Kenya
6 Hip Hotels in Kenya
Kenya has many national reserves set aside to protect an area’s distinctive ecology and wildlife. Combine stays at more than one national park and experience for yourself the diversity of Amboseli, Masai Mara, Meru, and the Great Rift Valley.
Contact our Travel Gurus for inspiration and advice on luxury hotels in Kenya.
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This is the real thing; the authentic canvas safari experience. Not only has the Cottar family provided guests with the highest standard of safari service for ninety years, they also have the distinct advantage of operating a concession near the Maasai Mara in an area untouched by tourism or development.
First registered by Chas Cottar in 1919 as a safari expedition, the camp remains in the family today and preserves a timeless adventure. Dinner is served in a tent designated for dinner – a rustic but nonetheless elegant affair that strikes a delicate balance between linen, silver and crystal glassware and the great outdoors. And with a cheeky wink towards a bygone era, there are butlers on hand to cater to your every need. The bar is the bush, and vice-versa. Drinks following long established tradition are at sundown, and directors chairs are set up wherever guests fancy, in a manner that hasn’t changed since Roosevelt and Hemingway. Guided game activities are available several times a day but there is no pressure to participate if your idea of ultimate adventure is to sit in the library tent with a good book, occasionally gazing out at the timeless beauty of the African bush.
A visit not just to the Masai Mara, but to the golden era of safari – with the spirit of romance, adventure and luxury.
Photos of Cottars 1920s
Prices from:
£1,745 pp in low season
£2,165 pp in high season
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Named after Elsa the lioness of ‘Born Free’ fame, this luxury lodge is perfect for those wanting to experience the untamed beauty of an African wilderness. Almost invisible to the eye as you approach Mughwango hill, it’s the only operational lodge in Meru National Park, so guests have this huge area entirely to themselves. Comprising of 10 individually built cottages, including a private family house and honeymoon suite, each cottage is designed to incorporate the natural features of the rocky hillside. Spacious and luxurious, all cottages have access to a beautiful infinity pool overlooking the Meru plains (the Private House has its own pool as well). Activities available include 4 x 4 game drives, guided bush walks and line fishing. Regular animals spotted include Elephant, Zebra, Giraffe, Leopard, Lion, Cheetah and Rhino. The camp makes a point of growing much of its fresh produce, so meal times are a real treat!
Located close to George Adamson’s original campsite, attention to detail and a caring attitude make a few days here unforgettable.
Photos of Elsa’s Kopje
Prices from:
£1,259 pp in low season
£1,725 pp in high season
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Set in 140 acres of forest on the outskirts of Kenya’s capital, Giraffe Manor was built in 1932 by David Duncan of the ‘Macintosh Toffee’ family. Inspired by Scottish hunting lodges, it earned its unusual name as a result of an effort by Jock & Bette Leslie Melville (who had bought the Manor from David Duncan) to save two highly endangered Rothschild giraffe. They were moved onto the estate and they thrived, as did future generations. So much so that the property is now also home to the Giraffe Centre, established by the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife.
Judging from the four poster beds, the stone fireplaces, the big beams, the leaded windows and the panelled doors, you really could be in a lodge in Scotland. That is, until a giraffe sticks its head through the window and tries to steal your toast from the breakfast tray. This being a manor, there is a dining room, not a restaurant and the bar is a living room with big, overstuffed club chairs and a large stone fireplace. The food is fresh and homemade, like what you would expect from a hunting lodge in Scotland with an African twist.
Giraffe Manor is a legend; a small hotel just outside Nairobi with a big reputation.
Photos of Giraffe Manor
Prices from:
£1,509 pp
Includes Half board
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This extraordinary camp is prodigiously positioned on the site of Joy Adamson’s former tented home in the heart of the Shaba National Reserve in Kenya.
Photos of Joy's Camp
Prices from:
£1,259 pp in low season
£1,505 pp in high season
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From its elevated position Tortilis camp is perched like an observatory of Africa’s highest peak (and the world’s highest freestanding mountain). Named after the flat-top umbrella thorn tree (acacia tortilis), Tortilis camp is also distinguished by its local elephant population. There are more than a thousand elephants within Amboseli, including some of the largest ever seen in Africa. Big seems to be a keyword for this camp – big scenery, big elephants, big mountain and big adventure. With a private game concession of 30,000 acres as well as complete access to the surrounding National Park, guests at Tortilis camp are guaranteed a spectacular wildlife experience.
Guests are housed in tents, and each tent is housed under a hand-crafted roof of makuti – traditional thatch made from palm leaves. The effect is simultaneously romantic and reassuring. This is what you want a safari camp to look like.
The sudden enormity of Kilimanjaro sticking out of the African bush never ceases to amaze.
Photos of Tortilis Camp
Prices from:
£1,115 pp in low season
£1,325 pp in high season
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The philosophy is; one planet, one tribe, we share in the things we want, especially when it comes to travel. We want comfort, security and peace of mind and we want personal service, but we also want things to be fun and different. All these things is what Tribe strives to be.
Set in Nairobi’s leafy diplomatic suburb of Gigiri, ten minutes from the city centre, Tribe has the unparalleled advantage of being next door to the Village Market. It is ultra luxurious and comfortable, and equipped to the eyeballs with all the high tech gear any traveller might desire. But it is also so different that it will put you under the African skies at night while dining on epic food seated at islands in a vast swimming pool. It will give you and your wife a cosy fireplace to take the chill off the night, with the one difference that the fireplace is in the swimming pool. Expose yourself to the exciting dynamic side of East Africa instead of hiding away in a boring multinational brand name.
Tribe is a place that has flipped the conventional business hotel on its East African ear.
Photos of Tribe
Prices from:
£925 pp
Perfect to combine with Safari
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