Masai Mara & Nairobi and their three houses
Kenya keeps its luxury at two ends of a forty-five-minute flight, from Nairobi to the Masai Mara.
Kenya keeps its luxury at two ends of a forty-five-minute flight, from Nairobi to the Masai Mara. At one end, a 1930s manor on the edge of Nairobi's forest where giraffes lean in at the breakfast table; at the other, the Masai Mara — a proper tented camp on the Talek River inside the national reserve, and nine tents in a private corner of the Naboisho Conservancy with no crowds and no convoys. We list three houses in three places, each collecting you at the airstrip or the airport, with a concierge behind every stay.
Luxury hotels in Masai Mara & Nairobi
3 hotels
Giraffe Manor
Five-star · Nairobi: Karen & Langata
A stately 1930s manor on the edge of Nairobi's forest where the giraffes lean in at the breakfast table.
From $1,900 per night
Any mandatory hotel fees are shown before you confirm.
JW Marriott Masai Mara Lodge
Four-star · The Mara Reserve & Talek
A proper safari camp, tents and all, on the Talek River in the Masai Mara, a long way from the brand's urban beginnings.
From $1,500 per night
Any mandatory hotel fees are shown before you confirm.
Hemingways Ol Seki Mara Camp
Four-star · Naboisho Conservancy
Nine tents in a private corner of the Naboisho Conservancy, no crowds and no convoys — not the Mara most people see.
From $1,100 per night
Any mandatory hotel fees are shown before you confirm.
The neighborhoods
The Mara Reserve & Talek
The national reserve itself — the open plains of the films and the migration's crossings from July to October. Through it run the Talek and Mara rivers, with the camps on their banks.
Naboisho Conservancy
A private conservancy on the reserve's north-eastern edge — the same wildlife and no convoys. It is shared by Maasai landowners and a handful of camps, with off-road and night drives and walking safaris.
Nairobi: Karen & Langata
The green suburbs on the city's edge, home to the Giraffe Centre and the manor houses of the 1930s. Here too are the Karen Blixen museum and the forest along the Nairobi National Park's border.
Good to know
Which are the five-star hotels in the Masai Mara and Nairobi?
One. The five-star house we list in the Masai Mara and Nairobi is Giraffe Manor, the 1930s manor on the edge of Nairobi's forest where giraffes lean in at breakfast. Two more houses hold four-star standing: JW Marriott Masai Mara Lodge, the tented camp on the Talek River inside the Masai Mara National Reserve, and Hemingways Ol Seki Mara Camp, nine tents in a private corner of the Naboisho Conservancy. Each has its own page, reachable from the list above, with a concierge behind every stay.
Where should I stay — the reserve, a conservancy or Nairobi?
The Masai Mara National Reserve for the great migration's river crossings and the classic Mara of the films, with more vehicles in season; the Naboisho Conservancy on the reserve's edge for the same wildlife with a handful of camps, off-road and night drives and walking safaris; Nairobi for a night at either end of the trip, an hour from the international airport and forty-five minutes by air from the Mara's airstrips. Most guests combine a Nairobi night with three or four in the Mara.
When is the best time for the Masai Mara?
July to October for the great migration and the driest game viewing, when the camps book out a year ahead; January and February dry, green and quieter; March to May and November are the rains, with lower rates, dramatic skies and some camps closed in April and May. Nairobi is mild all year at 1,800 meters — a jacket for the evenings in any month.
How do I get to the Masai Mara — and do I need a visa?
Fly to Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta airport, then a scheduled flight of about forty-five minutes from Wilson Airport to the Mara's airstrips, where the camps collect you; by road the reserve is five to six hours from the city. Kenya asks nearly every visitor for an electronic travel authorization, applied for online before departure — check the current rules with the Kenyan consulate before booking. Flights and transfers are the camps', never the concierge's.
How do I reserve a stay?
Search your dates on the hotel's page to see reference rates, then send the concierge a request. The concierge confirms exact rates and availability with you before anything is booked, and any payment and its timing are set out before you confirm.
