10 Best Luxury Kenya Safari Lodges & Camps

By Anthony Ham

Kenya offers a diversity of safari landscapes, from the Great Rift Valley to savannah, lakes, forests and mountain highlands. You’ll find wildlife such as lion, elephant and rhino, as well as the great wildebeest migration. Add on a beach break along the Indian Ocean coastline after your safari for diving or a dhow (traditional sailboat) trip. Given its status as a classic safari destination, it’s no surprise to find a wealth of Kenya safari lodges and camps. Here are 10 of the best.

The accommodations below are not ranked in a specific quality order.

2,234 Kenya Safaris

1. Sarova Lion Hill Game Lodge (Lake Nakuru NP)

Sarova Lion Hill Game Lodge occupies a quiet, forested corner of Lake Nakuru National Park

Hidden away in a leafy valley just up the hill from the shores of Lake Nakuru, Sarova Lion Hill Game Lodge immerses you in Lake Nakuru National Park’s special charms. Enveloped in dense woodland that lends the property a delightful sense of intimacy, the lodge keeps the outside world at bay, but allows you to be looking for lion, rhino and flamingo within minutes of leaving the lodge. The supremely comfortable rooms here face out into the forest, and the pool does likewise. The restaurant is the best anywhere in the park.

146 Sarova Lion Hill Tours

2. Sarova Mara Game Camp (Masai Mara NR)

Sarova Mara Game Camp has an excellent Masai Mara location and fine safari tents and amenities

Conveniently close to the Masai Mara National Reserve’s busy Sekenani Gate, yet wonderfully tucked away in a quiet valley, Sarova Mara Game Camp is a fine base for exploring the reserve. Although most of the reserve is within easy reach, you rarely have to travel far from the camp to see lion, leopard or cheetah, as well as elephants, and the scenery out over the savannah grasslands is superb.

The camp itself has large safari tents that feel like suites, and with the best of both worlds: your tent will have everything you need, yet the canvas walls allow in the night sounds of the Mara, perhaps even including a lion roaring nearby. The camp also has a fine swimming pool, good restaurant and relaxing lounge area.

82 Sarova Mara Tours

3. Kilaguni Serena Safari Lodge (Tsavo West NP)

Kilaguni Serena Safari Lodge offers luxury and great views in a good wildlife area of Tsavo West NP

Against the backdrop of Mt Kilimanjaro and the volcanic Chyulu Hills lies another top pick among Kenya safari lodges: Kilaguni Serena Safari Lodge. Located in Tsavo West National Park, the lodge overlooks a waterhole where elephant and other animals come to drink. Cool off in the swimming pool, enjoy dinner under the stars and watch Akamba dancing (traditional ceremonial dancing by the local Kamba people).

The dramatic, sweeping views (including of Mt Kilimanjaro) from the open-sided restaurant are magical, and the spacious rooms are filled with old-style, classic safari lodge luxury. The location, too, is a winner, close to Tsavo West’s best wildlife areas, Mzima Springs and lava-carved landscapes. It has a real sense of being way out in the wilderness of southeastern Kenya.

69 Kilaguni Serena Tours

4. Sweetwaters Serena Camp (Ol Pejeta Conservancy)

Sweetwaters Serena Camp is one of the best places to stay in Ol Pejeta Conservancy, with an excellent location and outstanding facilities

Representing everything that’s good about Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Sweetwaters Serena Camp puts you in the heart of the action at this remarkable reserve. Whether you’re here to track lions, go horseback riding, join anti-poaching dog teams or meet the world’s last two northern white rhinos, Sweetwaters has you covered; you can also visit rescued chimps at the sanctuary of the same name nearby.

Like all camps and lodges in the Serena Hotels portfolio, the rooms and safari tents here are spacious and luxurious, with safari color schemes that add much character. As part of the complex there’s a well-regarded restaurant, gift shop, bar and lounge area, and swimming pool.

76 Sweetwaters Serena Tours

5. The Cliff (Lake Nakuru NP)

The Cliff is a wonderful lodge high on the escarpment overlooking Lake Nakuru

True to its name, The Cliff is Lake Nakuru National Park’s newest lodge and the one with the best views. The panoramas here are simply extraordinary, and as close as you can get on land to the Lake Nakuru views Meryl Streep and Robert Redford enjoyed from the plane in the classic 1985 film ‘Out of Africa’. When the flamingos mass on the lake, you have a front-row view.

