Enkusero Mara — Hotel in Mara ward

This is an honest review, long, so the basics up front, more details further down.||Small (3 tents, one of which is a large family tent), intimate, charming camp, unfenced, ideally located, in the north conservancy, just 5 minutes from the Maasai Mara’s Musiara gate entrance, 15 minutes from the air strip.|Completely local ownership and management, which is unusual and we highly value - it was one of the reasons we chose this in the first place, together with the location and the small size.| |We had tent 3, high on stilts, large, private, wooden floors, huge netted windows, outside deck all around, unobstructed views on the savannah. Big comfortable bed with good mattress, en-suite bathroom with toilet and huge shower, running water. Electricity and hot water are solar - electricity is around the clock, so maybe the camp tops it up at night with a generator, but we never heard one. Large, charming traditional mess tent, with bar area, and extra lounge, wonderful outdoor deck with fire pit, small plunge pool with deck chairs. Food was excellent, they will apparently cater to dietary needs but have a fixed menu since the camp is small. Most meals in the mess tent, some scenically set in the bush.|All drinks were included as was daily laundry. |Highly knowledgeable and dedicated guides (William the owner, and Alex), game drives were mostly inside the park and arranged as and when we wished, with picnic breakfast and/or lunch, or not, as we wished. |Park fees were included which made the offer we got superb value for money. ||This camp would also be perfect for a small group or family, 8-10 people or so, to book the whole camp.||It was the end of the dry season, the wildebeest migration had already long left the Maasai Mara… but we saw the big 5 in 3 days. Yes, we saw a rhino, horns intact, up close for 5 minutes, after which our guide left because “rhinos are very solitary, aggressive, and we don’t want this rare animal to hate cars and hide even more than it already does… and let’s hope the other 3 cars will do the same, which they should, if they are responsible guides…” wow! And of course we saw lions and cubs, so many lions of 3 different prides that we lost count…. and everything else we ever wanted to see.| |Even the game drives right next to camp, in the conservancy, were memorable. When the owner rushes into the mess tent, right after lunch, no game drive planned until much later, and tells the guests to get in the car quickly, doesn’t matter if I’m in my flip flops, camera and binoculars are what we need, because there’s a cheetah next to camp… and we observe it discretely, unobtrusively, for 2 hours and then witness and film the full chase and the kill, and we stay quietly until it has finished eating its pray… with no other car around: we are convinced it was more than just luck, it was also William’s and Alex’s dedication, sensitivity, respect: to the guests, and to the wild life.||We had been on safari several times 4 decades ago when luxury safaris were mobile or semi-permanent tented camps, small, unfenced, only with simple drop toilets and hot bucket showers, communication only via radio, bush cooking, communal mess tent and fire pit… but with an abundance of local staff delivering perfect, exclusive service. That’s the feeling we were looking for again and this is the closest we found on our trip to Kenya: very similar traditional, exclusive safari feeling , experience and charm, with great service, modern comforts, but no other excesses and low imprint. But while back then ownership and camp management were, with no exception, foreign and white, here even ownership and camp management are fully local, everyone comes from the nearby Maasai villages. This is how it we like it and support it to be. We are so impressed how far Kenya has come in the past decades, in terms not only of wildlife management but also of education, local economy and private business initiatives. ||It should be clear that the following points are NOT negatives to us, but positives! But they might be negatives to someone, and we would be sad if anyone were to give negative reviews because of this, so better read and be informed than disappointed. This is an unfenced safari tented camp, so animals will walk by camp and occasionally it might be predators. You will see animals in daytime and hear them at night - from our tent we saw and heard giraffes chewing and elephants walking close by day, and heard hyenas howling and lions grunting in the distance by night, and much more. However, when walking through camp, we were always accompanied by 2 Maasais after sunset and before sunrise, and they were on guard all night. Hot water is solar, so if you take a hot shower in the evening, you probably won’t have hot water early in the morning. Electricity is around the clock, but you won’t have a blow dryer and the lighting might not be quite enough to apply makeup after sunset and before sunrise. You’ll have wi-fi in the mess tent but probably not in your guest tent. There are no spa treatments, no large swimming pools, no big menus, no long wine lists. But the staff will fulfill any wish within their means, at any time. This is the real safari experience, if you are looking for excesses that go beyond what safari ever was, and what it's supposed to be, better...

This is an honest review, long, so the basics up front, more details further down.

Small (3 tents, one of which is a large family tent), intimate, charming camp, unfenced, ideally located, in the north conservancy, just 5 minutes from the Maasai Mara’s Musiara gate entrance, 15 minutes from the air strip. Completely local ownership and management, which is unusual and we highly value - it was one of the reasons we chose this in the first place, together with the location and the small size. We had tent 3, high on stilts, large, private, wooden floors, huge netted windows, outside deck all around, unobstructed views on the savannah. Big comfortable bed with good mattress, en-suite bathroom with toilet and huge shower, running water. Electricity and hot water are solar - electricity is around the clock, so maybe the camp tops it up at night with a generator, but we never heard one. Large, charming traditional mess tent, with bar area, and extra lounge, wonderful outdoor deck with fire pit, small plunge pool with deck chairs. Food was excellent, they will apparently cater to dietary needs but have a fixed menu since the camp is small. Most meals in the mess tent, some scenically set in the bush. All drinks were included as was daily laundry. Highly knowledgeable and dedicated guides (William the owner, and Alex), game drives were mostly inside the park and arranged as and when we wished, with picnic breakfast and/or lunch, or not, as we wished. Park fees were included which made the offer we got superb value for money. This camp would be perfect for a small group or large family, 8 people or so, to book the whole camp.

