The World's Most Romantic Hotels: Africa

Burning sands, epic sunsets, majestic mountain slopes — there are a million ways to fall in love with Africa. Start with this list of romantic hotel destinations.

BOTSWANA

Jack's Camp
Makgadikgadi Plains, Kalahari Desert
What's to Love: An over-the-top 1940s-style safari camp set in a palm grove. Explore archeological sites on quad bikes, then regroup at the lavish tea tent. It's pricey. But the service details are incredibly special (i.e.: tours are led by a group of passionate academics, anthropologists, and bushmen).

Jao Camp
Okavango Delta
What's to Love: A true camp experience — al fresco showers, outdoor beds for afternoon naps, dining under the stars — upgraded with massages, plunge pools, and refreshing Stellenbosch between game drives. It's best to visit in March or early spring for the best weather and Big Game sightings.

REPUBLIC OF CONGO

Odzala Camps
Odzala-Kokoua, Republic of Congo
What's to love: Channel your inner primate in the largely unexplored Odzala-Kokoua rainforest in the Congo. Choose between two lodges — Lango on the edge of the savanna or Ngaga deep in the Marantaceae forest. The treetop suites at Ngaga Camp are raised about ten feet above the ground, giving you the same perspective as the 20,000 resident gorillas at your doorstep.

EGYPT

The Oberoi Sahl Hasheesh
Red Sea Coast
What's to Love: Spacious and secluded suites have private heated swimming pools, walled gardens, and 48 acres of white sand beach. Do not miss scuba diving in the Gulf of Aqaba.

KENYA

Giraffe Manor
Nairobi, Kenya
What's to Love: Staying at the ten-suite safari estate is like stepping into an old Colonial fairy tale, where resident Rothschild giraffes reach through windows and rouse you with loving licks at sunrise and join you for supper at sunset.

Hippo Point
Great Rift Valley, Kenya
What's to Love: You're the king of the jungle in a wildlife conservancy, gazing down on hungry hippos, grazing zebras, and howling hyenas from your 120-feet high perch at the top of Dodo's Tower. Invite the couples you love to swing with: The beautiful, European-antique filled suite can accommodate three couples.

Olarro
Maasai Mara
What's to Love: It's exclusive and intimate. Take a scenic helicopter flight into the Maasai Mara at dawn from the hotel's private helipad. After an exhilarating flight into the reserve, take the rare opportunity to float over the million-strong wildebeest and zebra migration in a hot air balloon, followed by breakfast in a remote part of the Maasai Mara.

Peponi Hotel
Lamu, Kenya
What's to Love: Checking in feels like stepping into a different century. Lost colonial Casablanca vibe, low-key Swahili culture, and beautiful beaches all come without posh jet-set pretension in this ancient Muslim enclave on the Kenyan coast.

Sanctuary Olonana
Maasai Mara
What's to Love: The boutique tented camp overlooks the flowing Mara River (perfect for hippo watching). There's a wonderful spa and pool to refresh after game tracking. Hot water bottles are placed in your four-poster bed at night along with bedtime stories. Book tent 14 or 15 for ultra luxury. Request Joseph as a guide (though all are amazing). Have a sun-downer on the escarpment where the movie Out of Africa was filmed. Get married amongst the Maasai. Plant a tree on the property and leave something behind to grow.

MOROCCO

Beldi Country Club
Marrakech
What's to Love: Beautifully decorated private villas with fireplaces and outdoor bathtubs in your own private garden. This is a great place for romance but an awful place for business. There is no internet in the rooms.
Read More on Fathom: The Garden of Eden Is in Marrakech

Kasbah Tamadot
Atlas Mountains, Morocco
What's to Love: 27 suites and nine luxurious Berber-style tents filled with Moroccan antiques in the mountains an hour outside Marrakech. This is Sir Richard Branson's retreat, the one he discovered while ballooning in the area. Try to tear yourself away from your room to explore the Atlas Mountains on one of their mules and to visit nearby village Asni for the weekly Saturday market.

