Travel reviews by Mr & Mrs B from Marlow

"A well run lodge inside the Nairobi National Park, so it is possible to see animals in the evening and early morning before it gets busy...  the rooms are spacious and well appointed and the food is verging on fine dining...  all the staff were friendly and helpful, especially the relief manager, Rachel.  Rashid our guide was knowledgeable and in addition to the game drives took us to Sheldrick Elephant Centre and the Giraffe House...
There are upper and lower accommodations, the upper have good views but many steps...
There is a pool, but we were too busy to use it.  Would visit again...

OTHER COMMENTS
1. Rachel, the relief manager guided us through our visit, constantly pointing things out and making suggestions....
2. There was good WiFi...
3. Power in the rooms was very useful for charging batteries etc..."

"Overall, our stay was interesting and eventful, the guides were knowledgeable, friendly and endlessly patient with our questions.  The two gap year students were great, entertaining and efficient, catering for our needs. Sadly, general management and communication (from Steve and Annabelle) was lacking throughout our visit. In particular, we rarely knew what was happening and when... some of this may have resulted from the problems with the herders, necessitating an evacuation to a fly camp on the first night, but on our return to the main camp, nothing changed... we did not feel confident that we were being told what was happening and certainly would have been concerned if things had deteriorated further....

Laikipia is beautiful and interesting, despite the severe drought and we saw many animals, including lots of elephant, hippopotamus, numerous reticulate giraffes, Grevy Zebra and the 11 wild dogs four times. unfortunately we did not see lion or cheetah and only had a nighttime sighting of a leopard...

Be aware that walking is a major feature of this camp, which being at the top end of the 65-70 age group, we were not able to do very much... and the one cartridge gun was also not very reassuring...

In conclusion, if you desperately want to see wild dogs (which is relatively easy, as the dogs have radio collars to locate them), this is the place, but be aware that it is more basic than many camps and certainly less organised...

There was satellite WiFi... but we were encouraged not to use it, due to the cost...."

"We were met by Senchura, our guide at the airstrip and told everything we needed to know, sitting under a shade tree with a cool drink... The camp was immaculate and well run and the staff were tirelessly caring and helpful.  The tents were well equipped and the bucket showers provided plentiful hot water... always filled for our return from game drives.

We saw so many animals, roaring and mating lions and 12 cheetahs, being the highlight of the stay and our knowledgable and kind guide, added to the experience.  The food was interesting and Dixon, the chef made samosas especially for us.  All drinks were included which made life easy...  I would strongly recommend this Camp and the Maasai village visit ($25).

OTHER COMMENTS

1. There was a WiFi tent with power, which worked well and was situated away from the dining area to avoid disturbing other guests...
2. Hand sanitizer, insect repellant and sun cream were provided in the safari vehicle, a nice touch...
3. Bush breakfasts were different every day....
4. We received personal water bottles on arrival... very welcome!
5. There was an interesting shop with local items.
6. The Maasai village visit was interesting and not at all touristy... I hope that ALL the money DID go to the village/ community.
7. We had 3 nights, 4 would have been better, as elsewhere...."

"A quirky and interesting old colonial club and hotel.  Very close to the runway at Wilson Airfield, but if you love planes this is the place for you.  Friendly and helpful staff and interesting decor including aero engines!
The bar serves the best fresh orange juice that I have ever tasted.... and of course Tuskers...
I love the billowing mosquito nets...  Rooms and facilities not very modern, well not in room 11, but loved the atmosphere.

Good WiFi in the rooms and bar...

Java at the Aero Club
Really amazing giant samosas and good burgers, all washed down with Tuskers, what could be better?  Very friendly and helpful staff."

"A well run camp, managed by Nick and Crystal; as it was coming to the end of the season it was very quiet, so we had the attention of all the staff.  We had our own guide and a driver for all drives and they were endlessly knowledgeable and attentive; noticing when I was taking photos and stopping and starting appropriately.

All the tents were raised to allow the hippos to wander underneath and we were accompanied at all times by our lovely Maasai askari, Njoy....  There is a swimming pool which it was great to return to after a long, hot game drive.  The ceiling fan was essential with temperatures reaching 40C... and there was always cold drinking water in our tent.

The food was interesting and innovative; it didn't always work, but they asked for feedback and were genuinely interested in our comments....  Beer, wine and spirits were not included.

We were spoiled on our last evening with a special boat trip to see the elephants swimming across the river and a surprise sundowner of sparkling wine and nibbles, overlooking the river.

Come here to see birds, plus hippos and crocs in great numbers... and much, much more...

OTHER COMMENTS

1. There was no WiFi for guests, but they allowed us to send an email to family from the office.
2. The cold water vacuum flask in our tent was very welcome...
3.  We received a personal vacuum flask for cold drinks and a useful bag on arrival....
4. The chef also made samosas for us...
5. Tents are secured with a spring shackle to prevent access by marauding monkeys..."

"The camp is comprised of tents within straw huts, called bandas, which are much cooler than the double roofed tents.... it is situated alongside a river bed, which was dry when we were there....  it is an unfenced camp with many visiting animals, including hyenas, which did cause some damage while we were visiting!

We had banda 5 which had the giraffe neck bones built into the wall, brilliant idea but anatomically incorrect!! There were only 6 cervical bones... hey ho! Later found one on the desk!

The lunches and dinners were buffet style and the food was plentiful and interesting, if occasionally bizarre...  Beer, wine, spirits and some fruit juices were not included. The bush breakfasts were a little dull compared to other camps and always the same...

We were lucky to see a leopard on our second game drive and enjoyed 2 bush walks with the guide trainees....  In the National Park there were so many elephants that we almost ceased to remark on them!  On Day 3 we saw 6 wild dogs, which was fairly special.  They were more attractive with better markings than those that we have seen in Laikipia, Kenya, but harder to find.  We saw another leopard in a sausage tree, on the way to the airstrip...

The one downside was the vehicles, which were not well appointed and would have benefitted from side bars, foot bars and better visibility for all seats...  the first guide and driver chatted a lot and were not as attentive are we would have expected... however, after the first day we changed guides which was a great improvement.

The management were reactive... but some aspects of staff motivation/training were lacking...

Overall, this was not my favourite Camp of the 5 that we visited; I would recommend it with some reservations...

OTHER COMMENTS

1. We left on a 2 hour, 11.45am flight - a small packed lunch would have been good, as we were starving by the time we reached Dar...  I am sure they would have provided something if we had asked, but we didn't think...
2. There was no WiFi for guests, although it was available in the office, however they did help us
to check in for our Kenya  Airways flight from Dar to Nairobi and to send a couple of emails to family....
3. The beds were rather hard for old bones....
4. Fans in the Banda would be good for the very hot days...  as in Impala Camp.
5. The buffet food was often left uncovered for long periods of time, not great with the number of flies...
6. This was the only camp which sprayed the tent with insecticide every evening when we went to dinner...
7. Provision of cold water in a vacuum flask would have been appreciated in the high temperatures.  We did request ice but they had some problems producing it....
8. Solar hot water was always available...."