The Big Cat Sanctuary today announces The Retreat, a landmark hospitality experience bringing together its acclaimed safari-style luxury lodge accommodation, a new welcome centre, Heritage restaurant, fire pits, and expert-guided sanctuary tours in a single, fully-realised offering.
Set within a private sanctuary that is home to around 35 cats across 14 species, The Retreat is unlike anything else in British wildlife tourism: intimate, purpose-driven, and accessible only through advance booking, with no day tickets, no walk-ins, and no crowds. Every stay at The Retreat directly funds the Sanctuary’s work in conservation, rescue, welfare, breeding and education.
The Sanctuary operates on a private, booking-only model with deliberately limited visitor numbers, designed to protect both the quality of the experience and the welfare of the animals. The Retreat gives guests something rare: genuine, expert-led access to a world-class conservation sanctuary, in the English countryside, at a level of intimacy no public attraction can offer.
The Retreat features eight beautifully designed lodges, nestled near the lions. Guests will dine at Heritage restaurant overlooking the lion habitat, breakfast as the sanctuary wakes, dinner as the big cats come alive at dusk. They will walk with expert keepers through the sanctuary, which cares for some of the world’s most threatened wild cat species. They will sit beside fire pits in the dark, listening to the sounds of lions, knowing their stay is directly funding operations on the front line of global wild cat conservation.
The Retreat will open its doors to first guests on 2 November 2026, with the current offering running through July–September 2026. Bookings open today (Thursday 2nd July).
“Everything we do at The Big Cat Sanctuary, including The Retreat, is driven by one purpose: protecting wild cats through conservation, rescue and rehabilitation.
As a not-for-profit organisation, every stay directly funds this mission, supporting conservation and rescue work in the UK and around the world.
Since welcoming our first overnight guests in 2008, we’ve seen the lasting impact of connecting people with our work. The Retreat builds on that legacy, offering more than a luxury escape, it’s a rare opportunity to stay within a sanctuary dedicated to protecting some of the world’s most threatened wild cats.”
— Cam Whitnall, Managing Director, The Big Cat Sanctuary
The Big Cat Sanctuary has spent 25 years at the forefront of wild cat conservation globally. In 2025, it became the first institution in the world to be established as an IUCN SSC Centre for Species Survival focused on wild cats, working closely with the IUCN SSC Cat Specialist Group as a pivotal hub for wild cat conservation across the planet.
The Retreat is not an amenity added to a conservation organisation. It is conservation and rescue funded by hospitality, a model BCS believes represents the future of wildlife tourism in the UK.
Whitnall added: “Every night spent at The Retreat helps fund vital conservation and rescue initiatives, including breeding programmes for threatened species, scientific research and wildlife protection. After more than 25 years of this work, The Retreat enables more people to become part of our mission. Here, guests don’t simply witness conservation and rescue, they help make it happen.
The Retreat marks the beginning of an ambitious capital development programme. Planned additions over the next five years include lodge accommodation built directly on animal habitats and wellness spaces that are designed to complete a world-class sanctuary retreat experience. A new restaurant called The Canopy, set to open later this year, is adjacent to the cheetah habitat, home to Willow, known to BBC Two viewers from Big Cats About the House.
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Immersive wildlife stays in beautifully designed lodges set within the sanctuary grounds, an exclusive setting closed to day visitors, accommodating up to four guests.
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Exceptional comfort, luxury and curated dining at Heritage Restaurant, with dinner and breakfast included. Overlooking the lion habitat, guests can unwind with a drink, wrap up in a cosy blanket and gather around the firepit for a memorable sundowner beside the lions.
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An expert-guided sanctuary tour exploring The Big Cat Sanctuary’s welfare, breeding, education, conservation and rescue programmes, including its role as the world’s first IUCN SSC Centre for Species Survival for wild cats.
- Two full days of access to the sanctuary, with exclusive use of the firepit areas and opportunities to immerse yourself in the sanctuary’s unique atmosphere.
Optional bolt-on experiences, bookable in advance, include Big Cat Encounters (keeper-led, capped at four per day), Wildlife Photography Experiences, Paul Hollywood Afternoon Tea, specialist guided tours, and lunch dining beside the lions.
July–September 2026 will operate as normal. The full launch takes place 2nd November 2026, with 2027 dates now open for advance booking.
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