Travel reviews by Mr M & Ms B from Newcastle

"Despite our flight being delayed, Four points still allowed us to use the room for a couple of hours in the early hours of the morning and use the facilities of the room to freshen up.

The staff were very friendly and sympathetic to what had happened.

Breakfast was really nice, the rooms were clean, and the showers were good."

"We had an amazing, unforgettable stay at Basecamp Eagle View. The camp is embedded into the hill in the savanna and has a stunning view for miles from both the tents and the reception areas. The tents themselves are more like hotel rooms than actual tents, with wooden floors and frame with canvas covering. The room was very spacious with a surrounding mosquito net. The beds are comfy, the blankets are cosy during the cold nights, and even though the water is heated and electricity powered by solar the showers are plenty powerful. The staff even went the extra step and placed a hot water bottle in every bed in the night for extra cosiness.

The guides are really something, we had two guides, Dickson and Bandi. They were polite, knowledgeable about the animals and were incredible at tracking the locations of each animal. We had the option of 2 driving safaris a day and they always managed to find us something new to see. We saw everything from hippos, to cheetahs, to lions and colourful birds, and even a leopard in a tree with its dinner. Our two guides were great at spotting animals far before we could see them and would point us towards anything interesting. They also had many stories about their experiences with the animals, or little factoids about how much they ate, how they lived, how the herds worked and how best to survive in the wilderness against these animals. If possible, we'd recommend the walking safari, as you get to see the smaller animals/insects, learn about the plants and how they can be used, and have an easy chat with the Maasai.

Sometimes the lack of a concrete time schedule left us a little confused, at the end of each activity our guides asked what time we'd like to do the next activity, which we didn't really know the answer to. We had no idea when the best times to see the animals were. It caused a little confusion and awkwardness occasionally, but in general you do the morning safari is at 6:00 am and the afternoon safari at 4.30pm.

Even though the animals certainly walk amongst you while in the camp, you always feel very safe alongside the trained Maasai warriors placed across the premises. It's pitch black in the night so you'll have an escort back to your tent to keep you safe, and you're provided a walkie-talkie so someone is always available no matter the time. This was a nice comfort as the animal calls over the savanna at night can be a little spooky at times.

You're provided three 3-course meals a day and the staff in reception are really friendly. It being quite a small establishment so you will recognise a fair amount of the staff before long. Our server was Johnson and he was so lovely, always greeting us with a smile and asking us how our day was so far. Food is good, but sometimes 3 course meals 3 times a day are a little much. We found by a few days in we'd either miss the starter or the dessert. Sometimes, we had to wake up very early in order to get to the morning safari on time at a 6-7am start so the tea and coffee available at reception was very welcome.

The reception area itself is open with a beautiful view of the savanna and you can often see the animals from the balcony. At night you get a wonderful view of the stars and the staff setup a fire pit so it's warm as you enjoy the view with a glass of wine.

We had a wonderful time at basecamp Eagle View and would love to visit again."

"The sands at Chale Island is a beautiful resort set in a small island of white beaches and mangroves off the south coast. The resort is small, only housing around 60 rooms, which allows you to have a nice quiet experience of the beaches, pools and facilities without them being too crowded.

We heard on the grapevine that the entire resort was recently renovated and as a result everything there looks very new and polished. Our room was large and cool, with a beautiful view of the ocean right on our doorstep. Mangroves grow around the rooms which gives the whole hotel a sort of wild feel.

The location is absolutely beautiful, the sand is soft and white, the sea is a deep blue, the beaches are clean, and the bay is shallow enough for you to walk around the island at low tide.

The staff are incredibly friendly and professional, greeting everyone with a smile and asking how our days had been and how we were feeling. Some of the staff even told us a little about themselves, which was really nice.

The kitchen is open 3 times a day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and the food is wonderful. I would especially recommend any of the local or Swahili dishes available, as they're really something else. There is a pretty large menu available too so there's always something different to try. Outside of those times there's a cafe and bar open on the beach, and a sunset bar over the water too, though there's so much food on offer at mealtimes that we never needed to use them outside of the occasional drink or ice cream.

There are a fair amount of water sports activities available at extra cost. We only had the chance to have a go at a couple of them but the people who take you out scuba diving and on the tour of the mangroves were very friendly and very knowledgeable. The scuba diving in particular was one of our favourite experiences."

"Karen gables was possibly the biggest surprise we had on our trip. On our return to Nairobi we were tired and already had a wonderful holiday, yet this hotel was just so cozy and comfortable that it was like having a break within a break while we had a couple of days in the capital. The hotel is nestled far enough from the city that it's quiet and green, but close enough that a taxi into Nairobi is only 20 minutes.

The hotel itself is designed to look like a cosy cottage like house, but it's actually quite new in construction. Our room was wonderfully cosy and surprisingly large, with a good size bed, powerful shower room, and a separate seating area. The hotel has a swimming pool, an outdoor bar and a large garden area too that was really nice to walk around in the day.

Food was amazing, and the staff were really friendly, they even offered to hold our bags on the last day after we checked out and allowed me to use one of the empty rooms to freshen up before we headed up to the airport.

We also got the chance to meet the owner, who was absolutely lovely. He told us all about his experience in Nairobi since the '90s, how he built the house and how the city had changed in 30 years. He also gave us a lift to the city centre on the Sunday as we were both going to the museum that day, which was an absolute life saver as the marathon was on that day and navigating the city would've been a nightmare in a taxi."