If you’ve always wanted to have a genuine safari experience, but have never quite been able to stretch to two weeks in Kenya – a stay at the Treehouse Hotel at the Port Lympne Reserve is most definitely the next best thing.Ensconced in the canopy of the trees, high above the 600-acre wild animal and safari reserve, the Treehouse Hotel opened a matter of weeks ago.
Here at HotelDesigns, we had the pleasure of sampling authentic African tree-top accommodation at the Teniqua Treetops in Knysna, South Africa in May last year; and early indications are that designer Tara Bernerd has done a fine job of recreating that experience in the Kent countryside with the Treehouse Hotel.
However, to use the word ‘treehouse’ does offer up certain connotations, which are far removed from the bespoke, beautifully designed and luxurious lodges that Tara Bernerd and her team have created.
Tara Bernerd and Parnters does have pedigree with this type of accommodation. Having successfully designed the now iconic interiors of 4,000 lodges across Center Parcs’ five UK locations, the group were comissioned to design Center Parcs’ four-bedroom luxury lodges.
Given a brief, however, to create something different to the Center Parcs project the interiors are simple but chic while offering a natural retreat using unique colours, textures and materials – not to mention the beautiful black and white wildlife photos that bedeck the walls – that all perfectly complement the environment and ethos of the Port Lympne Reserve.
The lodges are perfect for four people with two bedrooms, a bathroom and an expansive open planned sitting room and kitchen, with floor-to-ceiling glass doors that lead out onto a private balcony. An ideal place to watch glorious sunsets and listen to the sounds of the reserve below.
Guests staying in the treehouses get their own golf buggies and can also choose to book a VIP safari, as well as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to feed a family of gorillas.
