The Lodge at Bristol Zoo - review: One wild night in the West Country

It may have some noisy neighbours, but that's part of the appeal

The Lodge's living room

Potentially noisy neighbours and an early wake-up call shouldn't put you off a night at The Lodge. In fact, they're the main selling points. This cosy apartment (formerly zookeeper's quarters) within Bristol Zoo is in earshot of species such as the Asiatic lions and vociferous gibbons, offering a taste of the jungle on the edge of the city.

This venerable zoo is the fifth-oldest in the world, and celebrates its 180th anniversary this year. The Lodge opened in late 2015. It enables parties of up to six to stay onsite overnight, with after-hours and before-opening private tours of the zoo. You do, necessarily, become a caged animal yourself: guests are locked in to prevent them from roaming about at night, unsupervised. But this is captivity at its most comfortable and, well, captivating.

The bed

The Lodge has been revamped by Clifton Village-based Bracey Interiors, whose aim was to “celebrate the zoo, its animals and environment”. This means a hint of the safari: rustic textures, natural stone, earthy greens, floral and animal-print fabrics, wildlife artworks, a cuddly gorilla. The result is bright and comfortable, rather than five-star boutique.

There are two double bedrooms – best is the Rainforest Room, with its Rousseau-style mural; there's also a sofa bed in a communal hall. The homely lounge has a big TV and Blu-ray with animal-themed movies (Finding Nemo or Fierce Creatures, anyone?). Dinner is served in the contemporary dining room, or on the large roof terrace overlooking the enclosures – too chilly to use during my December visit, but a tantalising prospect.

The breakfast

You'll have enjoyed fancier breakfasts in your time, but probably not while a 200kg silverback eats his own morning meal a few metres away. After a behind-the-scenes tour (ours included feeding the meerkats), a keeper leads you to the gorilla house before the zoo opens. A table and picnic hamper await in the state-of-the-art enclosure: heavy-duty glass offers views up to the gorillas stomping above. Breakfast is a big bap filled with your choices of bacon, eggs, veggie sausages, mushrooms and the like; tea or coffee is in a flask. But the joy is tucking in while the gorillas bomb about.

A bedroom

The hosts

Unsurprisingly, every staff member here is passionate about wildlife. As curator John Partridge led us between the meerkats and golden tamarin, he explains the zoo's commitments to conservation and education. He also ignites our interest in the zoo's less glamorous species – he's particularly excited about a batch of stick insect eggs that had just arrived, part of an attempt to save one of the world's rarest bugs. Touring with an expert, without any other people, is the highlight of the stay.

The weekend

The zoo overlooks Bristol's grassy Downs in Clifton, the city's most desirable suburb. The streets here are lined with Georgian and Victorian piles, plus independent shops and restaurants. Nose into Clifton Arcade (built in 1878) to browse amid the boutiques and eat homemade cake at Primrose Café. Or gaze down on the Avon Gorge from Brunel's Clifton Suspension Bridge (cliftonbridge.org.uk); free tours run at 3pm on weekends and Bank Holidays, Easter to October.

Around five miles north, but included in the zoo stay, is the Wild Place Project (wildplace.org.uk), a new, hands-on extension of the zoo. Here, you can meet lemurs, see zebras grazing the Bristolian “savannah”, follow a Barefoot Trail through the woods, and – as of 2015 – visit cheetahs at the Mahali Pori National Park exhibit.

The pit-stop

A four-course dinner, cooked in The Lodge kitchen by a private chef, is included, along with two bottles of wine. Portions are generous, from the meze starter (homemade grissini, charcuterie, dips) to the mains (25-day dry-aged beef rump, baked cod, spiced cauliflower and garlic dhal). A platter of mini desserts is followed by a West Country cheese board, which you can nibble at leisure after the chef leaves. Ingredients are sustainable and locally sourced where possible.

Off-site, nearby Wallfish (01179 735435; wallfishbistro.co.uk) is an excellent choice for local dishes, heavy on seafood, such as Cornish hake with cockles and clams (£16.50) or lamb with marmite-glazed sweetbreads (£19).

The essentials

The Lodge, Bristol Zoo, Clifton, Bristol BS8 3HA (0117 974 7328; bit.ly/BristolZooLodge). Sleeps up to six from £750 a night, including after-hours zoo access, animal feeding, welcome hamper, four-course meal with wine, breakfast with the gorillas, and entrance to Bristol Zoo and Wild Place Project.