Reviews of Elsa's Kopje

"We had 3 fabulous days at Elsa's Kopje
It is a unique place with a fascinating history. The story of Joy and George Adamson , Elsa & other animals is evident throughout the lodge, in the form of photographs and books.
The lodge is warm and welcoming, with a lovely sense of permanence.
The rooms are spacious, all with a balcony and fantastic views.

Food is excellent, I don't know how they manage to produce such a fantastic array of fresh and tasty dishes.
I am a vegetarian & they had no problem catering for me.
One of the highlights was a fabulous bush breakfast all set up in a lovely river side location.

The staff at Elsa's were without exception warm, helpful and friendly. They are clearly proud of their lodge and happy to answer questions and relay stories.

There is a beautifully located spa and lovely swimming pool. A great treat after a long warm game drive.

Being the only lodge in the park there are very few other vehicles. This made our game drives peaceful & personal.
Our guide (Joel) was excellent, cheerful, friendly and very knowledgeable. His knowledge extended to the wonderful bird life as well as resident animals.

One of the highlights of Meru is the Rhino Sanctuary. A large part of the park has been given over to the rhinos. They have put in a low fence to keep the rhinos safe but to allow other animals to enter the area. Hence it feels very natural. It is a joy to see so many rhinos (with young) and complete with beautiful horns!
The population is rising steadily, it is a fantastic achievement.

I highly recommend a visit to Meru & Elsa's Kopje." See all these reviews: 7n in Kenya

"A fantastic lodge. Beautiful situation. Super pool. Great views across the national park. Amazing staff.

Our guide, Solomon, was a keen and expert birder and we had a tremendous time birding when other game was short. Our waiter, another Solomon, was a mine of information about Kenya and looked after us brilliantly.

The national park is very bushy and green, so the animals were hard to spot at times. But we saw Gerenuk in the classic pose on their hind legs and plenty of other game.

The food was lovely. The camp was extremely well managed by Grace. We thoroughly enjoyed meeting the camp genet one evening." See all these reviews: 13n in Kenya

"We were picked up by Patrick who drove us for close to four hours through the Kenyan countryside, mostly on paved roads. Driving through villages and small cities was basically one photo opportunity after the other, but Patrick did not seem to be in the mood for stopping. Maybe we should have asked.

According to several resources, this camp is one of the best in all of Kenya. And indeed, we thoroughly enjoyed staying here.

The camp is located on the slopes of a small hill (Elsa’s Kopje!), with all the facilities more or less on the same altitude. As elsewhere, the center of the camp is the reception area, and the individual tents are on one side of the reception area, whereas the bar, restaurant and swimming pool are on the other side. The walkway between these areas is no way strenuous, but it takes longer to get from point A to B than in most other camps.

As in Lewa, we saw all the Big Five here.

Given that this camp gains its fame through the popularity of lioness Elsa (which was hand-reared by Joy Adamson in the 1950s) we saw remarkably few lions here. To be precise, we saw two, one lone male on a night game drive, and then we got a glimpse at the back of another lioness. However, the night game drive was indeed very exciting. Our guide Solomon managed to follow one lonely male lion who was desperate enough to attempt to hunt for buffalo, all by himself. Our guide was seriously worried that he might get injured or even killed during this endeavor. Luckily, although he failed to make a kill, he himself got out of a sticky situation unharmed.

After the three-hour game drive, we returned to camp at around 10 PM, and I would have enjoyed a cold beer, but unfortunately the bar area was already closed. And this is the only, albeit minor, criticism that I would direct at the camp management. They should perhaps consider setting up a refrigerator in the reception area with refreshments.

The rooms, the service, and the guiding were top-notch." See all these reviews: 20n in Kenya

"Very nice lodge high up on the kopje, views over the vast surrounding area.

A must is to walk to the top of the hill and get a 360 deg view of the area. There is a bit of steep exposed ground to get to the top but well worth the effort and the guide will direct you.

Our guide Joel was excellent and we were lucky to see a striped hyena and an African wildcat which we have never seen before.

