What if I told you that that you can wake up right next to a herd of giraffes in a luxury hotel right here in the UK? Well you can at West Midlands Safari Park Safari Lodges.
Located in Bewdley in Worcestershire (nearish to Birmingham) West Midlands Safari park is one of the biggest wildlife attractions in the UK. There’s a drive through safari, walk through area, a dinosaur exhibition and theme park. And mostly importantly, the unique overnight accommodation: the luxury Safari Lodges.
West Midlands Safari park is home to a number of themed, immersive lodges which overlook animals such as giraffes, lions, tigers and red pandas to name a few. We were lucky enough to spend one amazing night in one of the Giraffe Lodges.
The Room
I’ve stayed in many UK luxury hotels and I have to say this is one of the best rooms I’ve ever had! On arrival, the safari lodges have a dedicated car park and reception. We were handed the key and walked the (slightly hilly) ten minutes to the lodge while the staff took care of our cases. They will deliver one case per guest.
We stayed in ‘Arusha’ a two storey lodge that allowed for the height of the giraffes to be fully appreciated. On the ground floor are the two bedrooms…
The bedrooms are just gorgeous with a modern safari aesthetic, as beautiful as any safari lodge that I’ve stayed in, in Kenya or South Africa. I loved this four poster bed.
And giraffe themed detail such as this lamp.
But of course, the most special thing of all… this large picture window with a view out to a herd of giraffes!
The children’s room is also gorgeous and I love how the top bunk is like a secret den! Note that children under 6 are not allowed to sleep on the top bunk. And of course the huge picture window with a view of our tall friends. As you can see the room can take around five people (maybe 2 adults, 3 children) but a bigger group could also book out the adjoining room.
My only mild criticism of these rooms is the storage space was very limited and the rack pictured above was the only hanging space. However, I think most guests would only be staying one night so it’s not a huge issue.
The bathroom is small but nicely appointed with amenties and a rainforest shower.
There’s a winding staircase (with a baby gate at the bottom and at the top) leading to the second floor.
With this gorgeous and spacious living, dining area all made out of natural materials and with total safari vibes! The kitchen is well-appointed with fridge, microwave, kettle and toaster. I would have preferred a coffee machine over the cafetiere provided but it did the job. Noah absolutely loved the swing chair pictured.
The big screen TV gives a comprehensive guide to all aspects of the stay including animals cams to view the other animals.
Best of all was our balcony with a view of our herd of giraffes, including a six month old baby!
We really hoped the giraffes would come all the way to our balcony but unfortunately they mostly kept their distance.
I was a bit confused about the air-conditioning situation (important as we visited during the UK’s heatwave!) and honestly I still not entirely clear on whether the lodge has air conditioning or not. But they provided fans which was enough to ward off the 30 degree heat!
Guests staying in the lodge can also walk around the park after hours and we felt very VIP taking a peek at the animals when the park was closed to public!
Food
We were a little apprehensive about the food offering at West Midlands Safari Park. Basically you preorder starter, main, dessert (there’s a children’s menu too) and when you arrive the meal is in your fridge in jars for you to heat up when you’re ready for dinner. A bag of fresh bread is delivered in the evening to enjoy with it.
As I was unsure about the jars I ordered a meat and cheese platter and a snack box along with a bottle of champagne for myself and my friend to enjoy.
The platter was really good and the perfect nibble while we were sitting on our balcony enjoying our giraffes. Honestly they are such gentle and calming animals – if you’re feeling stressed, sit with a giraffe for a bit and it will melt away!
When the time came for our dinner we plated our cold starters and for our main courses got the heating instructions from the TV and warmed up them up. I had salmon to start and pasta bolognese for main, my friend had crudites and hummus and Thai curry with Noah having macaroni cheese. We all had a brownie for dessert.
Honestly it was better than expected and I preferred the option of staying in our room rather than an onsite restaurant but I still think the food offering is something that could be worked on. All the used jars are then put in a bag and left outside the room for collection.
In the morning breakfast (again preordered) is left outside your room ready to bring in. Honestly, again this was good and better than I expected. And of course waking up to giraffes is absolutely priceless!
Activities
The Safari Lodges are part of the main West Midlands safari park and staying in a lodge give access to all the attractions there.
On check out guests are invited to a special Sea Lion enrichment session at 10.15 am before the park fully opens. On the very hot day the sea lions weren’t playing ball! But it was a nice idea and it gets everyone out of the lodge!
A safari drive is included with the safari lodge stay. You can opt for the self drive which is included or upgrade to the mini bus or truck guided tour (as we did) or the VIP option of the safari jeep which gets up close to the animals.
We really enjoyed our safari truck experience which took about an hour and half and allowed us to see rhinos, elephants, zebra, wild dogs and more!
Around the park itself you can take a walking discovery trail to see penguins, red pandas, reptiles, bats and more! There’s also Land of the Living Dinosaurs and Ice Age exhibits and the theme park included in the Safari Lodge stay. The theme park is really good for toddlers and there were loads of rides Noah could go on, such as the carousel and rescue fire rangers ride.
The safari park also offers various VIP experiences such as lion feeding, giraffe as well as junior keeper experiences.
The Safari Lodges at West Midlands Safari Park are an absolutely brilliant experience. Kids will love waking up to the animals from a private balcony as well as the activities such as safari drive, theme park and other animal experiences.
For parents its a truly luxury stay with gorgeous accommodation in a very peaceful setting. Having an evening drink while watching giraffes is an amazing one of a kind opportunity!
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