The Sanctuary at Bisate

Rwanda is up to something.  This tiny, landlocked country — known to most people primarily for its tragic recent history — has somehow managed, in the space of a decade, to build some of the most impressive safari lodges anywhere in Africa.

It began in 2017 when Bisate Lodge opened.  This was Rwanda’s first taste of proper luxury.  Bisate was excellent — still is — and remains one of Wilderness’ strongest lodges.

Then Singita Kwitonda arrived and raised the bar again, particularly with the addition of the four-bedroom exclusive-use Kataza House.  One&Only Gorilla’s Nest also appeared around this time.  The less said about that the better.  Some people love it.  I am not one of those people.  But clearly it has an audience, as nobody has burnt it to the ground.  Yet.

Then in 2024, Bisate Reserve opened and once again the level of luxury crept higher.  Found only a few minutes walking distance from the OG Bisate, the brief seemed to be: correct any of the flaws with Bisate Lodge, whilst magnifying all the positives.  But Wilderness were not finished.  They wanted to go even further; they truly wanted to stick the knife into Singita.  So they launched a new concept called The Sanctuary — a wellness complex designed to serve both Bisate Lodge and Bisate Reserve.  The Sanctuary is, objectively speaking, a very wanky name.  It was very clearly thought up by someone with a master’s in pretentiousness and a PhD in being a bit of a prick.  But having now been there, I’m prepared to let them keep it.

Why’d you need a spa?

Gorilla trekking, incredible as it is, often leaves you with long, empty, sometimes boring afternoons.  I once finished a trek by 10:30am, and after that there isn’t a huge amount to fill the day.  Activities exist — planting a tree, visiting the community — but they rarely occupy more than an hour or two.  The same thing happens on traditional safari during the hotter months, where by late morning the heat pushes everyone back to the lodge until mid-afternoon, as your skin is about to fall off your face.  Wellness and longevity have become enormous industries (often full of absolute nonsense, but that’s a conversation for another day), and safari properties want to ensure that when you are there, they are well equipped to cleanse you of that rotten money.  I hear it goes off if you don’t spend it.

I’m still not bored enough, give me more of a history lesson

Gorilla trekking contains a large element of uncertainty.  I don’t mean whether you’re coming back alive; I’m sure there’s at least a 50% chance of you surviving.  The biggest variable is how long it takes to find the gorillas.  I’ve had treks where they were located in fifteen minutes — not because I’m some elite jungle tracker, but because the gorillas happened to be wandering conveniently close to the park entrance.  I’ve also had treks that took over three and a half hours before we reached them.  That one I blame on the German lady we had in our group; clearly the gorillas were not keen.

That unpredictability creates a logistical problem.  Historically you couldn’t schedule a trek on your final morning at a lodge because no one knew when you would return.  Meanwhile another guest was arriving that afternoon and quite understandably wanted the room you were still occupying.  Returning from the forest to discover your shit scattered across the lawn like you hadn’t paid the rent is not the sort of departure most luxury lodges aim for.  Even though if they setup a webcam, I’m sure they would have a lot of paying subscribers to see it.

Wilderness solved this when they built Kwanda Day Lounge, which offers a restaurant, boutique and several day rooms where guests can relax before flights or after trekking.  A practical solution to a long-standing problem.  But what to do with all that remaining land?  The same area — already home to their chef’s garden and a beautiful outdoor space — eventually became the site of The Sanctuary.

What is it?

It’s the most impressive spa I’ve ever seen in a safari lodge, that’s what.  Most safari spas are barely two treatment rooms, if you’re lucky.  The good ones might be somewhere quiet with a good view and a menu of massages that looks like it was printed on a McDonalds napkin.  Occasionally you see some effort: Jao has a beautiful spa setting, Londolozi and Lion Sands Ivory Lodge have both made strong efforts, and Kateka is attempting something closer to a spa-first safari concept.  All admirable, but they can all fuck right off when it comes to thinking they’re competition to The Sanctuary. I genuinely love that Kateka tried the whole luxury spa-first safari concept. Bold idea. Unfortunately I think they failed at it. Meanwhile Wilderness just wanders in and builds the most impressive spa I’ve ever seen at a safari lodge.

The Sanctuary feels less like a safari spa and more like an English countryside wellness retreat.  Except it only needs to serve the maximum twenty guests staying between Bisate Lodge and Bisate Reserve.  It is so disproportionately large that I can only assume someone misread the blueprints.  Perhaps they left them in a pocket and they went through the washing machine, stretching everything by about nine thousand percent.

Inside you’ll find a full gym, six changing rooms, a proper lap pool, sauna, steam room, experience showers, outdoor plunge pool and four treatment rooms housed in striking chimney-like structures.  Even the reception area alone is larger than many safari spas in their entirety.  Before treatments you’re taken into a dedicated room to select your fragrance and enjoy a foot scrub.  The massage I had there was genuinely world-class. 

But the real magic is the relaxation offered by the hydro area, where I could quite happily spend an entire afternoon/day/lifetime doing absolutely nothing. Glass everywhere, looking out across the landscape as the sun starts to sink in the distance, the warmth of the fire nearby, the gentle sound of water from the pool. Into the sauna for a bit, back down to the loungers to read. Maybe a steam room. Maybe wander to the gym. Back again for a proper shower in the changing room. Just an absolute delight. It briefly transported me back to the blissful era known as pre-children.

I know I mentioned that the video looks like it was put together by your completely, batshit mental, unhinged aunt who’s very into crystal healing, but it’s still the best example of it so far.

What’s the downsides?

The gym could be better.  Significantly better.  It feels like they wanted it to look good for a photoshoot, rather than be used.

The main inconvenience is the location.  The Sanctuary sits between the two lodges, which makes logistical sense but means you either walk or request a vehicle transfer.  I tested the walk — about eight minutes.  Perfectly manageable in normal clothes, slightly less appealing when wandering along in a bathrobe and it’s raining.  In reality you’ll probably call for a pickup, but it will take time to be collected.

I get why they couldn’t put something like this at one of the lodges, and it really had to go in the middle, but how amazing would it have been if you could just casually walk here from your room every day?  Still, it was an excuse to have to spend many, many hours in there.

Conclusion

What.  A.  Place.

Bisate Reserve is now, undoubtedly, the best safari lodge in Rwanda.  And, as I will get around to in my review (at some stage), one of the best safari lodges in Africa.  And with the newly opened Pinnacle, one of the most impressive city hotels in the continent, also now around, Rwanda has managed to make it a must visit destination.  And that’s before I even mentioned the incredible gorillas.

This is truly something, and just when there’s times where I wonder how much further this industry can go, someone comes along to show me we’re only just beginning.

The luxury market is bonkers, and I’m here for the ride.