The legendary hospitality brand is trading city skylines for the Serengeti.
The Ritz-Carlton, a name that is synonymous with urban luxury and five-star service, is making a bold and exciting move into the world of adventure travel. The company has just announced the opening of its first-ever safari camp, the Nxanatseni Reserve, a Ritz-Carlton Camp, in a private concession bordering Tanzania’s world-famous Serengeti National Park. This marks the brand’s first foray into the high-end safari market.
It promises to bring the brand’s legendary service and sophisticated luxury to the heart of the African wilderness.
1. The location is an exclusive and private wildlife concession.
The new camp is not located inside the main national park, but in a vast and exclusive private wildlife concession on the western edge of the Serengeti. This is a major advantage, as it means that the guests of the camp will have this incredible landscape all to themselves. They will not have to share their wildlife sightings with the dozens of other safari vehicles that are common in the public park.
This private setting also allows for activities that are not permitted inside the park, such as night game drives and guided walking safaris, offering a much more intimate and immersive wilderness experience, as stated by Travel Weekly.
2. The accommodations are ultra-luxurious “tented suites”.
The camp is comprised of just 25 accommodations, which are being described as “tented suites.” These are not simple camping tents; they are massive, permanent structures that are built on raised wooden platforms and have canvas walls. Each suite is incredibly spacious and features a four-poster bed, a full en-suite bathroom with a deep soaking tub, and high-end, locally inspired furnishings, according to Globetrender.
Each suite also has its own large, private deck with a plunge pool that offers a stunning, uninterrupted view of the savanna and the animals that wander by, a perfect blend of rustic adventure and five-star comfort.
3. The safari experience will be completely personalized.
The guest experience at the camp will be centered around a completely personalized and flexible safari program. Each group of guests will be assigned their own private, custom-outfitted safari vehicle and a dedicated, highly trained naturalist guide for the duration of their stay. This means that they will have complete control over their daily schedule.
There are no set times for game drives; guests can decide when they want to go, how long they want to stay out, and what specific animals they are most interested in seeing. It is a completely bespoke and unhurried approach to the safari experience, as mentioned in Reuters.
4. The dining is a farm-to-table culinary journey.
The camp will feature a sophisticated culinary program that is focused on fresh, local, and sustainable ingredients. Much of the produce will be sourced from the camp’s own large, organic garden and from local community farms. The dining experience will be an integral part of the adventure, with a variety of different settings.
Guests can enjoy a gourmet meal in the main lodge, a private dinner on their suite’s deck, or a magical “bush dinner” under the stars in a lantern-lit spot out on the savanna. It is a dining experience that is deeply connected to the local landscape.
5. A signature Ritz-Carlton spa will be a key feature.
A major part of the new camp is the Ritz-Carlton Spa, a large wellness sanctuary that is designed to be a destination in its own right. The spa will feature a number of private treatment rooms that are housed in their own separate pavilions, all with views of the surrounding wilderness. The spa menu will feature a blend of classic treatments and unique therapies that use local, indigenous ingredients and healing traditions.
After a long and dusty day on a game drive, the spa will be a perfect and serene oasis for relaxation and rejuvenation.
6. The camp has a deep commitment to conservation and community.
The Ritz-Carlton has partnered with a local conservation organization to ensure that the new camp has a positive impact on the surrounding ecosystem and community. A portion of the camp’s revenue will be directed to the organization’s anti-poaching and habitat preservation efforts. The camp is also powered primarily by its own solar farm, minimizing its environmental footprint.
The camp has also established a program to hire and train people from the local Maasai community for a variety of professional roles, ensuring that the local community benefits directly from the new tourism enterprise.
7. The experience comes with a very exclusive price tag.
As you would expect from a property of this caliber, the experience of staying at the Nxanatseni Reserve will be an incredibly exclusive and expensive one. A stay at the all-inclusive camp, which includes all meals, drinks, and safari activities, is expected to cost several thousand dollars per person, per night. This positions it at the very top of the high-end safari market.
It is a price tag that ensures an incredible level of privacy, luxury, and personalized service. It is a true, bucket-list destination that is aimed at the most discerning and affluent adventure travelers in the world.