Aberdare Cottages and Fishing Lodge — Hotel in Murang'a County

If there was a time we needed a pleasant surprise it was this vacation break... the year has been rough coping with the pandemic! And thankfully I found one of the most beautiful of surprises here... My partner and I had a wonderful couple of days resting, hiking learning about trout fishing and the wonderful rolling hills of Kenyan tea!||Our host Zac was amazing, very helpful in making our stay memorable. We settled for the wood cottages resting with the background sounds of a mini waterfall...There are moments that words do not adequately describe the serenity of a place and this is one of those times. Clean air, beautiful landscape and the warmth of a rustic and relaxing escape describe our stay.||I loved our tree cottage with a balcony overlooking long eucalyptus trees and the sounds of birds in the morning. But I have to say I had a moment to peek at the tent themed rooms that overlooked the river Mathioya and those are charming as well. ||Check in was seamless and loved the fresh juice from fruits grown in their farm. Our chef Ruth did not disappoint with all our meals I want to make special mention of her chapatis and biryani chicken some of the best I have had in a while.||We went over to the sister facility which consists of a pair of beautiful self catering cottages with necessary amenities to make your stay comfy including a bathtub and shower, books, games and puzzles... this spot will be our bucket list! Its right by the river and has great lawn space for camping and picnics....try out trout fishing with Mr John an insightful unassuming man who farms and is passionate about fishing in the area.... I did beginner lessons .... its very addictive so make sure you apportion generous amounts of time for this - please carry a hat, put sunscreen and be ready to get into the water to get the good fishing spots!||The staff are warm friendly and professional ....Enos was so helpful, welcoming and encouraging around every aspect of our stay including the hiking trails... would not have managed some without a bit of motivation and his encouragement! All in all we have definitely found a great place to vacation close to us from time to time! I definitely recommend the place!||Its...

We booked 3 nights from the 31st of Dec 2020.||||The view of the river is breath taking and very Serene. Alot could be done about the service and communication though. ||||-Our cottage was cleaned at the end of the day on both days with no communication until we called. We had two kids with us playing in the river and red soil so you can imagine the dirt. We later got an explanation after expressing our disappointment||||-There were no towels which we only found out after we had a shower and had to wait for them to be brought from the dream cottages.||||- First night lights went off briefly and we were told the generator was only for the dream cottages on the upper side. There were no candles so the kids panicked abit until I called and asked for candles. Thankfully power came back.||||-We didn't know we were supposed to carry drinking water from Nairobi. This seems absurd but we bought anyway. 100 bob per 500 ml bottle.No dispenser either so I'm not sure how that was going to work.||||- The service was very basic even for a river lodge. For example, when we did get towels, they brought 5 of them and dumped them on the seat. Those were for our entire stay.||||||Positives||- The staff though spread thin were quite helpful. Moses and kazungu the chef were great||- The walk down the river and general aesthetic was quite enjoyable||-They had boardgames||-The fire every evening was great to sit infront of||||Areas for improvement||- A TV would be nice ||- You shouldn't have to buy everything right down to ketchup. We shared even salt with the other cottage.||- It would be nice to have a complementary or even paid car service to carry luggage down from the main cottages as well as visitors when you'd like to venture out for fishing as you definitely need a 4*4 if you have a low car. We got stuck in the mud severally. We'd been warned and told they would send someone to help carry our luggage from the top of the hill but it wasn't practical . It was very slippery and we had alot of...

Our family of 4 (with 2 young boys) stayed in one of the self catering cottages by the river. The cottages are clean and comfortable right on the river. It had everything we needed... hot water, bath tubs, microwave, fridge, coffee maker..... A little more could be done on the maintenance here as some of the verranda furniture was broken and a bit tatty but value for money it was worth it and the kids thoroughly enjoyed themselves. They finally had freedom here after a few days of travelling in a car so just what was needed. We had booked into the lodge (about 3km away) which was very nice but once we heard about the river cottages we decided to move and it was definitely a great move to be on the river. There was space for the kids to run around, play in the river and fish right there too. Every evening the caretaker brought us a roaring fire in a fire grate to put in the fire place which was wonderful as it can get quite chilly in the evening. We did go to the lodge for our meals. The lodge itself is compact and cosy but charming... the owner and team have such an infectious passion and it shows. Food was Kenyan cuisine and very tasty. Drinking water is straight from the mountain and if water can ever be described as delicious it is here!! The staff at the lodge and the cottage were amazing and so helpful. We left a silver pendant here that is quite sentimental and they found it for us and are looking for a way to get it back to us which is amazing. We had a day fly fishing with John who is a wonderful guide... unfortunately we did not catch that day but had a fabulous time trying!! John showed us plants that used to be used as soap and foam in water (much to the childrens delight) and explained how to pick and process tea as we drove by tea plantations.... all in all a real true Kenyan experience with honest and sincere hospitality. Wonderful and thank you to Zac and your...