The origins of Legendary Lodge are in the early 1900s, when it was a farmhouse on a working coffee plantation that made the most of the rich soil in the foothills of Mount Meru. Today, the plantation still thrives but the cool verandas and warming fireplaces have been given over to safari guests enjoying Tanzania’s famous Northern Circuit.

Outside is a riot of colour from the purple jacarandas, red tulip trees and white frangipanis; inside is a haven of tasteful elegance. Rooms have all the mod cons but the bygone feeling is never lost. In between spa treatments, visit the plantation to see how beans are processed or wander the garden to spot shy dik-dik or hundreds of bird species.