Arijiju

Arijiju is built into the hillside so discreetly that it's hard to spot even from the air. Local Meru stone walls and a living, grass-thatched roof designed to disappear into the Laikipia landscape, with architecture influenced from the monasteries of neighbouring Ethiopia. The exclusive-use house sits in the Borana Conservancy, part of the 90,000-acre Borana-Lewa landscape, and takes its name from the Maasai word for the hill it stands on. Three suites in the main house and two further cottages sleep up to 10 guests, with a library, cinema room, gym and 25-metre infinity pool, plus a rooftop constellation suite for sleeping under the starry sky. Below the main house, The Retreat houses a hammam, plunge pool, hot tub and treatment rooms, with an in-house therapist and a kitchen that tailors menus from farm-to-table feasts to vegan or gluten-free, built around the organic garden and fresh daily juice blends.

Safaris are a dream highlight here. Game drives into the rolling hills and open grassland of Borana and neighbouring Lewa see regular sightings of elephant, lion and some of the 20-plus black rhino recently relocated here, without the crowd numbers of southern Kenya. Horse riding, mountain biking or a helicopter flight are other options. Monthly contributions from every stay help fund the protection of around 14 per cent of Kenya's black rhino population, alongside community education projects in the surrounding villages.