Opening December 2026

Singita

Singita Elela

Name: Singita Elela
Address: Okavango Delta, Botswana

Singita's first in Botswana

Okavango Delta, Botswana

First look

Singita has spent three decades building conservation-led safari lodges across South Africa, Tanzania, Rwanda and Zimbabwe. Elela is its first step into Botswana — and into the Okavango Delta, the seasonal floodplain that draws more wildlife per acre than almost anywhere on the continent. CEO Jo Bailes has said the group waited years for the right concession; NG26, the 175,000-hectare Abu concession, is what it held out for.

The build itself is the headline. Eight circular camps — five one-bedroom, two two-bedroom and one four-bedroom — sit raised on stilts above the floodplain, so the Delta's water can pass beneath them as the seasons shift. Elela means "to flow" in Setswana, and the design leans into that: structures that open in every direction, with private vehicles and guides attached to each camp.

On paper it reads like Singita doing what it does best, in a place built for it. We haven't stayed — doors open 11 December 2026 — so we'll find out then whether the stilted architecture lives up to the renderings, and whether eight camps on a concession this size deliver the low-traffic, high-density game viewing the Delta promises.

Not yet scored. We publish a Fat Score only once a hotel is open and real guests have stayed and written about it — this is a first look, not a verdict.

What we'll be watching

We haven't stayed yet — here's what will decide whether it lands when we do.

Whether the dispersed camp model holds up operationally. Eight fully self-contained camps spread across a 175,000-hectare concession is a larger footprint than any other Singita property — the brand's reputation runs on private guides and consistent service, and we'll be watching whether that standard scales across eight separate teams all opening at once in December.
Whether the Abu concession delivers on its game-viewing reputation under new management. The area sat dormant as a luxury address since Abu Camp's elephant-back safari era ended in 2016; it hasn't run a high-end lodge in nearly a decade. The wildlife is there — the NG26 concession is genuinely productive — but a ten-year gap between camps means guides and on-the-ground logistics are being built from scratch. We'll be watching whether the first season lives up to the Delta's promise or needs a year to bed in.
Whether the Okavango's seasonality catches first-time guests off guard. Elela opens in December — dry season in the Delta, before the floods arrive in May or June. The camps sit on stilts specifically because the water passes beneath them in flood season, and mokoro rides and boating are listed as activities. Guests booking December arrival should know they're getting the dry-season Delta, not the flooded one; the property at peak flood (June through September) will be a materially different experience. We'll be watching how clearly Singita communicates that trade-off.
Whether the price holds relative to the competition. At USD 3,100 per night on the low end for a one-bedroom camp — a higher floor than comparable Okavango operators — Singita is pricing Elela as a top-tier Delta address on day one, before it has any track record here. That's a bet on brand name translating directly. We'll be watching whether the first-season reviews justify the premium over established camps.

Sofie, who runs the Fat Voyage booking desk with Nicolas

Want us to get you in when it opens?

Nothing to book yet — rates usually load a few months out. We're Sofie and Nicolas; tell us roughly what you're after and we'll come back the moment Singita Elela is bookable, with rates, what the rooms are actually like, and whether we'd go in the first season.

You'll be dealing with the two of us the whole way through, which is why we only take on a handful of trips at a time — if we're full, we'll say so. We reply by email, usually within one working day. The hotel pays us, not you: your rate is the same as booking direct, and the perks come on top.

Before it opens

When does Singita Elela open?

Singita Elela is slated to open on 11 December 2026, per Singita's official site and confirmed trade press. It will be the brand's first property in Botswana, so treat the date as expected rather than fixed — though it has held steady across multiple announcements.

Where is Singita Elela located?

It sits within the NG26 concession, also known as the Abu concession, in Botswana's Okavango Delta. The concession covers approximately 175,000 hectares in the southwest of the Delta, characterised by winding channels, palm-fringed islands, and seasonal floodplains.

Is this Singita's first hotel in Botswana?