You’re also well placed for exploring the park, and rooms are sophisticated with a blend of leather sofas and wrought iron. The infinity pool is one of Kenya’s best, there’s a spa, and your most difficult decision will be whether to stay in camp for the spectacular sunrise and sunset, or head out to discover the park.

53 The Cliff Tours

6. Mara Serena Safari Lodge (Masai Mara NR)

Mara Serena Safari Lodge sits high above the Masai Mara National Reserve and has sweeping views

Rising above the other lodges of the Masai Mara National Reserve and with some of the greatest views anywhere in the reserve, the Mara Serena is perhaps the best of the original Mara lodges. Everything has a view here, including the pool, the rooms, the bar and restaurant, thanks to the lodge’s fabulous hilltop position.

When the migration is in the area, the plains swarm with more than a million animals. At other times, the most famous savannah grasslands in East Africa are a sight in themselves, with elephant families, buffalo herds and perfectly formed acacia trees clearly visible down below. And the rooms here are well sized and filled with safari character.

40 Mara Serena Tours

7. Elewana Tortilis Camp Amboseli (Amboseli NP)

Elewana Tortilis Camp Amboseli is one of the best places to stay inside Amboseli National Park

Occupying its very own corner of Amboseli National Park, Tortilis Camp is a special place. Aside from the luxury safari tents and private house, all of which are high class and decorated with care and charm, the views of Mt Kilimanjaro are as good as you’ll find anywhere. Whenever the clouds clear, Africa’s highest mountain towers over the camp. As the only accommodations in Amboseli’s southwestern corner, Tortilis possesses a lovely sense of exclusivity, and the meals here are very much a part of the experience. Service, too, nicely combines the casual with the highly professional.

20 Elewana Tortilis Tours

8. &Beyond Kichwa Tembo Tented Camp (Masai Mara NR)

&Beyond Kichwa Tembo Tented Camp is a world-class camp in a fine location in the Masai Mara’s north

In the far north of the Masai Mara, and part of the Mara Triangle beneath the Oloololo Escarpment, Kichwa Tembo is one of the showpieces of &Beyond’s impressive portfolio of lodges and tented camps and one of the best Kenya safari lodges anywhere.

The camp looks out across the Mara’s northern savannahs from its position in a patch of thick woodland, but the views are just the beginning. The accommodations are superb and supremely comfortable, using an almost Scandinavian light-wood style that enhances the abundant natural light that floods the tents. Add an open-sided restaurant with savannah views, a fine swimming pool, delightful gift shop and strong ties to local Maasai communities, and it really is a memorable experience.

19 Kichwa Tembo Tours

9. Saruni Mara Camp (Mara North Conservancy)

Saruni Mara Camp is an exclusive camp in Mara North, with stunning rooms and plenty of activities in a secluded location

Saruni Mara Camp is a fantastic place to stay in Mara North Conservancy. It occupies its own valley, well away from the conservancy’s other lodges and camps. Wildlife often wanders through the valley, and you’re close to expansive savannah grasslands and Maasai villages and markets, depending on which activity you feel like enjoying.

The tents here are simply superb, perched on the hillside and each with its own theme. The decor evokes the nostalgia of safaris past, added to fine views, luxury fittings and supremely comfortable everything. Apart from the swimming pool, massage and spa center, restaurant and bar, you can enjoy lots of activities, including night drives, as well as warm, first-class service.

Saruni Mara Tours

10. Elephant Bedroom Camp (Samburu NR)

Elephant Bedroom Camp has a lovely riverside setting inside Samburu National Reserve

Samburu National Reserve has some wonderful places to stay, but none more so than Elephant Bedroom. Beneath shady trees on the banks of the Ewaso Nyiro River, the camp has a prime position that the tents take full advantage of. Each looks out over the river and has wooden floorboards, beautiful rugs and four-poster beds, and there’s even a plunge pool on your deck. Watch for elephants passing as you relax in the pool.

You can also watch impala and elephant and admire the stars during a private dinner on your deck. See lion, leopard, elephant or ‘specials’ like Beisa oryx, Grevy’s zebra, reticulated giraffe and long-necked gerenuk on a game drive, or walk with a Samburu guide to learn about nature and Samburu culture.

Elephant Bedroom Tours