Sleeping facing the enclosure of cheetahs that prowl around us… This is the unusual experience that we had the chance to try as a family, with baby, at the zoo of La Flèche. We tell you about it.
La Flèche Zoo, located in the Sarthe department, 2.5 hours from Paris by car, offers 20 unusual accommodations, as close as possible to wild animals: lions, cheetahs, lemurs, polar bears, white tigers, arctic wolves, grizzly bears and Sumatran tigers. Generally, visitors book this unique experience for a special event such as a birthday and the wonder is always at its peak for the 340,000 annual visitors. Sleeping and waking up facing these wild animals is indeed exceptional, especially since the lodges, from 38m² to 120m², are equipped for some with a terrace, a sauna or a jacuzzi, in the middle of nature.
So, when we are offered to try a night facing the cheetahs, we are quickly excited, but we can’t help but ask ourselves some questions. Won’t the baby be scared? Is the window (the only separation) strong enough? Yes, “the 5 cm thick laminated glazing is insulating and offers increased security”, the zoological park tells us, so, unless there is an earthquake that would break it, we can sleep soundly. So let’s discover!
We enter the Safari Suite, in the heart of the wildlife, a concept inaugurated in 2023. These are the only accommodations to offer a lounge bar and a restaurant in the center. While sipping a delicious cocktail, or enjoying a gourmet meal in the evening after picking up our room, we can see the lions on one side, and the cheetahs on the other. So here we are well surrounded.
But the show begins as soon as we enter the room where we had the pleasant visit of the two cheetah brothers, Sam and Solo. We were lucky enough to see them pass by, approximately every 10 minutes for two hours in the evening, from 4pm to 6pm. But to our great surprise, we did not see them again until the next morning, while the lions remained perched on their rock and clearly visible to all.
And it’s not for lack of having watched them all evening. But when night falls, it’s impossible to see the slightest animal… We then decide to sleep with the shutters wide open so as not to miss anything at sunrise. In a case like this, we advise you to set a very early alarm, because felines are particularly active in the early morning. I also woke my husband with a start by a tap on the shoulder: “Wake up, they’re here, it’s magic!“Here we are, still lying down admiring them, with their majestic appearance, while our two-year-old child was still sleeping peacefully in his little cot. We were able to observe them from around 7am to 8am… But recently, the two brothers have been drawn to the other end of the park by the smell of the giraffes and antelopes welcomed into a completely new area: animal instinct is resurfacing!
At breakfast, our table neighbors tell us that the lions brushed against the window of their room, and that one of them even slept in front of them all night. Everyone has their own chance, and we must above all try the experience by taking into account the habits of the animals. It is up to us to adapt to their way of life and not the other way around, and to appreciate the spectacle that is offered to us.
Other lodges we visited, like the polar bear or grizzly bear lodges, are also spectacular! One of the rooms with a view of the grizzlies really gives the impression that there is no glass (so much so that our little one kept walking until he bumped into it). And between the most expensive one (with a hot tub) and the more basic room, it is the latter that is more worth it: the manager tells us that the bears are used to sleeping right in front of it.
The plus points: if you book a night in a Safari Lodge or a Safari Suite, you can walk around the zoo alone, after closing time, between 7:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.: the time when some animals have their meal. You also benefit from advantageous rates to enjoy another experience, that of a keeper for a day.
Finally, you have to count from 285 euros per person for the suites, and from 200 euros per person the price of the lodges, on the basis of two adults (these rates can vary according to the holiday periods and other specific dates and include the entrance to the park for 2 days, dinner and breakfast, as well as a guided tour)… The price to pay (to do at least once) to live this unusual experience as a couple or family, the memory of which remains imperishable. Given its success, some rooms (like that of the polar bears) are not available for two years!