L'Heure Bleue Palais
Essaouira
What's to Love: An ultimate one-time romantic getaway. Many rooms have open moucharabieh woodwork onto the courtyard, ask for a room on the top floor. The rooftop pool overlooks the smashing sea. Plenty of private corners in which to snuggle. The best table in town is in the hotel restaurant, ask to be seated in front of the fireplace.
Read More on Fathom: A Naughty Weekend in Essaouira

La Mamounia
Marrakech
What's to Love: A gorgeous 2009 renovation caters to your design fetish. You'll find Moorish and Deco glamour, lush gardens, a marble mosaic hammam, and gleaming Jaguars in the driveway. The Baldaquin Suite is particularly stunning. Two of their four restaurants are led by Michelin-star chefs.
Read More on Fathom: A Berber Jewel Box, and I Have the Keys

Madada Mogador
Essaouira
What's to Love: A French-owned hotel with ocean views and balconies that back up to the city's ancient sea walls. Cross your fingers for a power outage, because the fishing village is even lovelier by candlelight. For the breeziest breakfast, order from the roof terrace.

Riad El Fenn
Marrakech
What's to Love: Vanessa Branson's (yes, one of those Bransons) charming contemporary boutique hotel has three courtyards, swimming pools, mint tea and cake every afternoon, and an excellent hammam near bustling Djemaa el-Fna square. Riad Vanessa is the especially lovely and private suite to book. If you fall for the brightly striped Turkish cotton towels by the pool, you can pick some up at Atelier Moro (114 Place de Mouassine; +11-212-24-39-16-78), along with other non-touristy souvenirs.

Photo courtesy of Royal Mansour.

Royal Mansour
Marrakech
What's to Love: The scent of jasmine wafts through the air at the beautiful oasis within the historic city walls. Nest in your very own riad, complete with intricate plasterwork, carvings, and sumptuous silk embroideries. Relax on personal, colonnaded patios, swim in plunge pools, and marvel at the exotic Andalucian and Moorish elements within the compound. As it is owned by the royal family, service at the Royal Mansour is totally next level: You'll never see a bellhop, and fresh mint will miraculously appear before you knew you even wanted any.
Read more on Fathom: Girls Gone Wild in Marrakech

Villa Maroc
Essaouira
What's to Love: Imagine the Chateau Marmont relocated to a small medieval Moroccan town with camels wandering the beach and sea spray sweetening the evening breeze. The nearby dock is the essential destination for al fresco lunches.

An Arabian Nights fantasy. Photo courtesy of La Sultana.

La Sultana Marrakech
Marrakech, Morocco
What's to Love: If Marrakech is famous for its many charming riads, La Sultana dazzles the senses by offering several differently themed riads in one. The interconnecting buildings feel like an elaborate warren where no detail is too ornate or too fantastical. Yes, you have just stepped into the pages of 1,001 Arabian Nights. Just don't forget to spend at least one of them having dinner on the rooftop and another in the steamy hammam. If you want add even more to love, spend a few days at its beachfront sister property, La Sultana Oualidia.

Lunch for two in the oasis. Photo courtesy of Dar Ahlam.

Dar Ahlam
Skoura, Morocco
What's to Love: All the world’s a play at this magical North African Kasbah, French hotelier Thierry Teyssier’s fever dream of an escape. Twenty eight guests are tended to by a staff of over 100 who service every wish and make each day a different, theatrical, unexpected experience. Stargazing in a desert oasis, dining in a secret garden, taking a bath next to the fireplace, walking the Berber trails — whatever you fantasize can be done, and it will be special and sumptuous and laid-back in that cool French-Moroccan way. For a few days, you’ll feel like the only people who exist in the world.

MOZAMBIQUE

Azura
Benguerra Island
What's to Love: The hotel consists of 16 private villas on a semi-private island accessible only by helicopter. Most of them have their own infinity pool. All of them come with two full-time butlers who make it their job to surprise you throughout the day. You can have lunch served on a desert island off-shore one day and in an abandoned old fishing boat another day. The snorkeling nearby is world-class. The accommodations are perfect and the service is warm. Splurge for a luxury villa with private pool, and be sure to take advantage of the exceptionally well curated activities offered

Vamizi Island
Quirimbas
What's to Love: Palatial villas, white sand beaches, crystal clear water, just-caught seafood. You are completely disconnected from the world in the best possible sense.
The diving — in some still uncharted reefs — is incredible.

