Nairobi Tented Camp — Hotel in Nairobi

First of all: if you like hot chocolate and pancakes, this is "DE" place for you!! The two [shy] chefs at this place certainly know how to make a TOPEST and delicious pancake for breakfast and a perfect hot chocolate to start the day (they bring to your tent in the morning!!!!).

Second of all, this is one of the few and last tented camps that are affordable (for those with middle budget - like us) and still with GREAT service, smiley hospitality and food quality. In addition, it is quite nice to relax here if you come by flight through Nairobi (not far at all from the airport - about 10k), as it is a good way to start off your African adventure and still be able to experience a good first game drive (antelopes, giraffes, lions, rhinos, birds, ostriches, warthogs, zebras - if you are lucky, even a cheetah - and others) while you eat and sleep really well at the camp.

I found them when I read an old article from The Guardian. The website is pretty easy and has all the information, pictures, rates, deals and packages. The communication by email with sales consultants (in our case, Florence G.) was easy and fast. Usually she would take on average 1 day to answer but she was very nice. It is possible to pay by credit card, as they send you a link to make the payment. I found this quite useful and pretty safe. We had the transfer included, but didnt use it for arrival, as our driver brought us to one of the gates and one of the camp drivers picked us there and brought us to the camp. We spent 2 nights here and it was just perfect for us to reconnect with nature, relax, enjoy the fireplace at night, eat delicious meals, meet other people, have [really] hot bucket-showers and feel pretty safe! It was our first time in a camp like this.... and we loved it! I would CERTAINLY come back and can surely recommend it to friends! The whole place smells like roses. It is incredible!! And the manager in charge (Fredrick) was extremely nice to us (he let us use the computer to download our pics from the week before) and allow us to check ourselves in some time before the real check in time. Plus, always smiley, calm and checking if we were happy. Tony was a talkative and fabulous game driver guide. He was incredible when spotted the cheetah (first time we saw one) very far away and kindly "chased" the rhinos for us to get closer, as it was the last one missing from our "Big Five-check-list". All the gentlemen working at this place (gender balance is non-existent here, haha) were EXTREMELY nice, respectful and polite. Plus, they really "spoil" us with hot thermal bags inside our beds before bed-time and escort us to our tents when it is getting dark. Besides, they are always genuinely smiling and for me this is one of the things that make this camp so special (after the pancakes of course, hahah).

We really enjoyed our time here and I would love to come back one day!!! I think it...

Porini is the only camp that operates out of Nairobi National Park and they keep the bar set high across the board. Similar to the other Porini camps, conservation is of the highest priority, along with guest experience, which so many travel and hospitality companies get wrong.

Rather than going into day by day detail, I’ve summarized below by category:

GAME DRIVES / ANIMALS After visit the Lion camp in Mara, I was expecting less wildlife and wow moments, but the park proved me wrong. As soon as we drove in, we camp across a male lion and rhino, both set against the city skyline. The diversity of flora and fauna for a national park located in a city is jaw-dropping. I hope it stays that way, with Porini leading the effort. The park allows people to drive in and explore, but having a guide is critical. There was a family car that ended up following us around because they had no idea where they were going.

TENTS The camp has a unique feel to it, different than the Lion camp. Set in more of a forest, it has a shaded, rustic, cabin/lodge feel to it, which was a nice change. Just an observation, the tents are a little bit closer together than in the Mara, but nothing uncomfortable/negative about it. Here too, we were escorted to and from the tent in the evenings as wild animals roam about.

FOOD The food was as good as it was in Mara. I’d love to meet the chefs next time and cook with them. The quality of ingredients is high, the flavors are delicious and overall we were very well nourished.

SERVICE We missed our crew in Mara! The service at the Tented Camp is lovely but it wasn’t the same without our Lion Camp crew.

ECO - CONSERVANCY Porini operates on the same guiding principles across all of their camps, which is to ensure that local communities, the environment and visitors benefit from their conservation efforts. Eco-tourism is the only way forward, and it seems like from what I’ve seen, Porini is leading the way in Kenya, especially when it comes to an elevated experience.

LIKE-MINDED GUESTS What I forgot to mention in my Lion Camp review is that eco-tourism and Porini’s efforts attract like-minded guests. We met two women at Lion Camp and two women at Tented Camp and they all loved and connected with the conservation efforts and community engagement. One was a frequent returnee, and she visits once every month or two, which is an incredible testament to Porini.

Porini recommends starting off at Tented Camp and going to Mara, and even though we did it the other way around for personal purposes, there is no “wrong” order. We were blown away by Mara and by Tented Camp for different reasons, and you will have an incredibly memorable experience at both. Thank you...

It is hard to rate a place that far exceeded your expectations! This camp was more then the pictures could ever explain. It was the ambience, the service levels, the attention to detail, the personal welcome and the excellent service which makes this place such a special one to remember. Greeted at the gate, personal escorts to our tents, welcomed with drinks, personalized service for lunch, dinner and breakfast, safari drivers who spoke our language, personal security guards, and everything about this place was incredible. Did I mention t by e ROSES!! I will be returning if only to see these wonderful people again! The food was prepared and presented with excellence. The bed warmers, the hot showers, the wake up call, the willingness to ensure our every comfort was attended to made the Nairobi tented camp...