The following points are NOT negatives to us, but positives! But they might be negatives to someone, and we would be sad if anyone were to give negative reviews because of this, so better read and be informed than disappointed. This is an unfenced safari tented camp, so animals will walk by camp and occasionally it might be predators. You will see animals in daytime and hear them at night - from our tent we saw and heard giraffes chewing and elephants walking, and heard hyenas howling and lions grunting, and much more. However we were always accompanied by 2 Maasais after sunset and before sunrise, and they were on guard all night. Hot water is solar, so if you take a hot shower in the evening, you probably won’t have hot water early in the morning. Electricity is around the clock, but you won’t have a blow dryer and the lighting might not be quite enough to apply makeup after sunset and before sunrise. You’ll have wi-fi in the mess tent but probably not in your guest tent. There are no spa treatments, no large swimming pools, no big menus, no long wine lists. But the staff will fulfill any wish within their means, at any time.

We had been on safari several times almost 4 decades ago when luxury safaris were mobile or semi-permanent tented camps, small, unfenced, only with simple drop toilets and hot bucket showers, communication only via radio, bush cooking, communal mess tent and fire pit… but with an abundance of local staff delivering perfect, exclusive service. That’s the feeling we were looking for again and this is the closest we found on our trip to Kenya: very similar traditional, exclusive safari feeling , experience and charm, with great service, modern comforts, but no other excesses and low imprint. But while back then ownership and camp management were, with no exception, foreign and white, here even ownership and camp management are fully local, everyone comes from the nearby Maasai villages. This is how it we like it and support it to be. We are so impressed how far Kenya has come in the past decades, in terms not only of wildlife management but also of education, local economy and private business initiatives. This is the real safari experience, if you are looking for excesses that go beyond what safari ever was, better...

My friends and I talked about going on a safari for as long as I could remember. We were overwhelmed with the amount of options available but happened to stumble across Enkusero Mara through instagram. We decided to go ahead and book it through them and it was absolutely the best choice we made! This was a private personalized experience at a luxury camp and we had an incredible time!

William and Alex picked us up from the airport in an open jeep. We saw zebras, gazelles and topi along the way. They stopped so we could take pictures. Having the open jeep was the best decision! When we arrived at the camp, the entire team greeted us and made us feel like home immediately. The camp is located a few minutes away from the Musiera Marsh. William gave us a tour of the camp, explained the procedures and told us that everything was personalized to what we wanted from the choice of food, timing of meals and the timing of game drives. If we wanted to go on a bush walk, we just had to let him know.

William and Alex are local Maasai and super knowledgeable. As we drove around, they were able to spot animals from miles away and drive toward it. We asked them many questions and they answered each one.

We were so lucky on the first day of our game drive. We saw lots of mongoose, warthog, and zebras. William and Alex spotted a cheetah from far away and drove toward it. We also witnessed a cheetah eating a gazelle. William and Alex drove right up to it and we got super close. We felt very safe the entire time. We also spotted a leopard in the bushes. When we got home, a giraffe was waiting for us in the backyard. It was perfect!

On the second day in the morning, we spotted elephants, more zebras and giraffes. In the afternoon, three lions were fighting each other over a zebra. Once again, William and Alex drove close enough for us to witness the circle of life but still feel safe and secure. We also saw hippopotamuses and crocodiles. We saw a group zebras that looked like they were getting ready to cross the river. We waited for about an hour before the zebras decided to turn away. We had refreshments and asked a ton of questions.

William and Alex were extremely patient the entire time as we took pictures of everything we saw. We never felt rushed. They were very attentive and waited until we stopped clicking away. Then they would ask if we were ready. It was always the perfect timing.

On the third day, we saw elephants and giraffes during the sunrise. It was an incredible scene with hot air balloons in the background. We also went on a bush walk and visited a Masai Village to support the local community and their education. The fee to visit goes directly to the Masai village.

The chef, Robert and Lori, were amazing. They asked us what type of cuisine we would like to eat and created a menu based on that. Everything was super fresh and appetizing. We looked forward to every single meal. For lunch and dinner, there was always an appetizer, entree and dessert.

Masenka was our steward who made sure we were taken care of at all times. He would offer us tea, coffee and drinks whenever we returned from a game drive. He is also very knowledgeable about all the animals and taught us a lot. He taught us about the Maasai culture as well. There is a swimming pool, different areas to lounge at, board games, books and a backyard porch to watch the sunrise and sunset.

The security guards were always there to ensure that we were safe when we left our tents in the morning to go to the lobby area and at night since it is an open camp so animals were free to roam around us during the day and at night. We had giraffes in our backyards at night.

This was an incredible experience and I have created lasting memories of a lifetime. I couldn’t have asked for a more wonderful safari team and I am already...