Singita Mara River

This was our 4th visit and Mara River is one of our most favorite|African camps. The staff, facilities, view, food and wildlife are all|exceptional. Our guide, Japhet, is the very best and has guided|us on several occasions. He makes a difference in our experience.|This property has been renovated in both large and minor manners|and the changes have always served to improve the experience.|Wildlife is abundant but the roads can be poor and challenging.|The area is being built up with more camps opening in large part|to support the annual migration viewing. The government needs |to address this issue as the migration path is being threatened |by too many vehicles. A real challenge. Highly recommended and|we hope to return for visit #5. Highly recommended.

We came to Mara River after three nights at Faru Faru, which felt like it would be impossible to top, but we were not disappointed. They are very different types of properties (expansive lodge versus smaller tented sites), but we couldn’t have been happier to spend two nights here. I highly recommend adding it on to a Grumeti visit.||From the moment we were greeted at the airstrip by Mackey, we had an incredible experience. We got a mini-game drive from Mackey on the way to the camp and loved that we got to meet a young female guide. We hope to see more in the future! ||The camp is small, but very cozy. We slept so well in the room and it had everything we needed. The food was some of the best we’ve had traveling and our wine recommendations from our server, Paul, were all perfect. We really liked that many of the menus featured African dishes - they were some of our favorites from the entire trip.||My advice to coming to Mara - trust your guide! The crossings are the main event, but even while waiting we saw some amazing things (like hyenas standing off with elephants and baboons). But I wouldn’t come to this camp expecting to tick off the rest of the big 5. Let your guide recommend when to stay and watch the river or when to venture out. You’ll have an amazing time if you let them do their thing. Our guide, Godson, was phenomenal and we learned so much from him. We loved that he was just as excited at the sightings - it really adds to the experience when you’re all sharing the moment with the guide! ||The rest of the team we had the pleasure to meet - Sam, Jackie, and Charles - all made us feel so comfortable and at home. They really took this visit to the next level.

There are 3 words to describe Singita Mara River Tented Camp- genuine, authentic and amazing. We visited them during the Christmas time. I'd say that we had a once in lifetime experience at this property. From the moment we arrived at Lamai airstrip to the time we departed from the same airstrip, the Singita crew took care of us with astute personal attention. We were very fortunate and grateful to have Musa as our guide, Juma as our food concierge and Samson as our room concierge. Musa is a biologist and knows animal behavior and local area extremely well. If you ever get Juma as your food concierge, you should ask him about his experience with earthquake in Zanzibar (his home town)- :) :). Rest of the staff were also very friendly and courteous. We enjoyed our conversations with Tina, Jackie, Dan and Kim. Massages from Ana were very relaxing as well. It was obvious that they all loved their jobs and knew how to take care of customers.||||We thoroughly enjoyed all the 6 game drives with Musa. We were able to see wildlife up and close. It was truly a magical experience. While we saw the regular sights that most travelers would see, the highlights for us were the following slights:||1. Hyenas, Vultures and Jackals feeding on a buffalo curcas.||2. Elephants crossing the Mara river||3. Close encounter with a bull elephant (we were scared but Musa was not since he knew the animal behavior).||4. Hippos in the Mara River (we could see them and hear them from our camp too).||||We had booked a family tent, which worked out great for us. The tents were well appointed with 4 post bed, lots of storage space and decorated with contemporary African art. There is an inside as well as outside bathroom/shower. The bath amenities are of to notch quality. We never had trouble with getting hot water in the tap or shower. Our room was well-maintained and attended to by Samson. He just knew what we wanted and when we wanted- for example, he took care of our laundry twice in a day since he knew we were leaving the next day. He also washed our shoes prior to leaving the camp since the shoes had muck and mud all over. One night he had set up a oil diffuser that emitted earthen scent of Africa- so peaceful to sleep!||||Food was just heavenly! It was so fresh and tasty! They made vegetarian food without mushrooms (allergies) for all of us for all the meals and presented the food in an attractive and appetizing way! Wines that accompanied the food were the best as well.||||Weather was actually very good during our visit. It was cold in the morning and evening but it got to 80-82oF in the afternoon. It did rain in the afternoons and some time overnight. However, the rain didn't interfere with our game drives.||||While in the camp, I read about Singita's conservation efforts, which are very impressive and laudable. This whole camp is off the grid too. It does seam like Singita Mara River Tented Camp is very popular during annual migration (July-Sep) since you can see the migration right from the camp itself. We are looking forward to visiting them again!

