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Attractions industry news

07 Jul 2015

Port Lympne aiming to become Europe's top safari short-break provider with new luxury lodges

Port Lympne Wild Animal and Safari Reserve in Kent, UK, has launched a unique set of luxury treehouse lodges as the visitor attraction strives to become Europe’s number one safari short-break provider.

Designed by Ray Hole Architects with interiors by Tara Bernerd + Partners and Malcolm Charles Construction acting as main contractor, the Treehouse Hotel is comprised of 10 separate luxury lodges, designed for four people. Each is comprised of two bedrooms, a bathroom and an expansive open planned sitting room/kitchen, which leads out onto a private balcony, offering views of the expansive reserve and Kent countryside, as well as the animal paddocks sitting below the lodges.

“When we decided we were going to do treehouses we wanted to put our own spin on it,” said Bob O’Connor, managing director at Howletts & Port Lympne Wild Animal Parks, speaking at the launch. “This is the icing on the cake as far as we’re concerned. It’s our biggest, our most expensive, our most luxurious product and it takes us one step closer to our ultimate goal of becoming the leading animal short-break provider in Europe.”

The lodges offer a new take on the treehouse model, sitting at the top of an escarpment, rather than-in-and among the trees. All of the units sit on a precipice and have been designed to look out over the tops of the trees with each positioned as such that it offers a different view and a look at different paddocks in the area.

“We wanted to keep the lodges really simple,” said Gary Reynolds, director at Ray Hole Architects speaking to AM2. “We wanted to use natural materials and make them as transparent as possible so you get that idea you’re ‘on the edge’. We also wanted them to have a real good sense of quality. It was trying to strike that balance. There is a high expectation for quality at this kind of market so that’s what we were trying to do using nice, simple, natural materials. Don’t try too hard is something we learned in this. You keep it simple and straightforward, and it works beautifully for you.

“We did an initial study in another area where were were looking to try and hang the lodges in the trees,” he continued. “We tried some other options where we were looking at putting them nearer to some of the tiger enclosures and then we went full-circle and came back to this location overlooking the paddocks.”

Ray Hole are currently working on several zoo accommodation projects, including the safari camp at London Zoo and Reynolds believes it is becoming somewhat of a trend as zoos and safari parks look to diversify their portfolio and bring in new streams of revenue.

“People are always looking for something different,” said Reynolds. “Zoos are always looking for an opportunity to give people a different experience and it’s important that you can create that engagement at all different levels. It’s important for revenue and it’s important for the causes they support. It is a growing market, it’s a unique experience and I think people are becoming much more interested in conservation and the natural environment so I think you’ll see a lot more of these kinds of things in the near future.”

The self-catered lodges are available for £300 (US$464, €423) per night during off-peak times and for £500 (US$773, €705) during the high season.