Angama Mara — Hotel in Narok

I dont know honestly where to start but it really amazes me how to lodges of the same brand could vary massively. |starting the trip in amboseli angama everything went as expected i had some of the most magical moments there and u can truly feel the luxury the whole experince truly felt out of this world| For that a big thank u to the shining stars out there mosas obwere and the lovely andrew these ppl are true assets to the lodge. |However the minute i came to the mara everything went down hill. Let my say first that the location is superb i dont think anyone can beat that top hill location overlooking the mara difintly has thr wow factor.||Lets start with the reservations phase with the angama through emails it difintly raises red flags as we took along time to finilise everything as the person in charge was out of office a couple of times , didnt answer emails , delays in reponding , him being apologetic for not seeing my emails , sending iteinray with wrong inofrmation and dates , so that raises a big red flag for not meeting the international standards of hotel chains i normally travel with . But let me say as well the airports arrangemnts they did was fast and quick and danial the most kind driver it has been pleasure meeting such a nice welcoming soul. ||2. The angama mara do really well marketing thier lodge in magazines and thats what brought me to them but once u step foot here u will realize that things are below the basic standard||1. Lets start right away with the things that really went wrong for me first the saftey .|on my first day at ambosili i did hear a lion roraing in the distance at night it was clear and loud do they take pretty much relaxed measures to ensure saftey with just escorting me to the room with normal reception staff with a wooden stick not a ranger no guns . Doors in both lodges cant be locked once if u r out everyone can enter the room and i did mistakenly enterd another couple room. ||2. They dont have doorbells so all they do is just shout outside so u can hear them and i thought therr shiuld be some other way because if i dont respond tgey will cross the first door and knock loudly on ur second door |3. Food seems to be a big issue but for the most part i found breakfast really good and to my liking although very limited but again they are turning deaf to all those complaints about food many times i have had soggy bread , soggy fajita and when u try to customise things out of thier limited menu it will difintly go wrong i tried once to make them do a vegetable burger and all i got is a an extremely hard to chew bread with lots of tomatos and cucumber with no burgers inside and thats all they got ,they dont have the capicity to do customised orders and u r left with 3 options in the menu 2 off them i cant eat which is meat and chicken and after 9 pm it would be diffecult for them to cater for ur dinner and at 1 incident i had to cancel the meal at the ambosile lodge because the staff clearly told me he have to call back the chef to cook for me something.||4. They seem to be lacking the minimal service protocols ans ettiqutes when serving customers as whenever i order a latte to the room it comes cold and uncovered and a very rusty tray or an extremly heavy wooden tray while walking with that beverage uncovered in the bush and once its in my room its cold.||5. What bothers me the most are the attitude of the staff while some of them are super respectful and kind like caroline , totti , farida and the sweet intern stacy i have had pretty strong side looks , frowning at my face and rude behavoir i dont know is it them being moody or me coming form a part of the world they dont nessercierly like , i went one day to the resturant at night looking for any option for dinner since i cant eat meat at the barbeque area and the lady staff there just angrily told me they have no other option for me its only the barbeque and the minute she turned face to another guest she was smiling ear to ear , thinking about it now i feel truly bitter for having to deal with some of their disrespect while being extra nice to them and thats why indeed i avioded any interaction outside my room always ordered food inside||6. The walk in safari was such a failure , the staff was rather uninterested he came and say u want to do it ??? And he walked in throughout the whole walk with a far distance , he never talked or explained anything as u see in thier instagram feed and he kept looking back from a distance and asking me u want to comntinue u want to continue ?? and i had to cancel one gaame drive for that walk its pretty much only an exsersie. ||7. When it comes to the game drive they assure u that its customised to ur needs none of that happened u r in the vechiles with guests from other villas and u have to compromise on what u want and when u want it , in this part though i have had the best ppl so kind and polite i was wondering if i got stuck with other guests whom i wouldnt feel happy around .at this price point game drives shouldnt be shared there has to be private vechiles for each and every room , i have had my own prefrence of spending those days in the wild and it can get really akward at picnic times to be sittingg around with ppl u dont know again the guests were thr best super nice but its me being a typical introvert and feeling umcomfortable most of the time. |Also the guide has to make adjustments to everything since he have 3 villa guests in the same car which can be really dissapoting so when he had to drive us to the airstrip another guest will be losing a time in those game drives that should not happen and when i called them to arrange a private one they had no capicity and accordingly refused|7. When it comes to the rooms they need some renovations the stains on the walls etc and i had to struggle with the bedding they have only 3 thin sheets and 1 red throw no duvets and if u feel cold u dont have anything heavy on top of u can swtich the heater beneath and it gets too hot to my liking imhow come a 5 star lodge have no duvets ??