One day we travelled into the rhino reserve and saw three white and three black rhino.

It is nice to be in an area which is not overrun by jeeps.

The food was exceptional and one of the best 35 lodges in Africa we have visited." See all these reviews: 14n in Kenya

"We enjoyed our time here but our chalet (no 7) was extremely hot and we had a rough patch of lawn outside, rather than a deck, with two stiff wrought-iron chairs rather than loungers or more comfortable seats. We had a long discussion with the manager about these issues after he requested feedback and he said he would recommend a second fan in the chalet (the downstairs lounge part couldn't be reached by the existing fan) and more comfortable outdoor seating. It was also very dimly lit at night and pitch dark when the lights were off, so we'd recommend that each guest take a torch because the loo is accessed via steps.

Also, the reception area and most of the rooms are well below the level of the restaurant and bar. The walk up for meals can be quite a heave for anyone with mobility or respiratory issues.

The food here was a real highlight. The lunches, especially, were simply sublime and outstripped anything we had at other camps, although quality everywhere was very high. We think that Jackie, the chef, is this camp's real USP. Other staff were rightly very proud of her.

Game viewing was good but somewhat limited because the rangers can't drive off-road in the Meru National Park. Apparently the camp has asked for special permission to go off-road but is still waiting for an answer after six years of campaigning. Nonetheless, we were lucky to spot rhino and a lioness and her cubs near the road, and we were glad to have stayed here because of the very distinctive scenery in the area." See all these reviews: 12n in Kenya

"We arrived at the airstrip in Meru to be met by Joe, our guide, for our three night stay at Elsa’s Kopje. Joe gave us some refreshments and a quick safety briefing before starting our transfer to the lodge. We were watched over by black faced vervet monkeys hoping to get some scraps, I think.

On the way to the lodge we saw many animals and birds, and on arrival staff were there to welcome us with hot towels and drinks. The lodge manager gave us a briefing, where everything was and on safety about the camp. During the day we could move freely abut the lodge but after dark there was always staff readily available to accompany us around the lodge.

All cottages have been built along a hillside although having similar facilities are all different in design. Our cottage was at one end with wonderful views out onto the plain below where we could see animals passing below from time to time. The cottage housekeeping services were excellent from wake-up calls with hot drinks and cookies, cleaning, laundry, to setting up mosquito nets around the bed each evening.

Being the last cottage along the hillside we had to walk on paved paths, for a few minutes, through the reception area/lounge and then on past other cottages to get to the restaurant/bar/swimming pool area. The position of our cottage suited us as we heard very little noise made by other guests moving about the lodge.

We saw lots of rock hyrax (can be a bit noisy), black faced vervet monkey wandering around the lodge and occasionally impala.

We went out on drives from about 6.30am to about 11am each morning and then again from around 4pm to dusk. We had breakfast out in the bush on two mornings. Our guide Joe was excellent in finding us multiple sightings of all the mammals normally to be seen in Meru (with four lion sightings) except for leopard and black rhino. Joe was so quick in seeing things we could have missed completely ourselves. Joe filled us in habits of the wildlife and the names of the many birds we saw. Joe was attentive to our safety, stopping at sighting for as long as we wanted and ensuring we saw as a wide range of wildlife as possible. Towards the end of the afternoon drives we stopped for sundowners and saw some wonderful sunsets.

Our lunches and dinners were served at individual tables in the restaurant where the waiting staff were fantastic. We particularly enjoyed the lunches where we were served a buffet of small dishes to choose from.

There is a small infinity pool with sun loungers around it which I just had to use!

In summary the accommodation fully met our expectations, the services in camp were of a high standard and Joe was a wonderful guide." See all these reviews: 10n in Kenya

"We included Meru to get the rarer Northern species as well as some different habitats for birds. Apparently it is off of the beaten track - we had the incoming flight to ourselves!

Again, the main focus of this part of our trip was birding and the specialised mammals, which we saw, but it was also lovely to see rhino somewhere other than in South Africa. The park is really beautiful and deserves more visitors. Drives were quieter here, but we expected that. However, our guide was very engaged and knowledgeable. This was the only camp where we had time for proper sundowners.