Yes. Singita has operated lodges across South Africa, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, and Rwanda for three decades, but Elela is the brand's first property in Botswana and its first foray into the Okavango Delta specifically. CEO Jo Bailes has said the brand waited years for the right concession.

How many rooms or camps will Singita Elela have?

It comprises eight stilted, circular camps — five one-bedroom, two two-bedroom, and one four-bedroom — each raised above the floodplain so the Delta's seasonal water can pass beneath. Every camp is self-contained with a private pool, kitchenette, dining and lounge areas, outdoor decks, and a dedicated guide, tracker, host, and vehicle.

What dining and facilities will Singita Elela offer?

A central hub includes indoor and outdoor dining spaces, a conservation lounge, and a Singita Community Culinary School campus. Wellness treatments are offered privately within each camp rather than in a standalone spa building. The four-bedroom camp adds a dedicated chef and private fitness and wellness spaces. Activities include game drives, mokoro rides (seasonal), boating, fishing, and bush walks.

Will Fat Voyage score Singita Elela?

We publish a Fat Score only once a hotel is open and real guests have stayed and written about it — drawn from luxury travel communities, editorial publications, and verified guests, never paid placements. This is a first look, not a verdict; we'll score it once there's enough independent signal to be fair.

Open now

What you can book today

Singita Elela is still under wraps. Here's what's already open and scored in our collection — more from Singita, and nearby in Botswana.

Fat Legend

Singita

Singita Boulders Lodge

Sabi Sand, South Africa

The case for Boulders starts with land, not architecture: private traversing rights mean your vehicle isn't sharing a leopard sighting with three others from different lodges, and guests who've done multiple Sabi Sand properties name it first, ahead of the design. The suites do hang glass-fronted over the Sand River with heated plunge pools, and the animals come to you: elephants and buffalo drinking from the watering hole below the deck, a troop of monkeys once helping themselves to a guest's pool. That part isn't exaggerated. The service specifics are concrete rather than generic: a champagne bath drawn without being asked, a vehicle stripped of its doors for a photographer, a sommelier who remembered a couple's wine preferences a full year later. Guides get thanked by name, Matt and Collen among them. That's the norm, not the exception, though it isn't universal: one recent guest found the food weak and the guiding unremarkable, and another describes a manager pushing hard on a billing dispute that wasn't the guest's to settle. WiFi is genuinely unreliable, which matters if you're trying to work between drives. The wine cellar and boma dinners hold up as real highlights rather than filler. Book this with a guide request sorted in advance rather than leaving it to chance, and go in expecting the very rare off night rather than perfection start to finish. The traversing rights and the guiding are the reason to choose Boulders over its neighbors, and on a good week, nothing else in Sabi Sand touches it.

Fat Legend

Singita

Singita Grumeti

Serengeti, Tanzania

Grumeti is what people mean when they say "Singita" without qualifying it: a 350,000-acre private concession where your vehicle is often the only one at the sighting, and the reserve itself, not any single room, is what you're paying for. One guest mentioned wanting hot sauce with his eggs on the first morning; it showed up at every meal after that, unasked, the whole team already in on it. A group of nine traveling together called it the best-run operation they'd seen anywhere, at roughly $4,000 per person per day, kids' hair braided and everyone's name known by breakfast. The reserve runs a restricted seasonal calendar tied to historic land-use rights that predate Singita's own operation, so availability is narrower than at comparable properties and worth checking before you set dates. One traveller was booked on a partner airline instead of Singita's own Grumeti Air network and was uneasy about it, so ask specifically which transfer you're getting rather than assuming the branded charter door to door. Guests who've also stayed at andBeyond's Grumeti River Lodge nearby still point back at Singita for the off-road access and the absence of other vehicles — exclusivity rather than a fundamentally different migration. At $3,000–$5,000+ per person per night, this only makes sense if total exclusivity is genuinely the point, not just the name. Book it for the concession and the crew that runs it.

