The resort introduces a pioneering “beach and bush” model, linking a beachfront property on the Indian Ocean with Vikela Safari Lodge, set within a vast private reserve four and a half hours inland. Guests move seamlessly from coastal relaxation to Big Five game viewing, experiencing two of Africa’s greatest tourism assets within a single, integrated journey.
At the heart of the safari experience are 75 luxury tents, engineered to immerse guests in the savannah without compromising on refinement. These include 55 family tents with access to family-friendly facilities and kids' clubs, and 20 tents designed for quiet relaxation, featuring a private lounge and pool.
Following sunrise and sunset game drives in search of lion, elephant, buffalo, leopard and rhinoceros, visitors return to beautifully crafted tented accommodation, gathering around the traditional boma campfire for warmth, connection and conviviality beneath the African sky as part of an authentic safari experience.
Bushtec worked with Town and Country Construction to provide the the complete tents, including the flysheets (roofs), tent bodies and doors for Club Med.
The collaboration draws on Bushtec’s extensive heritage across the continent. The company’s portfolio includes some of Africa's most distinctive tented camp experiences, including andBeyond Ngala Tented Camp in the Timbavati, Sindile at Shamwari and Amaya in South Africa, Batoka Zambezi Sands in Zimbabwe, and Aurari Camp in the Serengeti. This expertise extends well beyond the bush to demanding coastal, desert and island environments, including Barbuda Ocean Club in Antigua, Sirru Fen Fushi in the Maldives, Kingfisher Retreat in the UAE, Sesta Terra Natural Resort in Italy, and the remote Island Camp in Seychelles. This dual mastery of salt-air resilience and tropical durability positions Bushtec uniquely to support integrated beach-and-bush destinations.
“The beach and bush concept is a new frontier for experiential luxury across Africa, and we are immensely proud to have contributed to such a defining project,” said Hans Hillebrand, CEO of Bushtec. “A luxury tent offers something no permanent structure can. It brings guests intimately close to the wild while surrounding them with comfort and elegance. That is the value of remarkable experience, and it is exactly what makes tented camps so powerful for the modern traveller.”
The success of Vikela Safari Lodge signals significant potential for similar dual-destination models throughout Africa and beyond, combining coastline, wildlife and refined tented hospitality into unforgettable itineraries.
"What Club Med has created at Vikela is an excellent blueprint for the future of African luxury tourism," said Hillebrand. "When you combine the ocean and the bush within a single journey, and anchor that experience in a luxurious tent that immerses them in nature, you create something that stays with a guest long after they have left. That is what remarkable experience means to us, and it is exactly why we believe tented hospitality has a powerful role to play across this continent for decades to come."