SOUTH AFRICA

The owner's lodge. Photo courtesy of Delaire Graff Estate.

Delaire Graff Estate
Stellenbosch
What's to Love: If it's privacy, good wine, and a beautiful setting that you're after, look no further than the intimate, villa-only estate. Nestled in the Cape Wineland's scenic Helshoogte Mountain pass, amid the area's many vineyards, the view from your private plunge pool is one to savor. A state-of-the-art winery, two outstanding restaurants, and a world-class spa make it ideal for a romantic getaway.

Babylonstoren
Simondium
What’s to Love: If you’ve ever longed to turn back time to an era where people lived on farm estates and grew their own food, this is the spot for you. The charming 500-acre Cape Dutch farm is straight out of a magazine spread, with bountiful fruit orchards and vegetable patches, friendly farmhands in matching uniforms, and simple but elegant white-washed guest cottages. Upon arrival, a general feeling of peacefulness and well-being will descend. This is how life should be, you’ll think to yourself, and for a few days that is. You’ll be immersed in the world of a working – albeit highly stylized – farm, where mornings start with an epic breakfast spread of fresh produce, homemade breads, cheeses, and yogurts, and eggs from the resident free-roaming hens. A state-of-the-art winery, serene spa, two swimming pools, hiking trails, mountain bikes, and farm shop offer plenty to see and do, but it’s dinner at Babel, the estate’s award-winning restaurant, that will be most memorable.

Singita Boulders Lodge
Sabi Sand Game Reserve
What’s to Love: If it’s an adventure you’re after, look no further than this secluded twelve-suite lodge on a private concession adjacent to South Africa’s Kruger National Park. Set along the wildlife-rich banks of the Sand River, the impressive safari lodge offers some of the best service we’ve ever experienced in one of nature’s most primitive environments. Days revolve around early-morning and late-afternoon game drives with a personal safari guide and tracker. Your goal: spotting Africa’s Big Five (lions, elephants, buffalo, leopards, and rhinoceros), along with other native species like hippos, zebra, giraffes, impala, and the elusive wild dog. Both exhilarating and utterly relaxing, each excursion feels like its own journey with a surprise ending. Come afternoon, you’ll retire to your private suite, a tranquil standalone villa that looks like it was carved out of the earth: Stone walls and large glass windows make it difficult to tell where your room ends and nature begins. A private plunge pool and outdoor shower will tempt you to hole up in your suite, but the rest of the lodge, with its swimming pool, spa, fitness center, and boutique, is worth exploring. We’d be remiss to not mention the delicious food, which is overseen by award-winning chef Liam Tomlin, and the lodge’s extensive wine cellar.

Atlantic House
Cape Town
What's to Love: A blissfully secluded guesthouse perched on a sea cliff. It is so private that staff departs every evening to leave you to your own devices. Take a dip in the heated saltwater pool or stargaze on a chaise with a digestif from the honesty bar. Head down to the Camps Bay strip for beachfront breakfast, lunch, or dinner. For a breath of fresh air, stroll the nearby Table Mountain natural reserve.

Ellerman House
Cape Town
What's to Love: The home-away-from-home feeling wrapped up in a stately, manicured Cape Edwardian mansion. Considered to have the most spectacular view in Cape Town, overlooking the Atlantic, yet only ten minutes from the action of the city.

Royal Malewane
Kruger National Park
What's to Love: Amazing meals and walking safaris in the bush. Rooms with soaring ceilings, canopy beds, fireplaces, and cozy outdoor showers. Traveling with another couple? Book The Royal suite for the private chef and massage therapist.

Singita Lebombo Lodge
Kruger National Park
What's to Love:Fifteen suites with private outdoor showers overlookng the N'wanetsi River, fireplaces, sweeping decks, and expansive views. Private tours, chefs, and butlers are at your service. No children younger than ten are allowed.

