Travel reviews by Lucy & Richard from London

"This was a very brief overnight stay - about 5 hours.

Accommodation was more than adequate, staff were lovely, breakfast was OK but its outstanding attribute was that it was so close to the airport - a midnight dash across town would not have been welcome.

Highly recommend for this reason."

"Tawi is the loveliest lodge - the rooms are attractive and spacious, food is tasty, varied and plentiful and the chefs were happy to accommodate our off menu requests (nothing outrageous, things like turning down pudding for fresh fruit), guiding is excellent and the setting is verdant and beautiful. Highspot of Tawi itself if the watering hole which attracted zebra, giraffe and particularly elephants: one day a group of 9 turned up in the morning and stayed all day frolicking in full view of the open dining room, the lawn and lounging areas, as well as our bathroom and verandah. The grounds are carefully landscaped, the swimming pool is flanked by lily ponds, and the discreet electric fences allow the larger animals to come almost within touching distance without being a danger.

Resident wildlife is charming - acacias full of weaver birds, little monkeys (you have to keep the tenting zipped as they are partial to expensive night cream), superb starlings and the mongeese which live under the lounge. The area around the lodge was very lush when we were there (January 2022) and as soon as you left Tawi you encountered elephants, zebra, gazelles - there was never any time spent driving around not spotting anything, and you can of course go off road as it's a private conservancy.

Once you get into the main reserve there are spectacular herds of elephants: the guides know when they are going from morning grazing to waterholes and back again so you can just wait in the road and watch them file past - dozens, hundreds in a single sighting, with Kilimanjaro in the background - extraordinary photos. The elephant families of Amboseli have been much studied and our guide recognised and named many individuals, understood family relationships and histories, and explained how to distinguish them, and the conservation issues. There is a copy of the study, "The Amboseli Elephants, a long-term perspective on a long-lived mammal", Moss et al, University of Chicago Press at the lodge and it is fascinating reading. There was so much else to see - flamingo lakes, baboons, ostrich, but really the elephants were outstanding.

One last point, the staff were all friendly, interesting, gentle and very charming - they really went out of their way to make our stay very happy. The manager, Alphonse, made a point of speaking to guests in the evening to check that the day had gone well - he leads an exceptional team."

"This lodge is untraditionally furnished - all pale furniture and floors, public space a bit limited, but very comfortable.

I was struck, as I was elsewhere on this (just) post-Covid trip, by just how calm and pragmatic and sensible everyone working in the camp was and how pleased they were to see us after a couple of hard years - it was a great relief and comfort coming from Europe. Minnie in particular who managed it had a lovely sense of humour as well and that filtered down to the staff.

Food, as elsewhere on this trip was excellent.

Guiding was really good - Kicheche is at the junction of three different prides' territories and one dominant male lion had been taken down by rivals from another pride the night before we arrived and the fallout 'politics' were really interesting. This is spectacular big cat territory - lots of sightings of leopards and cheetahs as well as dozens of lions - including many cubs of different ages - and the guide knew where to find them.

We also saw (practically) every sort of gazelle, elephants, hippos, birds, hyenas, sunsets, sunrises. The land was parched after a long drought, and it began to rain on our last day which didn't diminish the game drive - they provided huge lined cagoules and by the following morning green shoots were appearing."

"Really lovely resort - white sand - a causeway across the coral so you can see the wildlife without getting wet (!) - shady trees - excellent food and lovely, lovely, staff - spectacular architecture - huge spacious accommodation - huge pool - we had a happy lazy week here that ended too soon.

Only slight criticisms are (1) that it is quite a trek into town - although the resort was so lovely that you really didn't want to leave it it's always nice to see how the locals live and (2) boat trips seemed eye-wateringly expensive.

But, honestly, I can't think of any other resort I'd so like to return to."