The honest review of Four Seasons Safari Lodge Serengeti

Our villa had butler service, and animals just wandered the garden right in front of our terrace.

We had elephants, giraffes, buffalo and monkeys walking through the garden right in front of our terrace the entire stay. The food was excellent and the kitchen team would prepare basically anything we asked for. Our butler Deo did everything he could to make sure we had what we needed.

An entire herd of elephants showed up at the water hole while we were at the pool, which is a moment I won't forget.

The staff throughout our stay were friendly, helpful and professional without exception. The whole trip felt excellent from start to finish. Watching an entire elephant herd arrive at the water hole while my wife and I sat at the pool was the highlight of the whole visit.

My wife got seriously ill from food poisoning during our stay and ended up hospitalized for weeks.

On our third night, my wife came down with what turned out to be a severe E. coli infection and spent a month in intensive care afterward, though she survived. I believe it traces back to how far perishable food has to travel to reach this location, roughly fifteen hours. I also noticed some real tension among the local staff during our stay.

I've been critical of this place for a while, and after three more nights here my opinion hasn't really changed.

For me, if you have the budget, it's Singita or nothing, mainly because their private concessions let you go off-road and avoid the road restrictions inside the national park itself. That said, I understand why plenty of people would genuinely love this property, and there are travelers I'd recommend it to without hesitation. It comes down to whether you want a resort experience with reliable comfort or maximum wildness at a much higher price.

“If you have the $, for me it's Singita or nothing.”in their words

Our entry-level room ran about $1,800 a night, and it's a genuinely resort-style stay rather than a classic tented safari.

We booked with a fourth-night-free promotion and got upgraded into a suite with a plunge pool. The rate didn't include game drives but covered all food and drink aside from premium bottles, plus laundry, and drives start at $400 for a half day. There's multiple restaurants, a big pool, a gym, a proper spa and a small Discovery Center on site, with no tents in sight, which as a first-timer felt like an easier way into safari than jumping straight into a rustic camp. The food had strong variety at every meal and the on-site team helped us handle every piece of logistics, including a doctor on call and even a photographer who edited our shots for us.

The flight in, the picnic waiting on the airstrip, and our guide Ramsey made this the best first safari we could have imagined.

The bush flight in was smooth, and a beautifully prepared picnic was waiting for us right on the airstrip, with our dietary needs already handled without us having to ask twice. The drive to the lodge became its own safari, thick with wildlife, and our guide Ramsey never once said he didn't know an answer. Arriving felt less like checking into a hotel and more like coming home, with a warm welcome from the whole team and a long list of staff who made us feel looked after.

“Arriving at the lodge felt less like checking into a hotel and more like coming home.”in their words

The dark wood interiors are beautiful, though I could do without the constant tip nudging.

Every foot of space feels considered here, with rich dark woods running through the design. Everyone on staff was pleasant and quick to help, though I did notice a steady push for tips, which I gather is common for American guests. Our guide Hans was excellent, calm and confident, and clearly knew everything there was to know about the Serengeti.

The wine-pairing dinner at The Vineyard was a genuinely world-class meal in the middle of the bush.

Our suite felt like something we could move into permanently, and the staff were consistently professional and eager to help with anything. The food was outstanding and varied across every meal, and the wine-pairing dinner at The Vineyard stood out as a serious dining experience. My only real complaint is that there's nowhere to walk on property since it sits in unfenced bush, so any exercise beyond the pool means getting in a vehicle.

They remembered we were celebrating our daughter's graduation, a detail I'd mentioned nearly a year earlier when booking.

Planning the trip a year out, the team was extremely helpful with flight bookings and logistics between Kilimanjaro, the lodge, and our onward trip to Zanzibar. I'd mentioned our daughter's high school graduation when I first booked, and they surprised her with a cake and decorated her bed with flowers on arrival. Our guide Baraka took care of us the entire week and was so good my family still talks about missing him days after we left.

We visited during calving season and every animal seemed to have a baby with it, which made the whole plain feel alive.

Booked after friends kept recommending it, we came during the rainy season when the land turns lush and green. Just sitting on our balcony and watching the plains was the best part of the trip: antelope, zebra, giraffe, elephant, all visible from the room. The room itself felt a touch smaller than I expected given the price, but the food more than made up for it, and the staff even put together festive touches for Chinese New Year during our stay.

At the pool, staff moved the shade over our loungers before we even noticed we needed it.

Every part of our stay felt first class from arrival to departure. The rooms were beautifully finished and perfectly maintained, and the food was creative and well presented at every meal. What stood out most was the level of care at the pool, where staff anticipated things we hadn't even asked for yet, like shifting the shade over our loungers on their own.

We only stayed one night passing through, and the pool overlooking the water hole alone made it worth stopping.

We spent just one night here on our way to see the migration and wished we'd blocked out more time. The pool area with its water hole view is reason enough to stop here, and the small museum on Maasai culture was a nice surprise. The raised walkways connecting the buildings make you feel immersed in the landscape, and the breakfast buffet was expansive and genuinely high quality.