Travel reviews by Mr & Mrs J from Surrey

"Our experience at The Emakoko was truly amazing. We were warmly greeted on our arrival, which was very late at night, and served a superb cold supper and drinks before being escorted to our rooms. The accommodation is first class and everything we needed was on hand. Our wake up call was prompt and friendly and the curtains of our room were opened to reveal a magnificent view across the valley into the Nairobi Game Park . Breakfast was served with courteous efficiency and bags collected for a prompt departure for Wilson airport. Anthony and Emma were on hand and very visible at all times and took pains to make sure we had everything we needed. All the staff came to see us off even though we had been there for only a few hours.

On returning to Emakoko after the safari, the same warm welcome was afforded us - excellent greeting with flannels and a refreshing drink followed by yet another delicious lunch. Even though we were only booked in for day rooms, the attention to detail and concern for our well being was exceptional, even to the extent of Yvonne, in the office, booking us in on line and printing boarding passes for our return flight. We had time to relax by the pool, enjoy tea and cakes, have a leisurely bath or shower and yet another superb 3 course meal before our departure to the airport.

The ambience of the hotel is incredible and all the staff are committed to providing the best service at all times. Emma and Anthony are to be congratulated on running such a wonderful hotel - I would love to return one day.

My only concern is that because of the location of some of the rooms - ours was number 9 - a steep climb of 144 steps, any elderly or physically challenged guests should be sure to ask for rooms close to the main reception area. However for us the view from the top was well worth the effort!"

"Kicheche Mara camp under the direction of Colin and Sam was excellent in every respect. an enthusiastic and warm welcome from all the staff, superb facilities and food coupled with exceptional attention to detail in every aspect of our stay. Sam and Colin were always available and very visible at meal times and departure. They genuinely enjoyed conversing and socialising with their guests which made us all feel very much a home.

All the staff were friendly and were prepared to go over and beyond the call of duty to ensure our stay was enjoyable - even taking the trouble to point out wildlife whilst escorting us back to our rooms at night - we were fortunate to see bats and jennet cats thanks to our Masai escort one night.

Our rooms were well appointed, clean and well maintained - perhaps my only slight criticism would be that although there were two deck chairs and two upright camp chairs on the verandah, there was not a chair inside the tent therefore unless one carried in the c amp chairs from outside, morning tea and coffee had to be consumed sitting on the bed as it was too cold to be outside at 5.45 a.m.! thgis is only a very little niggle and by no means did it spoil our enjoyment - the web site photographs do show a sofa at the end of the bed, so perhaps we were unlucky."

"Perhaps we were setting the standard too high having just spent three wonderful days at Kicheche, but Porini Lion Camp did not quite live up to expectations. The Masai staff, Guides and Drivers were excellent and worked hard to make sure we could do everything we wanted , including night drives and a whole day trip into the Mara Reserve. We also had an amazing twenty minute send off when we left with all the staff traditionally dressed and full of energy and fun

Although our rooms (number 5 in our case) were clean and comfortable there were one or two issues which had to be pointed out - lack of hand towel, light bulb needing replacement and a chest of drawers with a faulty top which collapsed under the slightest pressure making it impossible to open the drawers, and just 4 coat hangers. The wind up torch in the room was useless, despite a great deal of winding when ever we had a spare moment! Fortunately we had taken our own head torches - a must for this camp!

The communal dining area was very dimly lit and although we had candles on the table for one meal, which greatly improved things, they were normally left unlit on a side table, also several of the dining chair cushions had lost their ties and could not be fixed in place. The food was tasty and adequate in most cases, but at lunch on the first day the very small salad bowl was not sufficient for 12 people and was only replenished at the end of the main course when most people had finished everything else on the plate. We were very surprised not to be offered a hot drink at the end of lunch, or the evening meal - especially as obviously there are no drink making facilities in the rooms. However, when asked, the manager did agree to provide tea or coffee on subsequent occasions. The beef stew, mashed potato and mixed veg on the last evening meal was, I fear, rather reminiscent of a school dinner but the soups were excellent."

"Final day comments included in the remarks on the first visit [Ed: see below!] - I am amazed that the management did so much for us when we were only booked in for a day room en route to the airport - it was the most wonderful end to the holiday - we all just wish we could have stayed longer"