Travel reviews by CB&BB from USA

"After a long day of travel, it was great to be greeted by such a welcoming staff member from Four Points.

We were whisked quickly and safely to the hotel from the airport. The hotel was beautifully decorated for the Christmas holiday. Our room was very nice, with lots of space, and comfortable beds, perfect to get a nice hot shower and get ready for our adventure on safari.

Had a fairly early morning start but not before enjoying a delicious breakfast with anything and everything imaginable from omelets made on-site to homemade mandazi (Kenya donut). The staff was so friendly and wanted to have anything to serve that we wanted coffee, hot chocolate, fresh juices, and delicious food."

"After a couple of bumpy flights in very small planes we were happy to get the warm greeting at the air strip by Simon who would be our guide for our stay at Laikipia. He immediately made us feel cared after letting my daughter who wasn't feeling well after the flights sit in front for an easier ride to the camp.

We couldn't have even imagined how great Kicheche Laikipia was until we arrived and were greeted by Anita, Naftalie and the rest of the camp staff. We were greeted with a beautiful drink that looked like a sunset and given a brief intro to what we had to look forward to at the camp. We followed a staff member with our bags to our tent (Sendayo) and continued to just be in awe as we saw our beautiful accommodations overlooking a water hole with a hammock hanging in front, beautiful ferns and a card on our beds. We felt such a warm welcome.

Our flight in was delayed but they still had a late and tasty lunch spread for us. It was the start of what would be the most incredible meals, snacks, desserts, drinks and everything else we consumed under the watch of Chef Leonard "Lenny". Unbelievable from the freshness to the tastiness it was delicious.

Simon was an amazing guide who really knew everything from animal to plant/flower to bird and could make the calls and recognize the calls of any bird we came across. I have pages of notes on all of the facts we learned about all the gems of Laikipia. We also learned how well kept and looked after the rhinos are there that are Laikipia's true jewels.

A few special things we did were a bush walk where Simon was joined for this walk about by his ranger friend who has been partnering for years with Simon to show us by foot the many special gems you miss from riding in the vehicle that you get to experience by foot. From the praying mantis to the smallest blooms on the hillside this dynamic duo gave us a special experience. Simon also took us to the chimpanzee rescue where we got to hear about another group of special animal advocates focused on rescuing helpless chimpanzees from all over the world in danger. Rewarding work and learned a lot. The final special extra we did was a night ride. At first we weren't sure we'd have the energy but as soon as we got to witness a pride of lions playing and getting ready to go hunt at night we knew it was all worth it. We saw bush babies and also had the warmth of what the camp called our personal bush babies (hot water bottles wrapped in a soft exterior) to put in our laps on this night ride and every early morning drive. What a treat to also have these soft, warm surprises in our beds each night as part of their turn down service to keep us nice and warm each night of sleep.

We loved having bush breakfasts and sundowners out on each of our rides and found ourselves so happy and grateful for the time we had there."

"We didn't think it would be possible to top Laikipia but Mara North might just have done it. We were greeted at the airstrip by a smiling, enthusiastic guide Paul who immediately made us feel at home there in the Mara. He offered to take us on a game drive or drive straight away to the camp. We of course chose the game drive and were taken on an amazing introduction to the truly extraordinary Mara North and could see why Paul had gotten into being a guide 10 years ago inspired by his brother who was also a guide.

We were greeted by Anne, our house manager, Charles (our server in the dining area), Frank (bartender) McKenna and so many friendly outgoing faces and voices that were a part of the Mara welcome crew. Charles almost immediately started teaching us both swahili and Masai ways to say common phrases and told us some more local culture and history of what he was clearly proud of with the Masai tribe. We had continued amazing food, drink, desserts, snacks everything this time from a couple of female chefs that were constantly checking in to make sure what they were providing met our satisfaction. There was never a doubt as our expanded waistlines can attest to.

Our tent was Kanga and we appreciated being one of the closer tents to the main area of Kicheche Mara. The velvet monkies immediately showed interest in our tent so we learned the importance of keeping things zipped up and tight as they showed themselves to be very curious and mischievous. That was a special part of staying at Mara, with no fences you could hear the animals and see the animals that enjoyed being within a safe and respectful distance to your tent. A few cute bush bucks stayed close by and grazed behind our tent on the fresh green grass. Similar to KL we were greeted with cards, flowers and beautiful facilities at our tent. We were always comfortable and took advantage this time of the fans, water bottles at night and laundry service which was so helpful to keep things fresh and clean after our rides and adventures.

Paul had a truly special gift of being able to communicate and understand the thoughts, movements and reactions for all creatures great and small. We trusted him from the beginning and were thrilled at how we literally felt like observers in their day to day life not bothering them but rather there to appreciate them. We had so many special encounters with so many animal families, babies and even solo wanderers. He was determined for us to see everything including the leopard but despite valient efforts the leopard will be something we return to try and see.

He took us to a special Thursday market day and again made us feel so at ease and privileged to get to meet and understand the people he had grown up with and still clearly stayed close with in the Masai tribe. We learned so much in a such a short amount of time and we were constantly asking questions and probing Paul for even more info and he was always so gracious to share it all. He had such a joy every day whether it be early in the morning or later in the evening after a long day. We always felt like he truly wanted this to be the most amazing adventure for us. It absolutely was!

Every staff person we interacted with made it their goal each day to talk to us about what we'd seen, how we were doing or share some special tidbit of information that just added to our great adventure. These Kicheche camps truly set themselves apart from any place in the world we've ever been in terms of hospitality, quality of stay (soup to nuts) and leaving us wanting more and more."