Construction progresses to allow safari park visitors to bed down among the animals

[WORK IS PROGRESSING at speed at West Midland Safari Park in Bewdley to develop a collection of lodges, offering luxury accomodation within a number of areas of the park. The latest phase began on site at the end of September, to provide overnight stays with giraffes and white rhinos.

The eight two-storey lodges will be integrated into the white rhino and giraffe habitats, giving guests a truly unforgettable and immersive experience.

The safari park’s managing director Chris Kelly said: “Alongside new animal facilities we will be installing eight new lodges, four of which will offer spectacular views of the white rhinos, with the other half bringing you face-to-face with our beautiful giraffes, from the second-storey balconies.”

The commencement of the second phase follows the opening of an initial development – again of eight lodges – in April, coinciding with the reopening of the park following COVID restrictions. Those lodges are integrated into newlyupdated animal habitats overlooking cheetahs and African elephants, designed to give guests an immersive and unforgettable overnight wildlife experience.

Six of the lodges offer the only overnight accommodation experience with elephants in the UK, while the other two offer incredible views of the park’s cheetahs – also the only experience of its kind in the country.

The double-storey elephant lodges are authentically themed with thatched roofs, accommodating up to five people. They have large, openplan living spaces with lounge, dining area and kitchenette. The spacious balconies with outdoor seating offer spectacular opportunities to watch the park’s two African elephants approach the pool in front of the lodges.

The two single-storey, detached cheetah lodges sleep up to six guests. The living spaces feature large windows, spanning one side of the building and offering panoramic views of the cheetahs in their new habitat. A floorto-ceiling window offers similarly incredible views in the bedrooms where guests can watch cheetahs Azrael and Bappe run and play.

Project manager Neil James said: “It’s been thrilling to watch this amazing project grow into something so spectacular, and to have done it with conservation at the forefront of our minds when it came to the design and build throughout has been hugely important. “This development will leave an incredible legacy; not only for the guests who come to stay, but also in the form of the long-lasting support it will provide for our amazing animals through revenue to continue to improve their facilities here at the park.”

West Midland Safari Park is not standing still with its plans for luxury lodges, however: there are plans for further lodges alongside the park’s Sumatran tigers. q