Fat Legend

Singita

Singita Sabora

Serengeti, Tanzania

Ten tents, ground level, right out on the plains: that's the whole bet at Sabora. Zebras and buffalo genuinely wander through camp because the build is deliberately light, unlike sister property Sasakwa four miles away up on its escarpment. That's the trade to understand before booking: you give up Sasakwa's rim-flow pool, billiards room and wine cellar for closeness to the animals rather than a sweeping view of them. Travellers who've done both camps back to back, timing the transfer themselves partway through the day, treat it as a real either/or rather than a downgrade. The staff carry a lot of the trip. One guide, Bernard, gets credited with surprising a couple with a full sundowner setup mid-drive; a waiter named Gerson is remembered for his warmth at every meal. Laundry comes back nightly wrapped in hand-tied leather parcels, odd and specific enough that people mention packing one duffel for three weeks and still feeling overpacked. The kitchen handles Keto and other restricted diets without fuss, and the sommelier program goes further than you'd expect from a tented camp: one guest had a bottle they'd liked sent ahead to their next stop in Rwanda, with a note. With only ten tents and shared public spaces, this isn't a fully private camp: there's a fire pit before dinner and some socializing whether you're in the mood or not, and the facilities are thinner than Sasakwa's, no big pool, no cellar to browse. Worth booking for the landscape and the people who run it, not for scale or seclusion. If it's wildlife walking past your tent you're after, nothing else on the reserve gets you closer.

Fat Legend

Singita

Singita Kwitonda Lodge

Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda

Kwitonda sits right at the park boundary, and the volcanic-rock construction earns that position: several guests mention buffalo, and occasionally gorillas, visible from the lodge itself, with Sabyinyo, Gahinga, and Muhabura wrapping the view from suites that also come with heated floors, plunge pools, and both indoor and outdoor fireplaces. The service is what people write paragraphs about: Jean Claude remembering a drink order and turning into someone's personal server for the whole stay, trekking gear fitted and laid out the night before, boots returned from the mudroom looking new, a hot tub waiting at exactly 101°F. Sommelier Gabriel comes up often enough that the wine pairings read as a real reason to book, and the full gorilla-trekking outfitting (jackets, gaiters, poles, a packed lunch) means you arrive with nothing and still have everything you need. The one recurring complaint isn't about the lodge at all: transfer vehicle quality has been inconsistent. One guest paid Singita rates for three days in the same un-air-conditioned vehicle, chipped Singita branding on the door included; worth confirming the car with your travel advisor before you land, since Singita has apparently refunded guests over this when it's raised early. The other real limit is just arithmetic: two demanding trekking days can mean you're back, showered, and at dinner with almost no time in the suite in between, so a short stay risks feeling like you paid for a room you barely used. Book three-plus nights with one moderate trek and the lodge becomes part of the trip, not just a bed between hikes. Stack two hard treks into a short visit and you're mostly paying for a very good place to sleep. For the setting, the gear, and Gabriel's table, it's worth booking either way.

Get notified

Be first when Singita Elela opens

We'll email you the day it opens — and our first honest verdict once guests have actually stayed. No paid placements, ever.

Joins the Fat Voyage list — leave any time.

More anticipated openings

All openings

Aman

Africa

Aman Karingani

— Aman's first sub-Saharan Africa and safari property, bordering the greater Kruger ecosystem

Karingani Game Reserve, Mozambique

Aman Karingani is coming soon to the Karingani Game Reserve in Mozambique, commonly cited for 2027. It would be Aman's first sub-Saharan Africa and safari property.

Expected

2027

First look →

Four Seasons

Africa

Four Seasons Resort Zanzibar

— Brand's second in Tanzania after the Serengeti safari lodge

Pongwe, Tanzania

A 60-villa resort at Pongwe, set to be Four Seasons' second property in Tanzania after the Serengeti lodge, opening 2027.

Expected

2027

First look →

Six Senses

Africa

Six Senses Victoria Falls

— Would mark the brand's Sub-Saharan Africa debut

Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

Six Senses lists Victoria Falls on its 'and beyond' pipeline, a project that would be the brand's first in Sub-Saharan Africa, with no firm date.

Expected

Date to be announced

First look →