Tswalu Kalahari
Kalahari Desert
What's to Love: Nestled at the foot of the Korannaberg Mountains, subtly luxurious lodgings and top-knotch guides come together to perfectly redefine "safari." Get flown in on their luxurious Pilatus plane from Johannesburg airport. Stay in one of the eight spacious legae, little houses, with outdoor showers and big open fireplaces.
It's intimate, only twenty guests stay at a time.
Read More on Fathom: Safari Redefined: Wildlife and Low-Key Luxury in Tswalu

TANZANIA

andBeyond Ngorongoro Crater Lodge
Arusha
What's to Love: It's tribal meets luxury with rich, velvety curtains, a heated bed, French crystal glasses (for a fireside glass of sherry, and a view of the crater that would make even the most heartless brute weep. After a day on safari, you'll come home to a rose-petal strewn hot bath and chilled champagne. Is there any better prequel to a romantic romp?

Essque Zalu Zanzibar
Zanzibar
What's to Love: There's nothing quite like standing on a pier overlooking the Indian Ocean. The grounds are undeniably stunning, and it's easy to feel like you're truly getting away from it all.

Mwiba Lodge
Southern Serengeti
What's to Love: Romance is a cocktail of ambiance, privacy, and comfort, made even better in a dramatic setting far away from everyday life. The hotel feels like something out of Architectural Digest, set against the soothing sounds of an Arugusinyai River rushing below and the lions roaring in the midnight bush.

TUNISIA

Hotel Sidi Driss
Matmata, Tunisia
What's to Love: An ordinary room this is not. You may recognize the twenty-room, five-cavern hotel located in a Berber settlement (which by some accounts was founded in 146 B.C.E.) as Luke Skywalker's childhood home on Tatooine from Star Wars. There is no dark side: It's only $16 per night.

UGANDA

Volcanoes Bwindi Safari Lodge
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park
What's to Love: Eight thatched-roof bandas with picture-perfect jungle views from broad verandas, and the chance to spend your morning flirting with mountain gorillas.
Bring a bathing suit for the lodge's private swimming hole. And hiking boots, long pants, rain gear, and gloves for the gorilla treks. Save the massage for after your hike with 500-pound apes amid the slopes' tangled vines.

ZAMBIA

Luangwa Safari House
South Luangwa
What's to Love: A super chic blend of creature comforts — Neil Rocher-designed architecture, designer furniture, a private chef — surrounded by vast savannah wilderness. With some of the healthiest populations of elephants, giraffes, and hippos on the planet, South Luangwa is one of the wildest (and most remote) corners on earth. An excellent way to ease into a Zambian adventure.

Sindabezi Island
Just upriver from Victoria Falls
What's to Love: Five open-sided thatched cottages on a private island on the Zambezi River. Take an alfresco bubble bath in an antique claw-foot tub. Enjoy the flickering candle light of antique lanterns. Wake up to hippos bellowing in the water. Request Trega, the best personal butler you'll ever know. You can combine a stay on this island with one on the sister property, a short boat ride away.
Read More on Fathom: Our very own Zambiana Jones takes the trip of a lifetime.

The Bushcamp Company
South Luangwa National Park
What's to Love: Six distinct bushcamps are set up in the remote south of the park, where wildlife experiences are out-of-this-world. The resort also supports two local schools and runs eco initiatives (tree-planting, solar cookers, honey production).
Good to Know: Go in November when resident elephant families near Mfuwe Lodge are on the search for succulent wild fruit. One particular wily old matriarch (named Wonky Tusk) takes the most direct route to the mango trees, which means walking through the reception lounge.

ZANZIBAR

Mnemba Island Resort
Mnemba Island, Indian Ocean
What's to Love: A private island resort with ten very stylish free-standing bandas, outdoor living rooms, fantastic food, and world-class snorkeling. You can be active or do nothing. How else to know how Robinson Crusoe would have felt as a Zanzibari sultan?
Good to Know: There are no real roads, phones, or TVs (though there is wifi). You will be barefoot all the time. You will hear doves along with rare (and tiny!) Suni antelope. Bring ear plugs if you are a light sleeper — those doves melodically coo all day and night.

GIMME MORE LOVIN'

The World's Most Romantic Hotels

Contributors: Josh Abramson, Erinn Bucklan, Larry Burnett, Kym Canter, Caryl Chinn, Ondine Cohane, Sonya De Castelbajac, Melanie Dunea, Erin Hartigan, Rachel Kahlon, Devorah Klein Lev-Tov, Lanee Lee, Kelley McMillan, Christina Ohly, James Sturz, Rima Suqi, James Truman, Jess Teutonico.