El Karama Lodge

We had the loveliest stay at El Karama. The team (shout out to Sammy, Wachira, and Joseph) went above and beyond to ensure our family was well taken care of throughout our stay. It is a very kid friendly place with a great pool and bush school activities for children to give parents a break in the middle of the day. They even provide babysitting at night so you can enjoy your dinners. The conservancy is also stunningly beautiful. Would love to stay here again down the road!

Beautiful lodge very convenient to Nanyuki and Nairobi- the conservancy is private so there were very few people- got to see lions, cheetahs, elephants, hippos and many other animals without competition from other guides. The food is organic farm to table and delicious. The tents and pool are all gorgeous and the people like our guide Robinson and waiter Washira were so warm and welcoming!

We had a brilliant stay at el Karama, the game drives were excellent, with lots of unusual animals, including Aardwolf, striped hyena, leopard and bat eared foxes as well as elephant ,hippo and giraffe. My daughter loved bush school with John, all the staff were friendly and hospitable and the accommodation was great. Best of all, the food was supreme too!

Fabulous lodge and very pleasant stay. Our safari guide, Andrew, was very knowledgeable. We had amazing sightings in particular of lions (and much more) and were able to spend hours watching their behaviour without any other car around. Slow pace and relaxing atmosphere, exactly what we were hoping for. The food at the lodge was good and we had the surprise of our last brunch by the river. We had meals at various location ( pool, river, main dining room) which was really nice. The grounds at the lodge are very well kept with dik-diks running around. The staff goes out of its way to please. One of the few lodges were kids are welcome so if you want less kids.. go outside school holiday periods.

A phenomenal place with some of the most intimate and brilliant safari experiences we’ve had in Kenya - and by far the best customer experience. Our children adored the Bush School - their favourite activity of our trip! And seeing lions, elephants and other animals in a way not offered in busier places like the Mara was incredible. Breakfasts and dinners by the rivers an experience of a lifetime. And most importantly what really made the stay was the care from everyone there - Josef and our special guide Robinson and Michael, as well as the incredible food from chefs Jane and Priscilla. As part of our work we eat at top global restaurants on a day to day basis and the food served was second to none!

This place FAR FAR exceeded our expectations! We travelled with a family of 12 (6 adults, 6 kids ages 6-12) and El Karama was the PERFECT spot. In fact, we all agreed it was our favorite spot of the 4 places we stayed while on our Kenya vacation. The location was gorgeous, stunning views, animals at our doorstep, delicious food and a pool right outside our rooms. But what we loved most about El Karama was the hospitality and our guides. Everyone, from the wait staff and house keepers and chefs to the drivers and manager made us feel like we were part of the family. We were so sad to leave. Robinson and John were THE best guides we could have asked for. They were so generous in their knowledge of the land and animals, and SO good with our kids. Bush school for 2 hours a day was the cherry on top of this place for the kids (and for the adult-time too!) Kids loved getting to make bread, drive the jeeps, and help with the gardening. So so cool.

We kick started our honeymoon with a two day stay at El Karama Lodge and our only wish is that we’d stayed longer. We did so much in just two days - the team did everything to make our experience incredible and succeeded! Joseph, who oversees the lodge, was really helpful, friendly and welcoming. We were lucky enough to be upgraded to the Nilotica lodge and oh my goodness, it was beautiful. The room was immaculate and felt so luxurious, the pool area is stunning, there’s multiple seating areas with beautiful views, and the dining/living area is beautifully fitted out - all of this looks out over the conservancy, meaning when we had meals we could see the wildlife just a stone’s throw away in their natural habitat. A highlight was watching the giraffes graze while we ate our lunch on the second day. Patrick, the waiter, catered to our every need and was absolutely brilliant - he made the best g&ts we’ve had, which we enjoyed in the evenings by the fire. John, our games driver, was very knowledgeable, answered all of our questions, planned trips based on our interests and made the drives so enjoyable. Our first day we woke early and watched the sunrise and a stunning view of Mount Kenya with a cup of coffee and cookies. During the drives we saw some incredible animals - some highlights included a rare striped hyena, a lioness on the hunt and a hippo with her baby on our night drive, which was such a fantastic experience (the blankets and hot water bottles in the truck were a great touch)! On our last day we were surprised with a gorgeous riverside breakfast with a table beautifully set, a chef and a three course brekky - the attention to detail and care put into everything was meticulous (we even had a portable toilet in the bush during breakfast). The food was always delicious - some of which is grown on site. There’s also a little bush school and shop - we picked up a couple of bits including a handmade crocheted elephant to remember our stay by. We honestly couldn’t recommend El Karama enough and we hope to visit again one day.||Lou and Eunan

Great place. Amazing people. The food was incredible and the activities for kids were wonderful. Thanks John and Patrick for an amazing stay.