Jamala Wildlife Lodge the luxurious safari-style hotel where you sleep with animals

You can now sleep, bathe and unwind in luxury just centimetres from the most dangerous big cats, bears and sharks on the planet. 

You can also wake up and feed friendly giraffes their morning carrots from the comfort of your own five-star room – thanks to the Jamala Wildlife Lodge in Australia’s capital, Canberra.

The lodge is located inside the privately-owned National Zoo and Aquarium, on the western side of Lake Burley Griffin.

You can now sleep, bathe and unwind in luxury just centimetres from of the most dangerous big cats, bears and sharks on the planet

The unique wildlife lodge experience is available in Canberra at the National Zoo and Aquarium

There is even the chance to see lions in the underground dining room at the zoo of an evening

The rooms are distributed throughout the zoo, the tree-top rooms are between the llama enclosure and the giraffe paddocks while the carnivore rooms are ‘deep within the zoo’.

The Jamala Wildlife Lodge experience starts at $1650 per night for a weekend slot, but if you want to stay with the giraffes a night will set you back $2100.

To sleep alongside lions, tigers, cheetahs or bears costs $2700 for one night.

Visiting the lodge is cheaper through the week, with the most sought-after package, sleeping and bathing with the kings of the jungle costing just $2250.

A glass wall is in the Jungle Room’ bathroom, lounge room or bedroom is all that separates guests from the large predators.

For this reason children are not allowed to ‘sleep with the lions’, children under six can’t stay with the sun bears and children under 16, or smaller than 1.5mtrs tall are banned from the cheetah and tiger rooms.

Guests can watch as the lions sleep in front of their rooms, or indeed tigers, bears or cheetahs – depending on their choice and animal availability 

Guests have proudly shared selfies of their time in the luxury accommodation with the animals

The tree-top rooms aren’t actually in the tree tops but give head-height access to giraffes

There must also be at least one adult over 21 in the rooms at all times, according to staff.

The Jamala Wildlife Lodge is very popular and needs to be booked as far in advance as possible, especially for the best chance to see the animal of your choice in the jungle room.

The pictures coming out of the rooms at the Jamala Wildlife Lodge speak for themselves. Men and women gaze into the eyes of tigers, lions and cheetahs or watch bears build their nests at night. 

The wildlife experience can cost upwards of $2250 per night in the Jungle room – which is inside the yard where the big cats and bears roam free

Children under six aren’t allowed to stay the night in the lodge, as it is not safe

These bears make a nest right between the bathroom and bedroom each night – a treat for guests

Guests can relax alongside a pride of lions in this unique and interactive experience

Each room has different activities attached, including one-on-one time with animals, including feeding sharks, hyenas and giraffes or visiting cheetahs.

Guests are all treated to two tours as part of their stay, one is a self-guided tour and the other with a guide showing the open-range sections of the zoo. 

Visitors say the experience is the closest thing they will have to the real thing in Asia or Africa due to the Covid pandemic. 

Jamala Wildlife Lodge has been open since 2014 and quickly became popular with guests wanting to level-up their zoo experience.