Sirikoi tops list of best 50 resorts

Sirikoi Lodge is a safari camp located on private land with access to the surrounding Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, a World Heritage Site on the northern slopes of Mount Kenya. [Standard]

A Kenyan resort has been ranked best in the world in this year’s Readers’ Choice Awards by Conde Nast Traveller, a luxury and lifestyle travel website.

Sirikoi Lodge beat more than 10,000 other hotels to take this year’s crown in one of the biggest travel awards, which were announced on Monday.

The lodge is a safari camp located on private land with access to the surrounding Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, a World Heritage Site on the northern slopes of Mount Kenya.

A US resort, Horizon Resort and Spa, was ranked second, while Zambia’s Chindeni Bush Camp was third in the competition to pick the top 50 resorts.

“For our 32nd annual Readers’ Choice Awards survey — yes, more than three decades — a record 600,000 registered voters weighed in on their favourite resorts in the world,” Conde Nast Traveller noted.

According to the travel website, this year’s travel award was the biggest since it was first held in 1998 as it ranked thousands of favourite, tried-and-tested hotels, destinations and travel fixers – from cruise lines to tour operators.

Travellers rated more than 10,000 hotels, resorts and spas.

“Barely 15 per cent made the cut. And we were certainly impressed by the ones that did. The 2019 results were especially exciting for us, pulling in new openings and new parts of the world,” the website noted.

Four other Kenyan resorts made it to the awards list. Richard’s River Camp in the Masai Mara was ranked sixth, while Elewana’s Elsa’s Kopje in Meru National Park was ranked eleventh. Ol Jogi Home was ranked 17th while Elewana Elephant Pepper Camp in Masai Mara was 30th.