The eagerly awaited Matador Network’s ‘25 most spectacular hotels in the world: 2020’ list includes Singita Lebombo Lodge, in the Kruger National Park, in its top 5 selection. The best hotels and lodges from around the world are highlighted in the list, released late in January 2020 – yet another credit to both Singita and Cécile & Boyd’s already illustrious reputations. Designed in collaboration with GAPP Architects, Lebombo reflects the spectacular landscape from which it draws its inspiration.
Spectacular is certainly the way to describe this luxury destination in the heart of the Kruger, overlooking the N’wanetsi River. Guests are transported into a bushveld world of dramatic landscapes home to high concentrations of iconic wildlife. Abundant prey draws many big cats to the area, including large prides of lion. Often referred to as “Lebombo: Land of Lions” after the Lebombo mountain ridge, it is one of the best places to see these beautiful animals in their natural habitat. Yet the award-winning accommodation, where the contemporary décor is a standout feature, is an added attraction that distinguishes Lebombo from a plethora of safari options.
The Cécile & Boyd interiors are something that Matador specifically points out, stating that: “While many luxury safari camps in Africa can lean too hard on the nostalgic (or are borderline cringey in their myopic celebration of colonial Africa), Lebombo is refreshingly modern with contemporary, natural-light-filled rooms and airy sculptural touches that celebrate the surrounding wildlife.”
A celebration of the landscape is indeed the defining ethos of Cécile & Boyd’s sophisticated glass-walled suites at the lodge. The bold contemporary style is inspired by the rockface into which it is built, the untamed terrain that surrounds the lodge and the thousand stars that twinkle at night. The interior design sweeps guests into a hideaway of luxury, style and comfort, yet also connects them to nature in this 33,000-acre private concession on the eastern edge of the Kruger.
This unique response was spearheaded and defined by the design team at Cécile & Boyd, led by Geordi De Sousa Costa with creative direction from her brother and company co-founder Boyd Ferguson. The lodge’s inclusion as one of 2020’s top hotels and lodges in the world is a testament to a commanding style and singular voice that ably speaks the design language of the continent.