Reviews of Encounter Mara
Wildlife sightings and reviews
22 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Encounter Mara and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa
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"Encounter Mara review"
The guides on the property were absolutely fantastic and new where to avoid the crowds and we saw absolutely all of the animals you could want to see. I saw a very rare sighting of two leopards (male and female) out in the open which the guide was very patient to find (we were the only care there for 5 minutes at least in the Mara) and we saw all of the Big 5 in a single day. Colin also managed to organise a second trip into the Mara when I didn't see a crossing the first day which I greatly appreciated as I managed to see one the next day.
The tents were really fantastic and the hot water bottle in the rooms each nice was a nice touch. Food and drink were also fantastic and the local conservancy was nice and quiet with not too many vehicles and the guides really new where to look for the animals.
Overall again I would highly recommend." See all these reviews: 9n in Kenya
"Encounter Mara review"
The camp was very impersonal after Offbeat Meru. The manager Chris who I believe had only been in post for a couple of months met us on arrival and gave us an introduction although he did not introduce us to any other staff but after that was not available and we only saw him and his wife briefly on our last evening.
Unfortuanately 3 out of 4 of us had acquired a nasty stomach bug on the way to Encounter and we spent 24 hours confined to our tents and whilst Immodium was provided along with rehydration sachets that were great it was very difficult to find out who if anyone was in charge during the managers absence and so took some time initially to get some assistance.
Meals were served at individual tables and so there wasn't the opportunity to meet the other guests in the way that there had been at Meru and again no way of knowing who was who among the staff.
The tents were very well appointed except for the shower which I had to operate using two coat hangers as the controls were too high to reach." See all these reviews: 10n in Kenya
On the question of hot water, the camps usual policy is to fill a thermos flask in guests bathrooms every evening for washing the next morning. It would seem that their thermoses were not being refilled and Encounter have addressed this. They have also altered the height of shower chains and apologise for the oversight.
Encounter do provide wake-up calls with tea/coffee on request, and it has been stressed to the waiters that they must offer this the evening before.
The dining arrangements are very flexible here and the manager believes guests should have a choice. This may not have been communicated clearly to the family, who obviously enjoy the group-dining experience, and the camp apologises for that.
Encounter Mara have assured us that they greatly value constructive feedback. As a result of this they have tightened up their early morning hot water procedure and improved the way they communicate information about wake-up calls and dining options.
"East Africa Manager"
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