Desert Rose

2°3’26.9"N 36°50’39.5"E

90% (2 reviews)

Desert Rose: gallery

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Desert Rose: video gallery

Desert Rose: picture gallery

Desert Rose has one of the most spectacular locations of any lodge in Kenya.

To the southeast, there are uinterrupted views across the steep flanks of Mount Nyiru…

…while to the northwest the craggy peaks of the mountain rise up steeply…

Reaching the lodge from the airstrip on the plain involves a transfer through a Samburu village…

…followed by a 4WD climb up the mountain on a vertiginous track cut by the lodge owners.

The excellent food here (this is a bush breakfast in the rocky ravine, just behind the lodge)…

…makes great use of the lodge's own organic herb and vegetable garden and orchards.

The rooms at Desert Rose are spacious and partly open-air, to allow breezes and light to percolate.

They have a tranquility which makes the lodge very hard to leave.

All the furniture was carved here on the mountain, in situ.

Large, comfortable beds, full-length mosquito nets…

…and thoughtful and charming details everywhere…

The sense that the whole lodge is an evolving work of art, loved by its owner…

This is the main lounge, where a fire is lit (on the left) on chilly evenings.

There are even "loos with a view" near the pool terrace, looking out across the ravine.

Activities at the lodge itself centre around the local Samburu community, who venerate the mountain.

Short or long walks can be organised whenever you feel the need to work off the wonderful food.

There's also a gently spiritual thread at the lodge, which you can follow actively…

…or simply allow to wash over you, by finding a comfortable spot and staring at the horizon.

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