Not Your Typical All-Inclusive Experience

Image above of a room at the Grootbos Private Nature Reserve villa.

When many discerning travelers envision a luxury vacation they often don’t think of all-inclusives. For them, all-inclusives are synonymous with budget cruise lines, touristy resorts, cheap accommodations, and bad food.

To the surprise of many luxury travelers, most of the top-end accommodations in southern, eastern, and central Africa only offer all-inclusive rates. These rates typically include morning and night game drives (or other tours, depending on where you are staying and whether you are in a safari destination), food, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages (some accommodations exclude drinks from the all-inclusive rates), laundry services, and accommodations. Note, however, that these included items differ from accommodation to accommodation.

One of the biggest concerns I hear from travelers regarding all-inclusive properties is whether or not the food is up to snuff. I can assure you though that all the properties we send clients to offer exceptional cuisine. These accommodations use fresh, often local, ingredients each and everyday to create complex and delightful dishes that are just as nutritious as they are tasty. In fact, I just recently returned home from a trip to Zimbabwe and some of the dishes I enjoyed at my Zimbabwe lodge, which was Singita Pamushana, included buttermilk waffles with crispy bacon and maple syrup, red onion and smoked salmon horseradish omelet, Malilangwe warthog and bacon burger, seafood curry with basmati and sambals, gammon ham and wild mushroom alfredo with aged parmesan, and roast rack of lamb with braised lamb shank, potato gratin, glazed carrots, and mint jus. Does that sound like low-budget food to you? It was by far some of the best food I’ve ever had!

And the accommodations at these properties are just as awe-inspiring as the dishes they serve. Rooms are luxurious and spacious–even the tented accommodations! Each evening guests return home from a game drive, tour, dinner, or outing to find that their bed is turned down and the room is setup for the evening. Some accommodations that have baths will even have a bubble bath waiting for you when you retire for the evening. For example, one of our favorite properties, Savanna Private Game Lodge offers part tented, part solid accommodations (the roofing is tented but the walls and floors are cement, allowing the soft sounds of nature to envelope the room), and has a separate bath in each suite. After an evening in the bush, you retire to your room with a bubble bath and sherry awaiting your arrival. It’s truly the perfect way to end the day.

When you stay at a luxury all-inclusive property in Africa, you can spend time relaxing and enjoying yourself, as oppose to planning out your activities and the pricing of them, as well as the pricing of your food and beverages. Knowing that all of your needs are taken care of during your entire stay allows you to eliminate stress from your trip and simply relax.