Africa Travel With a Luxe Touch

For many of us, a family trip to Africa is at the top of our bucket list, especially if the idea of seeing lions, tigers and — well, maybe not bears, but a whole menagerie of other exotic animals in the wild. But if the idea of roughing it isn’t your style, you can enjoy a deluxe version of the experience at Elewana Lodo Springs, a new luxury tented camp scheduled to open in June 2019.

The new tented property will be located in the vast, 56,000-acre Loisaba Conservancy in Northern Kenya, alongside its other properties, Loisaba Tented Camp and the Loisaba Star Beds.

Guestroom of Lodo Springs © Elewana Collection

The camp, which offers just eight tented rooms, was created with privacy and exclusivity in mind. Tents are deliberately set far apart from each other, and parents with older teens who want some independence — typically aged about 16 and up — can book a separate tent for the kids. The camp also offers a family tent, which can accommodate one younger child staying with his or her parents.

Tent interior © Elewana Collection

To make sure every family receives the 5-star treatment, each tent is assigned an Elewana Guest Ambassador to cater to their needs, along with the services of a dedicated safari vehicle and driver and an Elewana field guide, who will accompany guests for the duration of their stay.

Tent interior © Elewana Collection

The elegant look of the tents is thanks to the design talents of architects Chris Payne and Jan Allen and landscape architect Jo Silvester, and each room offers views across the grasslands all the way to Mount Kenya.

But while service and luxury are key, sustainability is also paramount to the company, which prides itself on its work in East Africa conservation. In fact, the Loisaba Conservancy was purchased by The Nature Conservancy in 2015 with the goal of securing the land to benefit and support neighboring communities, the wildlife and all Kenyans into the future and maintaining top standards of sustainable conservation. The purchase also ensured Loisaba’s role as a critical sanctuary and corridor for elephants and provides refuge for one of Kenya’s most stable lion populations and an abundance of other wildlife, including Grevy’s zebras, wild dogs, leopards and cheetahs.

“Elewana Lodo Springs is a different kind of bespoke safari experience — it has been created to speak to the discerning well-seasoned high-end traveler who has come to expect responsible conservation practices without forgoing luxury and privacy,” said Karim Wissanji, chief executive officer, Elewana Collection. “Beyond this, the opening of Elewana Lodo Springs is a demonstration of Elewana’s commitment to sustainable conservation across East Africa.”

The new property brings the total of Elewana Collection camps, lodges and boutique beach hotels in Tanzania, Zanzibar and Kenya to 16.

View from the guestroom © Elewana Collection