Lunch with lions and bedrooms with bears: Introducing the new zoo hotel

An unusual new hotel offers guests the chance to wake up to lions at their bedside and eyeball a bear while sitting in the bath.

The Jamala Wildlife Lodge experience at the National Zoo and Aquarium in Canberra blends guest rooms with animal habitats.

Owner Richard Tindale said the property was designed to make guests feel they were immersed in nature.

He told Rex Features: "The lodges feature a u-shaped room with the middle of room all glass so you can be in your bath, bed or in the lounge and you could have an intimate interaction.

"It's the best interaction you'll get probably anywhere in the world, the idea is to get people as close to the animals as possible".

There are 20 luxury rooms scattered across the zoo, each with their own animal encounter and decorated with items handpicked by the Tindales on their annual trips to Africa.

According to its website, the lodge offers three kinds of accommodation, the uShaka Lodge, Giraffe Treehouses, and Junge Bungalows, offering their own unique wildlife experiences.

The Shaka Lodge has seven suites, which offer everything from a shark tank in your living room to monkeys on your terrace.

The Giraffe Treehouses offer the possibility of feeding giraffe from your balcony overlooking the Molonglo River.

And the Jungle Bungalows are five suites adjoining different enclosures for "the brave at heart!"

You'll be within an inch of a pride of lions, brown bears or other dangerous "roommates", adds the site.