Safari veterans Steve and Nicky Fitzgerald spent their careers running more than 60 lodges for luxury travel company &Beyond before opening their own on an escarpment overlooking the billowing plains of the Masai Mara. With its colonial-inspired indoor-outdoor aesthetic, the layout at Angama Mara is a modern take on Nairobi’s Muthaiga Country Club, a familiar sight to fans of the film Out of Africa. In fact, nods to Karen Blixen’s famous story exist throughout the property, including a replica of Denys Finch Hatton’s yellow Gipsy Moth biplane that sits in the library, a striking cone-shaped room lined with red Masai brick. (One of the camp’s kopjes was also the setting for the movie poster.) Wooden decks wrap around the glass-enclosed main structure to maximize views, and a sunken fire pit invites guests to gather for evening sundowners. Bedrooms are just as dreamy: 30 glass-fronted tented suites are set on a ridge that looks out on the Rift Valley and come with roll-top bathtubs, parquet floors, gin-filled decanters, and airy verandas.