The camp is gorgeous. The rooms are amazing and make you feel that you are a part of the kopje, looking out over the plains. There are resident hyrax, which are very cute. There is a fabulous infinity pool on top of the kopje, which we planned to use, but never got around to (maybe to do with the long uphill walk to get there...). The food was excellent, but not quite on a par with Tortillis Camp. Meals were served to individual tables, which again meant that meal times were flexible." See all these reviews: 14n in Kenya

"The transfer from il Ngwesi had been long (via Isiolo) and bumpy, in a cool Landrover, and not very enjoyable. The family cottage at Elsa's is stunning. The finishes and furniture are all top notch and the way it is designed with the rooms built into the rocks is very special. It all feels luxurious, pared-back colonial style, which after il Ngwesi felt a little stuffy and cold to me. It was heartwarming to meet the brother of Peter from il Ngwesi who made us feel at home. The pool is both beautiful and spotlessly clean. The loungers are a little uncomfortable. The rock hyraxes are fun to watch by day, but have become too numerous and make an awful racket at night (think they need a natural predator!). The food was superb, and presented beautifully; evening meals were both on the lawn. It would be nice to have bird feeders/baths for entertainment whilst eating. Masks were worn by staff, which I found a bit tiresome as it is difficult to understand and make connection. The champagne bush breakfast by the river and the sundowners were perfection. On game drives we felt like we were the only ones there, despite being a national park. We saw a lone female lion very close up, a pair of lions on the roadside, and another male resting under a tree. The lone female called to the others whilst we were right next to her (wow!). Moses, our guide, was very knowledgable. He took us for a walk to see the sunrise at the top of the Kopje on the last morning. lovely 360 views & quite a challenging climb in places. Our flight back to Nairobi was delayed, and Elsa's were very accommodating providing lunch and a game drive." See all these reviews: 17n in Kenya

"We absolutely loved Elsa's Kopje. If you get the chance, go.

It was the first time we had visited Meru NP and we will certainly return. The park was great and the camp itself was quite lovely, very well run by Taro and his team. The camp setting was epic, on top of the Kopje with sweeping views. The food was excellent and well presented and served in quantity. Lastly the camp was not at all busy during our stay which was nice from our perspective. And the camp team looked after us extremely well.

We were in Room 2 which had a wonderful view across the plain below the Kopje from the large deck. This was accessed via a rope bridge which took a little getting used to but was great for privacy. More generally there were plenty of paths and steps so this isn't a great camp if you have mobility issues. But great for exercise.

Covid-wise, as with everywhere we travelled, staff were punctilious about protocols, with masks, sanitizer and temperature checks as required. Much more so than at home in Amsterdam.

Our guide, Wilson was excellent and very professional and we were lucky to have our own vehicle for the duration of our stay. He took his lead from us and although no doubt surprised when we said we didn't want to see lions (given we were staying at Elsa's Kopje!) he took the request very seriously as we hoped he would.

We did have a couple of brief encounters but he asked us in advance if we wanted to look and moved on quickly when asked to do so. But there are definitely plenty of lions around for those that want to spend time with them.

We also saw the "Big 5" (white rhino in the enclosure) as well as the "Specialist 5" (huge numbers of Reticulated Giraffe, some Grevy's Zebra (beautiful), Gerenuk, Oryx and Somali Ostrich). And there was a night time visit from a leopard and cub, drinking at the pool in camp.

The setting for the camp is lovely as mentioned and the bonus is a fabulous infinity pool with a sweeping view across the plain below the camp. A great place to spend a little time given the heat during the day.

Meru itself was beautiful with ample permanent water and very large numbers of game, including big herds of elephant and buffaloes.

After having been unable to get to Africa for nearly 18 months it was a treat to be back. We only stayed four nights at Elsa's and wished we had stayed longer." See all these reviews: 9n in Kenya

"Loved everything about it!" See all these reviews: 7n in Kenya