Autograph Collection Adds Mereshi Safari Camp for November 2026
Marriott International's Autograph Collection adds Mereshi Safari Camp Serengeti in November 2026. Delaware Investments, the developer and operator, announced the camp on 13 October 2026 and names the Fort Ikoma Gate in the western Serengeti as the location. The camp holds 18 elevated tented suites.
Delaware Investments already runs Mapito Safari Camp, Serengeti, Autograph Collection. Mereshi repeats that camp's operating plan: local employment, Tanzanian sourcing and community programmes.
The Site, the Suites and the Distances
Mereshi sits in the Ikoma Valley on the western edge of Serengeti National Park. The 18 suites spread across 55 acres of open savannah. Each suite measures 95 square metres and combines 50 square metres of interior space with 45 square metres of external living space. All suites share the same design and face east. The operator plans a maximum built footprint of about 30 per cent of the site.
Access runs 11 kilometres from Fort Ikoma Gate, 10 minutes from Fort Ikoma Airstrip, six kilometres from Robanda Village and about an hour and 35 minutes by road from Seronera Airstrip.
Dunia Design, the studio behind Mapito, designed the camp. Timber, canvas, woven elements and locally sourced materials form the architecture. Interiors pair canvas tents with dark greenwood furniture, open shelving and locally sourced textiles. Mesh panels frame views across the plains and acacia trees. Private timber decks hold morning coffee and lantern-lit dining. The programme covers game drives, sundowners, fireside storytelling and Tanzanian music.
The Sourcing and Employment Arithmetic
About 95 per cent of the camp's materials, furnishings and equipment, including construction materials, canvas, timber and FF&E, are sourced and produced in Tanzania. More than 150 Tanzanians have worked on the construction. Once open, the camp is expected to create about 100 permanent jobs, with Tanzanians expected to hold more than 90 per cent of those positions.
Rishen Patel, founder and managing director of Delaware Investments, links the building programme to the operating plan. "Every camp we open should allow us to do more - employ more people locally, buy more in Tanzania and put more resources behind programmes that can create lasting opportunities," he said.
The Community Package
Give a Future Foundation, the non-profit arm of Delaware Investments, runs the programmes attached to the camp. They cover diagnosis, treatment and long-term management for children with sickle cell anaemia, health care provision in Robanda, and a residential hospitality mentorship programme developed with Hope for Girls and Women.
Mereshi takes the next phase of that mentorship. At least five young women will live and train at the camp. The camp covers their accommodation, meals and day-to-day living costs while they gain experience across the operation.
The Brand and the Operator
Autograph Collection sits inside Marriott Bonvoy's portfolio of hotels and safari camps. Delaware Investments works from Dar es Salaam and holds safari and tourism projects in Tanzania. Its project roster names Mapito Safari Camp, Mereshi and a Ritz-Carlton project at Nyambogo.
The operator's own project page carries the camp as Mereshi Safari Camp, Western Serengeti, in development. Marriott's naming runs the full form, Mereshi Safari Camp Serengeti, Autograph Collection. Delaware Investments published no development cost and no rate structure for the camp.