Johnnie Walker Art of Design Award 2025

Singita – Kruger National Park

Kruger National Park

A masterclass in making the most of your environment

A new addition to the list of special awards for The World's 50 Best Hotels 2025, the Johnnie Walker Art of Design Award celebrates how design in hotels goes beyond architecture to create a multi-sensorial experience for visitors. Every hotel ranked on the 1-50 list, and the inaugural extended 51-100 list, had the opportunity to be considered for the award, with every entrant judged by four external experts and senior representatives from 50 Best on a set of design criteria, including innovation, sensorial immersion, ecological longevity and all-encompassing aesthetics. Scoring the highest and the recipient of the inaugural award is Singita – Kruger National Park.

Singita – Kruger National Park, composed of two clusters of suites and villas (Sweni and Lebombo lodges) near the Sweni River in north-east South Africa on the border with Mozambique, has redefined contemporary modernism in the African bush. Its architecture blends rational functionality with organic forms: deconstructed, box-like structures softened by timber lattice veils that offer shade, privacy and a tactile link to nature. Inspired by the Lebombo Mountains, these lodges were the national park's first to embrace raw African contemporary design, balancing nature and culture through natural materials and thoughtful craftsmanship.

Designed to tread lightly, both lodges avoid disturbing the environment; structures can be easily disassembled and moved, allowing nature to reclaim the space. Powered by over 1MWP of solar PV energy, the lodges achieved 76 percent solar power use in 2024, cutting their carbon footprint dramatically. Singita eliminates single-use plastics across the board, with cornstarch and stainless steel used as vessel alternatives, as well as treating its own water.

Wrap-around glass walls dissolve boundaries between indoors and outdoors in custom-designed suites, while elevated decks allow wildlife to move freely below. There's no need for artworks here, as the many vistas connect guests with a sense of natural awe, and Singita realises that Mother Nature is the main event. However, local craftmanship is employed wherever possible – at Sweni, local artisans crafted handblown glassware in earthy shades of green, blue and brown, ensuring no two pieces are alike – a reflection of the surrounding landscape, while the onsite Boutique & Gallery celebrates African creativity through handmade crafts, jewellery, textiles and art, available for global purchase.

Lebombo houses the Singita Community Culinary School, established in 2007, as a bridge between food, culture and community. Guests can interact with students and learn to prepare traditional South African dishes such as chakalaka. To date, 115 graduates have earned professional chef qualifications, many accredited through the Prue Leith Culinary Institute. In similar fashion, menus at both lodges showcase modern African fusion, combining traditional, seasonal ingredients with innovative techniques to create fresh, nutritious and flavourful dishes.

Singita's signature scent is subtle, natural and evocative of Africa, designed to complement Sweni's earthy tones and Lebombo's botanical character, encouraging calm and connection to the surrounding natural landscape. To further immerse guests in their terroir, suites include portable speakers with curated playlists of African music, bush sounds and meditations, though many guests prefer the natural symphony of birds, flowing water and distant hippos.

Each space fosters presence and rejuvenation and a deep devotion to showcasing the spirit of Kruger National Park – for this and more, Singita – Kruger National Park is awarded the inaugural Johnnie Walker Art of Design Award 2025. 

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