Julie Zeveloff/Business Insider
Condé Nast Traveler just released its list of the top 100 hotels and resorts in the world, as voted upon by its readers. Singita Grumeti, located on the western corridor of Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, earned the top spot.
Singita Grumeti is a 340,000-acre concession in the Grumeti Reserve that's controlled by billionaire hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones. Jones partnered with Singita, a luxury safari brand with resorts around Africa, to build an oasis in the wild in 2006. There's a big emphasis on conservation - Singita Grumeti established an anti-poaching unit and effectively stopped poaching in the area, resulting in a resurgence of big game.
Singita Grumeti has three main lodges spread across the property, as well as some smaller locales, including a mobile tent camp.
When the Tanzania Tourist Board invited me to visit in 2012, I had to see what all the fuss was about.
I stayed at Sabora Tented Camp, the most rustic of the three main lodges. My room may have been made of canvas, but it wasn't an ordinary tent. It was ultra-luxurious, with air conditioning, Wi-Fi, an outdoor shower, and a canopied bed. The food was five-star, with a menu of locally grown produce and fresh meat and fish.
Singita Grumeti isn't cheap. Sabora Tented camp costs $1,425 per person per night in the high season and $1,150 in the low season; rates at Sasakwa, the flagship lodge, go up to $1,950 per person per night in a cottage. If you want to stay in a villa, it will cost you up to $7,900 per night during the high season.
Disclosure: Our 2012 trip to Tanzania, including