|Also No comfy slippers only flipflops and i found them really hard to walk on those are the basics in a far more cheaper lodges. And make sure they are worn by a 1000 guests before me.|8. The WC toilet has a window that directly peeks into ur naibour patio so if they look back at ur villa they will see u peeing in that WC.||9. Hyrix or Rodents are awuful they keep runing on ur roof the whole night and i had disturped sleep yes its the wild but im sure they can do something about it||10 . The lighting system has 8 switches and the house keeping would open them all up for u at night and just before sleeping u have to go through all those 8 switched scatttered around the room to close them off|11. Back when i did the reservation they would make u pay for daily national parks fees and even though they knew i wont be able to do safari on my first day at ambosili as i was coming late they charged that fees on me that should not have happend. They take fees for all days and in ||I can go on and on yes i did enjoy some of the most magical moments on those game drives though the whole experince at the mara lodge is totally not worth the 12000 us dollars u r paying the ambosili is amazing though no more than 2 nights , angama mara is below the avarage standard and not worth the hefty price and this review is coming from a solo traveler who only travels with well know brands so thats a big lesson learnt here not to comprise on that as they will alway meet high standards of customer service.||With all that being said always ask for totte an amazing guide , professional , and...

MAGNIFICENT LODGE IN MAASAI MARA KENYA! ---When we entered the lodge and saw that endless view of the Massai Mara we were speechless! The beauty is beyond belief! ---Perched on the edge of the cliff our Tented Suite had floor to ceiling glass to maximize the gorgeous views. There is a huge outdoor deck, sitting area, large desk, soaking tub and shower that all face the views. ----We stayed here for 4 nights on our African Adventure of 6 ½ weeks, and it was one of our favorite lodges. ----What makes it so special is all the fabulous experiences that are all included in your stay. ----Make sure you read in advance on the website all the activities that are available and tell your guide when you get there and he will help you space out all the things to do on the days you have there. ----Activities that we loved: ----THE SHAMBA is Angama Mara’s one-acre lovely kitchen garden followed by lunch overlooking the Mara. William gave us a basket to pick out our lettuces and vegetables straight from the garden and then served us an outstanding lunch. Thank you William you were so wonderful. ----OUT OF AFRICA PICNIC overlooking the Mara where Out of Africa was filmed. We climbed up a mountain to get there. All laid out on the large rocks where we sat were checked blankets, cushions, a picnic and sparkling champagne. Our waiter Joshua was there serving us. It truly was special. ---Visit a Maasai Village which was a highlight! This is something not to be missed. You will learn all about their culture and customs, go inside a hut where they live, a fire making demonstration and dancing and singing. At the end the women set up their crafts, jewelry etc. they make- that were all reasonably priced. ---There is also hot air balloon rides but you have to get up at 4:30 a.m.- but that was too early for me! But we met people that went and loved it. ---All of the guests at the lodge will also participate in a Boma in a special location the early evening before dinner. They set up tables and chairs in a circular setting by candlelight and have an open bar and delicious hors d'oeuvres and snacks. Then a large group of Maasai warriors perform with singing, dancing and jumping! It was a magnificent event. ----There was also a Forest BBQ by candlelight about 10 minutes from the main lodge. Guests dine family style and the food was delicious. That was also a fabulous event. ----Don’t miss the fantastic gift shop where Maasai women are beading jewelry. The gift shop is very large with many high quality items to purchase. ----The game drives were fantastic! Robert was a passionate guide and an amazing person. We saw so many animals including lions (male and female), giraffes, zebras, elephants, etc and hippopotamus and crocodiles by the river. Robert taught us so much about all the animals we saw. ----Joshua our butler/waiter was wonderful. Thank you for the outstanding service you provided to us. You were always so attentive. And you always had my iced tea ready at every meal. ----Thank you to Roy our outstanding Housekeeper. Our Suite always looked perfect. We appreciated all you did for us. ----You are allowed to invite your guide to dinner and we also included our Housekeeper Roy too one evening. The lodge set up a wonderful table in the library for us. Sam Bailyn an intern at the lodge who we loved also joined us. We miss you Sam, Roy, Joshua and Robert! It was a marvelous dinner sharing with all of you! ---Azei the General Manager is engaging and knows how to run a fabulous lodge. ----Josephat – the Camp Manager was always present and was so lovely to us. ----Thank you also to Triza- who would help me climb in and out of the safari truck every time and up the mountain for the Out of Africa Picnic. You were so much fun! Sadera ( Head of Butlers), Evans (Chef) who prepared delicious food and Patrick ( who gave us a tour of the Map Room and led the Fabulous Boma). ----As we left the lodge all the staff that took care of us gave us an emotional goodbye. We will have lasting memories of our magnificent stay at...

