andBeyond Ngorongoro Crater Lodge

andBeyond Ngorongoro Crater Lodge sits on the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania's Ngorongoro Conservation Area, looking directly down into one of the largest intact volcanic calderas on earth. The lodge divides into three separate camps, each with its own dining room, sitting room and viewing deck, sharing a total of thirty suites.

The suites are built on stilts in mud and banana thatch, with floor-to-ceiling glass windows in the bedroom, sitting room and bathroom so that the crater is visible from almost everywhere you stand. Inside, the rooms carry antique furniture, beaded chandeliers, gilt mirrors, raw silk curtains and leather-backed chairs — a combination that draws comparisons to a European interior transplanted onto the African highlands. Bathtubs are chandelier-lit; fireplaces are stoked by a personal butler assigned to each suite. A family suite links two rooms by a closed walkway and takes two adults and two children.

Game drives descend to the crater floor, a journey that takes long enough that the lodge typically offers one drive per day — morning or afternoon — rather than two. Guided walks run along the western crater rim through acacia woodland, forest and open grassland. Further afield, day excursions reach Olduvai Gorge, the Empakaai Crater and Lake Eyasi. A wine store within the lodge is used for private dinners and champagne tastings.

The lodge is reached from Arusha, and an airport shuttle is available.