This was our 2nd stop on our 2 week trip after visiting Singita Faru Faru. Everyone was so nice & welcoming. Our guide, Jeremiah, came with us from Faru Faru which was really great. The location of this camp is the reason to stay here. Right on the Mara river. We saw 5 crossings over 3 days- the last one at the camp the morning we departed. It's truly spectacular. The tents are spacious & have all the amenities you'd need- blankets, hats, workout gear! The views are amazing and animals are roaming around at all hours. If noises bother you, bring earplugs as the animals are quite noisy at night. Aside from the location, the best part of this camp was the food. Every meal we had was phenomenal. At night, we'd chat with other guests about who saw what that day over drinks. A really wonderful stay!

Blessed to be in this property during river crossing season. The property is just right in front of Mara River which you can actually see river crossings in your own tent with bubble bath. I have seen one river crossing in front of my tent during my stay and the tent was surrounded by river crossing wildebeests and zebras after. This is just incredible!|For accomodation experience in Serengeti, game drive accounts for a significant part. Singita is just good at what they do. Somehow I feel like they offer best in class safari in Africa. Truly appreciated that I was assigned an experienced guide Johnson Paul which I hope he can be your guide in your next visit. He can fulfil most of your animals request on his best effort. I said I want leopards and he showed me 3 leopards in 4 game drives (3 days). Leopards are very difficult to locate. And not to mention for 8 river crossings including 3 massive one I have seen. It includes zebra crossings and crocodiles eating wildebeests. Interesting to be seen! I always hear others that have to wait for hours to witness one river crossing. The truth is that when you actually have an experienced guide, you just arrived and watched one massive river crossing without waiting and straightly went for another massive crossing show when it‘s done. It’s just beyond my expectation. And I have seen more than I expected.|The housekeeping service is also flawless. Samson made my tent very clean which made me a pleasant stay. I‘m surprised that there’s no little insect even it‘s so close to the river. And the room was made up with the preference that’s being spotted. The little details with personal touch!|This is my first Singita experience and would love to visit other properties!

Here's a positive review message for Utengule Coffee Lodge: --- 🌟 **Amazing Experience at Utengule Coffee Lodge!** 🌟 I recently had the pleasure of staying at Utengule Coffee Lodge, and I can’t recommend it highly enough! The lodge is beautifully situated amidst lush coffee plantations, offering breathtaking views and a serene atmosphere. The staff was incredibly welcoming and attentive, making sure that every aspect of my stay was perfect. The accommodations were comfortable and tastefully decorated, providing a cozy retreat after a day of exploring. The highlight for me was the coffee! The lodge offers fascinating tours of the coffee farm, where I learned about the coffee-making process and enjoyed tastings of their delicious brews. If you’re looking for a peaceful getaway with a unique experience, Utengule Coffee Lodge is the perfect choice. I can’t wait to return! ---

We just returned from Rwanda to see the Gorillas and then to Tanzania / Grumetti / Serengetti staying at SIngita properties in each of our destinations. This property sits on the Mara river where you see and hear the Hippos and when returning to your tent at night have Zebras, Hyenas, and other animals roaming freely although you do have an escort with you to assure you are safe. The location, Architecture and service was exceptional. I highly recommend this property as well as Singita overall. They truly deliver on the Art of Hospitality and genuine service.

There must be a management change at this property. Our recent stay was not at all at the level we expected from our past experiences with Singita. The guide was fantastic, the location and furnishings top-notch. But the staff and the care/attention received was sub-par. Really sub-par. I sound a little snotty saying that. But, when you pay for Singita, you are paying for exceptional service and attention to detail. We did not get that. The camp is in an excellent location and it is designed beautifully. But the staff hasn't been trained to cater to guests in the Singita way here. We were disappointed many times with their lack of care, their looks of confusion and their lack of supplying us with what we needed. For example, our game drives didn't have snacks and drinks board. That's a minimum with Singita and we didn't get that one time during our stay there. Even after we politely complained that we were hungry and surprised there were no snacks in the vehicle, it still didn't improve. I think management just doesn't get it. Therefore, the trickle-down approach hasn't happened at this property. Was our stay bad, no. Was our stay average, yes. Did the price reflect the service I received, no. If you want the Singita level of service, I recommend you stay elsewhere. It's too risky at this property to know if you'll get your money's worth.