Situated at the top of a cliff and overlooking the Mara Plains, Angama Mara is luxurious and comfortable tented villa camp. We had an enjoyable, albeit cold, stay. ||The drive up the hill and into the camp took about 1/2hr from Mara-Kichwa air strip. We were warmly greeted and introduced to the Team that would look after us. ||We had lunch at their breathtaking restaurant before going to our room to settle in. ||Our room or tent was huge. It had the breathtaking views of the Mara Plains. One can see the plains from anywhere in the room.||Upon entry, the front and middle of the room is your living area. On the right is the King bed with a long writing desk behind it. There is a large open closet behind the desk. ||The desk has various charging ports including USB, local three pin and two pin. Some paper and writing implements are stowed here, including post cards pre-stamped for you to write to loved ones, and the lodge will it send off. An antique looking desk lamp also sits here. ||The closet behind is divided into his/hers, sharing open shelves with drawers for your clothes. Two types of hangers are provided. Rubber slippers, bedroom bathrobes are stored here. ||The King bed is super comfortable and the housekeeping team will turn on the heated blankets for you at night. ||Right after entering the main door is the sitting area. Comfortable couch and a throw for the colder afternoons is provided. Some selected safari books are piled on the coffee table. There’s also Gin and Whiskey decanters in a bar stool. ||Just behind this is the cupboard with included drinks (in your fare) in the fridge, and coffee and tea making facility. Some biscuits and snacks are also available in large jars. ||Shower, toilets, bath tub and sinks occupy the left end of the room. There’s a double sink along a long counter area. There’s plenty of room for your toiletries. Also there’s a small amenities pack, and shower gel, shampoo, moisturizer can be found here. No conditioner. Hairdryer is provided and the laundry bag for your daily laundry wash is in the open shelves below (included in your fare).||As there is no central heating in the room. Showers at night can be quite cold. Room side walls and roof are made of canvas, so it’ll be cold at night and in the mornings. ||Pool, Gym and shops are at the Pavilion. Gym is opened during the day, and from pretty early in the morning. I went at 5.30am and the open air gym was being serviced by the cleaner. Note that you will need a security escort to get anywhere after dark. Wild animals roam the camp.||The gym has various cardio machines, including a rowing machine which I thought was dabomb. Free weights up to 20kg, and a multifunction weights machine. ||Food was pretty good. We enjoyed the free choice in typically three course meals. There’s usually at least 5 starters, 3 mains and a couple of desserts to choose from. The menu changes daily. We also asked for a Kenyan meal (on request) and this was a great meal. ||We were picked up by our guide, ranger and driver Derek at Mara-Kichwa air strip. Throughout our game drives, he was knowledgeable about all the animals and birds populating the areas. ||Game drives are a slower pace here. We had to follow the marked paths and cannot stray from them or the Rangers will fine our driver. So we often used binos to catch sight of the animals. Closer to Masai River, we did catch the wilderbeast migration, black rhinos from afar, and hippos lounging by the river.||Altogether, it was an enjoyable experience at Angama Mara. The staff were warm and friendly. There made efforts to get our drinks “right” (double shot of gin!) and our ranger/driver was super flexible and knowledgeable of the animals on the plain. A great stay in luxurious accommodations and I truly appreciated the gym and having time to go...