Karen Blixen Camp Masai Mara

We stayed here 3 nights and enjoyed our time over all, but there were both positives and negatives. I will begin with the positives: - Very beautiful setting overlooking river with many animals - hippos, crocs, lizards, giraffes, baboons, etc. - coming down to the water. - Excellent food and food service, especially by Bensen. It was nice to have 3 meals per day all served so elegantly. - The fire pit/fire place at night next to the bar was cozy and a nice place for a night cap - It was good to have house wine, beers, and spirits as part of the package - Our guide - Francis - was incredible. Very eloquent, smart, and talented. We saw some amazing lion, cheetah and elephants, not to mention many other animals. He also added wine to the cooler box, along with beer, soft drinks, potato chips and peanuts, so that we could have a quasi sundowner each evening (something that the resort charges $40 extra for - even though most other resorts include it.) - The tent rooms are large and spacious, and it was nice to have two sinks in the tent bathroom. They also have bathrobes and slippers. - Once we discovered you could have coffee delivered to your room in the morning at no extra charge, we did this and were able to sit on the porch and watch the sunrise — very nice - The massage at the spa is exceptional. Paris gave me a massage, and she is very talented - The swimming pool is nice, though cold. It was fun to relax on the chairs around the pool and watch zebras and other animals wander by - Being walked to your tent by a masai warrior is pretty cool. - It is nice that they allow local masai women to sell handmade jewelry there. It was fun to shop and have them show us their crafts. - I liked how environmentally conscious the resort is - providing refillable water bottles and bath amenities. Negatives - I wish someone would have told me that there is no hot water during the day. It was almost impossible to take a shower (which you need to do when you return from safari) because of their ridiculous schedule of only having hot water in the morning when you’re on safari, turning it off when you return, and then turning it back on again when you go out for your evening drive. Why???? We did complain and they made an exception for us, but really, why not change the schedule??? - The tents have no heating or fans, but they do have electricity. So why not bring in a small fan on hot days and a small electric heater on cold days? We were there in November and it was very cold at night. Getting in and out of bed in the icy cold was challenging. It rained a lot and there was even hail and thunder. Not having heat was quite challenging. One member of our party came down with a bad cold after getting rained upon and chilled in the open Jeep, even though they provided rain ponchos. - The shower is outside, which is nice in a tropical climate, but try taking a shower when icy cold rain is slicing down on top of you. - The pathways to the tens are dirt, s

Best camp and location in Kenya. Located in the Mara North Conservancy gives up close access to all wildlife. Guides are able to drive off road to get up close (something not allowed in government reserves). Our guide, Empapa, was the best! 16 years of experience and contacts with other guides and photographers got us the best views of all area wildlife. Food and service was top notch. Very easy to travel from airstrip to the camp. We spent time in Kenya and Tanzania and the Karen Blixen camp was BY FAR the best time in Africa.

The views ,wildlife and staff at the camp are excellent. We went on a safari drive directly after landing at the local airstrip. We then had two drives per day while we were there. We saw Lion, Cheetah, Elephant, Giraffe and lots of gazelle, bison and wildebeest. At the camp you can see Hippos grazing and elephant and giraffe getting a drink.The staff at the Camp could not do enough for you. My thanks to Francis (our driver), Geoffrey our meal waiter. We had massages and they were a good price and very good. All I can say is thank you Karen Blixen camp.

We had a fabulous safari experience at the Karen Blixen camp. All staff were friendly, organised and helpful, from reception/dining staff, to safari guides and those who walked us to/from our rooms in the early morning/ evening. The tents were very comfortable, equipped with all we needed, including fresh drinking water, changed daily, shower gel/shampoo/conditioner/body lotion all of which smelled amazing and the outdoor shower was wonderful. Francis picked us up from the air ***** with drinks in the cooler and Kennedy was our guide for our 4 day safari. He was very knowledgeable and professional and clearly cared very much about the animals on the conservancy. Thanks to his knowledge of the area we learned about the animals, Lions, elephants, cheetah, hippos and we even managed to catch a glimpse of a Leopard. Getting out of the vehicle for a drink/snack to watch the sun go down each evening was just wonderful. At the camp it was great to watch the hippos, etc in the river whilst eating meals or relaxing with a drink in between safari. The pool area was a bonus, very well kept and good to cool down in. This was our first safari and we felt thoroughly looked after and safe throughout. We honestly couldn’t of wished for a better experience.

I stayed here 10 years ago and remembered it as magical and amazing. I was worried it might have changed… it did.. it was even better!! Empapa was our phenomenal guide and the trip was fantastic! The food is gorgeous, the staff are welcoming and you can feel how much they give and care for the local community! We are so many animals and we felt a part of the Masai.

Lovely, shady setting beside a river where you can watch the hippos. Excellent, non-intrusive service, with a good sense of what each traveler needs to make the experience perfect. And guides who go the second mile to find the animals that make Kenya so special. It helps that this camp is a conservancy, so a limited number of the Jeeps can be close to animals at any one time. While you have creature comforts like the large room, bathroom, and porch for relaxing, I appreciate that the camp is entirely solar-powered, and that local people are constantly being trained and promoted to fill all the roles. Kudos to Moses the manager, the front desk team, servers in the dining area and all who made this experience such a memorable trip.