples and young honeymooners. Singita Sabora, meanwhile, is made up of 1920s-style tents on Tanzania’s Sabora Plain, surrounded by campaign furniture, Persian rugs, gramophones, a hundred candles, and zebras snorting under a star-pricked sky.

About that safari... Throughout the operation, guiding is first class—and Tanzanian. It's testimony to the investment in training the South African management company, Singita, has put into the Grumeti project over the last few years.

Anything else? I love the community projects here: impactful, for sure, and presented to outsiders in a candid way. Wildlife conservation is also a flagship success story for East Africa. When the current owners took on Grumeti, they assumed a patch of ground decimated by hunting and poaching; now, they're doing rhino reintroductions. It's kind of amazing to see how quickly nature can recover, given space to breathe.

In summary? This place demands respect. The investment (private American owner) far outweighs the normal bottom-line logic (no cut corners here), making it feel like a passion project from people who really want to leave a legacy and make the wild places count. That makes it an inspiring place to stay—and you feel that optimism running through the place, in the way staff behave, animals thrive, and guests dig into their pockets when they leave.