Unless you’re willing to hop on a plane and head out on safari, you won’t find better opportunities to get up close and personal with wildlife than at West Midland Safari Park. Its animal-themed luxury lodges have long let you sleep near some of nature’s wildest animals – from red pandas and elephants to cheetahs, tigers and lions.
West Midland Safari Park is now taking bookings for its next brand-new luxury lodges. After planning was granted last month, work has started on eight new lodges, alongside new habitats for the animals. Four lodges will offer incredible first-of-its-kind in Europe views of African wild dogs, while the other four will be the only place in the UK where you can stay overlooking the hippopotamus.
What will these new luxury lodges be like?
“As with all our lodges, we take influence from the animals themselves when it comes to the designs and the interiors,” said Neil James, Project Manager. “For the African wild dog lodges, we wanted to create a different style to represent the world’s most prolific land predator. These animals are perfectly designed to cope with the harsh African environment and these lodges will feel like they are born from the earth, but with a chic finish.”
The African Wild Dog Lodges will be single-storey and can sleep up to six guests, offering incredible views into the dogs’ habitat through the huge windows spanning the bedrooms, living spaces and outside decking area. The wild dogs’ habitat, meanwhile, will be expansive, allowing the pack of four dogs to explore, socialise and play, with integrated enrichment points to stimulate natural behaviours.
Neil continued: “Overlooking the pool and natural landscape, the tones throughout the Hippo Lodges will really complement our group of hippopotamuses. We have blended a natural and neutral palette with African textures and patterns. These lodges are warm, welcoming and stylish and the perfect place to sit back and relax whilst watching the charismatic animals.”
The Hippo Lodges will be two-storey, with open-plan living spaces, covered outdoor viewing areas, spacious balconies and two bedrooms, sleeping either five or six people. Two of the Hippo Lodges will be accessible for wheelchair users, with a double or twin singles downstairs, as well as a wet room, wide doorways and car parking outside the lodge.
Guests will be able to watch the UK’s largest pod of hippopotamus, from the comfort of their lodges, as the four animals explore their new environment, which will be upgraded with 24-hour access to both their indoor and extended outdoor habitats. The new hippo house will also be suitable for future breeding programmes, with an indoor pool, mud wallows and evening pools which offer close access viewing for guests from their lodge balconies.
Both habitats will integrate into the Park’s pedestrianised African Walking Trail, which will allow day guests to view the wild dogs from a split-level viewing point, with additional viewing along the trail for the hippos. This will be the first time in the Park’s history, that guests will be able to see the African wild dogs on foot – who are classified as ‘endangered’ by the IUCN.
What else does the stay come with?
While you’re staying with these magnificent animals, you’ll have access to all of West Midland Safari Park’s other attractions too. This includes the Adventure Theme Park, which is full of thrilling rides; the African Walking Trail that lets you stroll up to elephants, giraffes and white rhinos; and a visit to one of the rarest big cats in the world, the Sumatran tiger in the Tiger Tropics.
Guests can now book their Hippo Lodge or African Wild Dog Lodge stay, from July 19 to September 30, 2024. Prices start from £515 per night, based on two guests, and can be booked here.