Reviews of Mara Plains Camp
(100%) From 10 travellersThey do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa.
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Wonderful, intimate camp
Mara Plains was the final stop of our November/December safari that took us from north to south. And it was definitely the highlight.
Our tent overlooking the Conservancy was beyond beautiful, the service excellent and the food very good.
Special mention to Sandra, who I believe was serving as interim manager, and went out of her way to make sure our needs were met and special requests fulfilled.
Finally, our guide Edwin was superb, with a great eye for game but also a deep knowledge of African ecosystems that made him one of the very best guides we have had in our four safaris in five African countries.
Luxury & service in 3 words Mara Plains Camp
Mara Plains Camp is a wonderful and luxury camp that has a great team looking to have all your needs covered before you ask, it is also located in a river rim where you can are really close to nature, we also liked they commitment with the enviroment .
Read more about the whole safariMara Plains Perfection
Stella runs a great world class camp -- Duncan my guide was phenomenal and could almost magically divine the appearance of wildlife -- a real tracker and detective of a guide who knew the conservancy inside out -- next time for me, conservancies or private reserves as opposed to the bureaucracy and guidelines of national parks!!
Tents evoked 1920s Africa in intricate detail -- a real wow factor when you walk in for the first time. Food was superb, especially curries, sundowners served with savories, in room wifi made all the difference especially when communicating with family long distance early or late. Not pertinent to Mara Plains however, the trip from Sayari to Mara Plains could have been made clearer on my agenda -- no mention of bus, fly to Tarime then through immigration entering Kenya Migori -- all very confusing.
Also no mention that the Kenyans demanded a YELLOW FEVER CERTIFICATE in Migori ( i had one from my trip to Zambia and I thought, what the hell, I will bring it) -- had I not brought it, I would not have been able to enter Kenya!!
Expert Africa comments
We’re delighted Mr S enjoyed this camp so much, but very sorry about any confusion over his transfer arrangements from Tanzania to Kenya. These were fully booked in the usual way with the local airlines, and they take care of the road shuttle from the Tanzanian airport to the Kenyan airport. However a line was inadvertently omitted from his travel document, which we are very sorry led to the confusion. The importance of carrying the Yellow Fever certificate was stressed in our documentation, however we do accept that our documents are lengthy and details can easily be missed.
Simply amazing
Brilliant camp. We had a huge room/tent accessed across an interesting wooden bridge suspended above a pool.The room had a great deck overlooking the pool complete with crocodile and hippo and endless birds. The room was so big it had a huge bed, sitting area and shower area as well as separate WC
The food was first class as was the service and a great guide. Perhaps the only thing I would say was that the guide had a bit of a fixation with cats of which we saw lots, but to be fair, he also got us a great location to see a migration crossing so overall first class too. The staff even drove out and delivered lunch so we did not miss any of the wildebeest crossing! Everyone was excellent and could not do enough.
The camp is very small and intimate with just a few rooms which suited us fine. It was great to have a private vehicle for every drive.
In common with most camps, animals are free to roam in and out and they did at night which provided some interesting noises.
Overall this camp was hard to fault and would highly recommend to anyone.
Mara Plains review
Like walking onto a film set! The tents and furnishings (above all the brass bath tubs), food and location were truly amazing, but best of all was our guide Dan, thanks to whom (in particular) we had a simply wonderful leopard sighting (albeit in the company of a number of other vehicles, since we were just inside the Reserve) and a series of fantastic and, on our last morning, exclusive lion sightings.
It was also a great treat to be able (very inexpertly) to have a go at using the high spec camera along with the Swarovski binoculars that the camp made available to us. If pushed, I suppose that the only very small negative about our stay was the slight air of mystery which seemed to apply to meal times, which did tend initially at least to make one feel one had got the wrong end of the stick and had arrived hours too early; the Askari and other staff also seemed slightly more reserved than had been the case at Rekero.
But these are really just comments rather than criticisms, and one thing we appreciated in particular was the camp’s flexibility on meal choices. Above all however we enjoyed meeting the camp’s relief managers Ken and Michelle, who were really fascinating to talk to and both the kindest of hosts.
Mara Plains Camp review
The English couple who manage the Plains Camp were absolutely brilliant.
The service was extremely personalised and they always made us feel at home. Quality of the food was exceptional, despite the fact that were were on strict diets.
Our ranger was incredible and we had the most intimate sightings. They also arrange forward trips was us to see flamingoes and Rhinos.
Mara Plains
An outstandingly good camp. Exceptional rooms, service, food and hosts (Hattie and Henry). The camp is beautifully decorated and presented with strong influences from the founders; the Jouberts with lots of their photographs and books on display. The camp is geared up for serious photographers with vehicles adapted to accommodate cameras etc.
You share a vehicle with fellow guests although on our stay all guests had a separate land cruiser.
We stayed in room 6 with exceptional views across the plains.
Game viewing was very good especially big cats; lions, leopards and cheetah as well as local proximity to migration crossing points of the Mara River.
We are likely to return and also visit other Great Plains camps.
Excellent safari
Overall really good.
Safari was fantastic. Room service not quite so good - a few minor glitches. The tent itself was lovely but lacked a few amenities such as a proper mirror some brighter lighting when you needed it. Also no hairdryer in the tent - we had to ask for it. Having said that the service out on safari was very good with packed breakfasts and lunches being brought to us. It feels that they worked really hard to deliver a very personal service and large achieved this but just fell short on a few basics.
Food was great as was the company, though. Cameras being provided also very useful.
Expert Africa comments
Mara Plains has responded to this feedback to say they are delighted that overall Mr and Mrs F had an excellent safari with them. On the specific issues, as Mara Plains runs totally on solar power their energy supply does not provide for high wattage appliances. They offer lower wattage hairdryers which work in the tents but they need to show guests how to use them otherwise they tend to trip the power! These hairdryers are kept in the office and offered at the introductory briefing and these travellers asked for one at the beginning.
The camp wasn’t previously aware of a problem with the large mirrors above the wash basins and at the dressing table. But they have now noted this issue, and it is something they will look into in order to improve the rooms. Mr and Mrs F did ask for brighter lighting and an extra lamp was added on the first evening.
Mara Plains Camp review
It's a beautiful camp, and the able managers and staff were eager to meet our needs and provide special treats, like a private campfire and dinner and our family tent.
Our guide, Kevin, was excellent and we enjoyed many sightings in the conservancy and in the Maasai Mara Reserve.
Excellent in all aspects
Great location, tents have just been refurbished and are beautifully done. Excellent guide and game safaris. I would really recommend it!
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