People ask me all the time “what’s your favorite hotel?” It is so tough to narrow down; I adore so many for reasons that are different! However, one which is top of head is Singita Lebombo Lodge in South Africa.   Singita has twelve intimate   lodges across southern and east Africa, but Lebombo is your sexiest. It’s set on a private tract of land adjacent to the Kruger National Park of South Africa. Personal land means that you are not encountering lots of other safari-goers, which means you don’t have the classic “safari traffic jam” — 10 Land Rovers converging on a single wildlife sighting, like a shade-seeking cheetah. Deficiency of traffic signifies that the animals more comfortable too; they go about their business undisturbed and ignore us.

Lebombo has a modern interiors, and everything is designed so the focus is where it ought to be: outdoors.   Even the 15 suites  are encased in glass, made for screening opportunities. Even the tub sits facing a window; there is an outdoor shower. (How I love an outside shower!)

Well, you don’t have to if you are too lazy to get up.   Rooms have design details such as  beaded drapes and mod, woven seats, most of it’s sourced using components.

If you ask, they’ll set up a mattress on your deck, which means that you can  doze off under the stars and listen to all of the night sounds. Magic.

Lebombo is perfectly located on a bluff about the Lebombo River, a popular watering hole for impalas, elephants, giraffes, lions.

The restaurant is great with a wine list, much of it sourced from the wine country of Soth Africa. Thus, even though you’re in the bush, the vibe is sophisticated  —    the reverse of roughing it.

Game drives take place at sunrise and sunset, when animals are most active. Which means, during warm afternoons, you hang out here, at the pool. Seriously sumptuous. I can not wait to go back.