Olonana Lodge, an A&K Sanctuary

My adult daughter and I were on an Abercrombie & Kent "Great Migration" safari and we spent 3 nights here. It was utterly fabulous! It's definitely the most decadent place I've ever stayed (and I consider myself pretty well-traveled and taking advantage of nice places). The location on the river and the ability to watch the antics of the hippos in the river, from the balcony outside your "room," is spectacular. The food was consistently delicious and the menu provided ample choices. The staff was all wonderful and could not have been more accommodating. My daughter was ill during our stay and the staff went out of their way to try to make her comfortable. We were able to have laundry done each day and promptly returned to our rooms in the afternoon. This place is a real experience and I would happily return anytime.

This is one of the best lodges we stayed in - period. The rooms, the service, the food, the location (right on Mara river), the excellent staff - it all made for a memorable stay. The game drives with Vincent were exceptional. This is a place we want to go back to.

Sanctuary Olonana is an Abercrombie & Kent 14 room lodge spectacularly located on the banks of the Mara river. ||Olonana is located outside the park in a Masai conservation area with a 20 minute bumpy drive to the main entrance to the Masai Mara Triangle. ||Staff were welcoming and attentive, the tone set by our welcome when we were led to reception by a Masai warrior playing his pipe before being greeted warmly by all the staff. The food was excellent with superb a la carte choices including a spectacular surprise bush breakfast. ||Room are memorable, big, well designed and with a large outdoor area overlooking your own stretch of river for some hippo viewing. It’s a lot of fun hearing the hippos early in the morning as they settle themselves in for the day. ||Nelson our driver / guide was fantastic, one of the best we had. His ability to spot game was extraordinary whilst his driving skills particularly one day after an overnight rainstorm gave everyone comfort. Thanks Nelson ||Olonara has close links with the local Masai community and offers the opportunity to visit a local village (which I did not do but was I gather very interesting) whilst within the grounds they have built a boma for local Masai to show their handicraft skills and have an opportunity to sell the output to guests. In addition the A&K foundation support providing water filters to schools enabling clean water, an interesting project.||Highly recommended

The villas at Olonana were beautiful, and it was a fun experience waking up to the sounds of hippos in the river. The villas had every comfort of home, including large bathrooms, air conditioning, comfortable beds (with mosquito nets), a stocked minibar, and plenty of filtered water. Our wonderful guide, Moses, was able to find multiple lions, cheetahs, rhinos, and even leopards for us within our first two days in Maasai Mara. We saw almost every animal you could hope to see in the Mara, which was an incredible and unforgettable experience. Chef James’ food was varied and consistently delicious, with three courses at lunch and dinner, and a hot breakfast was made to order. |The entire staff was extremely professional and friendly, especially Justus and Elli. Everyone at Olonana made our vacation very special, and we hope to return someday soon!

From the moment we were picked up from the airstrip, Sanctuary Olonana surpassed our wildest expectations. We were taken immediately to a riverside lunch, where we met Grant, the manager, who was working alongside others to make our lunch. He was very warm and welcoming. After our delicious lunch, we were taken to the main resort, where a man from the local Masai village escorted us, with flute, to the checkin area. The resort is gorgeous, right alongside the Mara River, chocked full of hippos! Then, to our room, where the real shock happened. We thought there might've been a mistake! Our room was HUGE, with curtained king-size bed, large bathroom with stand-alone tub plus walk-in shower, double sinks, sunken living room area, huge outside deck over the river, including an outside day bed. It was magnificent. And then the safaris! James was terrific: an excellent driver (roads can be a little rough), extremely knowledgeable and adept at finding animals. We just experienced exceptional service throughout our stay. The staff in the dining room immediately learned our preferences, so there was always still water ready for me (and Chardonnay at dinner) and sparkling water ready for my husband--with a side of limes. Grant and Anneamie offer an exceptional experience!

Amazing experience here! Excellent accommodation. Fabulous food. Beautiful setting and surroundings. Our game guide ‘James’ was so knowledgeable, kind and made our experience amazing showing us so many animals. Everyone at Olonana made sure our stay was the best ever. Cannot recommend enough.

Very nice lodge with spacious and very modern & clean rooms, and friendly attentive staff. This lodge is very close to the Maasai Mara park, so getting in to the park for safari was easy with our very knowledgeable guide, Peter. ||The lodge also backs up to the river so hippos are everywhere.

Uh, awesomeness|Friendly and warm reception.... Kudos shadrack, Joseph and team... 💐💐💐💐||The beautiful view of mara river as you are taking your meals.||The rooms are warm and always neat and well made beds||Delicious meals||Tight security