Reviews of Elephant Bedroom

"We were driven to Sambaru and the Elephant Bedroom from Laikipia. Saw a very diverse area = vast greenhouses then incredible dryness in villages near the Camp on the drive. Camp is on a river - not too much water, but enough to attract some animals.

Had a very good guide- Julius - but not a lot to see. Compared to the first two and then Mara North, this was the least attractive and had the lowest number of animal sightings.

Food and drink was good." See all these reviews: 16n in Kenya

"Excellent riverside location, attracting wildlife between game drives, re bee-eaters, kingfishers" See all these reviews: 10n in Kenya

"The staff at the camp were very welcoming and the service was very good. Our room was spacious and comfortable with a nice outside sitting area overlooking the river, (which was actually a dry river bed). The only negative aspects of the room were the very weak shower and the safe which needed unlocking but which management failed to deal with. The, (rather poor), excuse was that they couldn't access the key from the main office because the office was shut at the weekend.

We enjoyed the breakfasts which had a good choice. Lunch and dinner were generally good. The menu was varied and interesting and portions were very generous. The mixed vegetables accompanying all the main dishes were usually the same and it would have been nice to have had some variety. Our table waiter was Josphant who did an excellent job of looking after us.

One highlight at camp was when the local tusker joined us for lunch ... we first had to move from our table and then enjoyed watching him go to sleep against a tree next to the dining veranda - he stayed about an hour.

Our driver/guide was James. We arrived on an earlier flight than expected and because the Kalama Airstrip was closed we had to land at Sasaab, which is much less convenient for accessing the camp. James was given very short notice of the change and did amazingly well to get to the airstrip to meet us off our flight. We enjoyed the time spent out with James. He had a lively personality and was interesting, knowledgeable and informative. Game viewing in Samburu is not easy at the moment because, due to the severe drought, there is a lot less wildlife about. However James worked hard and we had some very good sightings. This included 2 very good cheetah sightings when we witnessed a cheetah mum teaching her 3 cubs how to hunt. We did see quite a lot of elephants but only in small family groups, (around 6 max), rather than the large groups that we have seen on previous visits to Samburu.

Kalama Airstrip opened for our departure so we were all very pleased about that!" See all these reviews: 13n in Kenya

"Our first stop on our safari! The location, accommodation and food were first class. Loved every minute. The plunge pool was well used, especially since the generator was off during the heat of the day.

The game drives were fantastic. Our driver/guide was experienced, and determined to find animals. We had exceptional sightings of elephants, giraffes, and also cheetahs including two feasting on a recently killed gerenuk, and on another day - a mom and her cubs.

One small detail which would be an improvement. Since everyone is carrying phones and devices, it would be helpful to remind all patrons and staff to turn off their audible notification signals at all times. Nothing ruins nature more than a ping from a cell phone notification. Many high end restaurants and clubs have this policy, and I'd recommend the same at all the camps." See all these reviews: 11n in Kenya

"Looked after very well. Tents excellent, clean and comfortable.

Our guide Solomon, who we had not had before, was first class. He was very empathetic to our group's needs.

Location first class." See all these reviews: 8n in Kenya

"Great game viewing including multiple leopards and tiny cheetah cubs. Guide James was wonderful as well. The only downside was during mid day the heat was unbearable particularly in the room, electricity was limited to certain hours so even the fan wasn't much help." See all these reviews: 11n in Kenya

"Our guide / driver, Anthony, was excellent. We have had him before and he is very knowledgeable and empathetic with clients.

The woman serving us throughout, in the restaurant, was Jennifer. We have had her before and she is quite excellent with clients. Efficient and personable.

We felt that the camp itself, under new management, was not quite up to previous visits. For example tents were not wholly cleaned (eg under beds). There wasn't a clear chain of command apparent to us and we had very little interaction with those in charge." See all these reviews: 10n in Kenya

"Great location and guide. I think that the rooms could kept cleaner. Lots of dirt and dust under the bed. Food and service by Jennifer were very good." See all these reviews: 10n in Kenya

"The camp is in a lovely spot - it was really nice to be by a river, a new experience for us. Our tent was good, the balcony with small plunge pool was a real asset, and it was amazing to have an elephant walking up and down in front of us!

The staff were in no way unpleasant but had relatively poor communication skills. Our allocated waiter, for example, said almost nothing other than introduce himself and our guide, whilst perfectly pleasant and polite, also said very little to us. He pointed out animals but only spoke otherwise in answer to direct questions, and then fairly briefly. He never asked us what we wanted to see, told us where he was heading nor asked us whether we were ready to move on from a particular site.

The food was plentiful, ridiculously, but mediocre. Surely no-one needs a three course lunch at 1pm having had breakfast at 9.30 and then a four course evening meal. We felt that quality was sacrificed to quantity. It may seem petty to comment on it but we found the way of serving the food childish and faintly ridiculous: any hot dish was brought under under a silver dome and the waiters made a big show of removing with a flourish making us count down from 3. It was just about ok the first time but after that became simply annoying!

The wildlife was disappointing, apart from the elephants which were great. There’s just didn’t seem to be that much there even and we really had to search for it, driving for long periods of time without seeing anything much..on our first afternoon, we began to wonder if there was any at all! Having not been to Samburu before, it’s difficult to judge whether this is typical of the area but it does seem that the unprecedented levels of rain had something to do with it. We were told that many animals had crossed the river to Buffalo Springs but, contrary to what usually happens, we were unable to follow because the bridge had been damaged in the flood. So, we saw only one Grevy stallion, the large female herd having decamped, the same couple of giraffe several times, some gerenuk, oryx, impala and gazelles, but no cheetah and two male lions only; we were, however, lucky enough on our last drive to see a leopard." See all these reviews: 11n in Kenya

"The location of Elephant Bedroom camp by the river is lovely. The tent was very well-equipped and comfortable, and it was very nice to have the plunge pool.

But the food was a bit disappointing. Breakfast was fine, but the 3 course lunches and dinners were very similar and it would have been preferable to have had a much simpler meal in the middle of the day.

Julius, our driver/guide was good and very knowledgeable, and we had an interesting visit to the local Samburu village." See all these reviews: 8n in Kenya