Mara Empiris Safari Camp — Hotel in Siana ward

It was not the best experience at this camp. To be fair I want to highlight both the great things and the poor things. When we arrived, we were welcomed with beautiful smiles, a warm towel to wash up and a drink. That was great! Easy check in. One of the best things about this place is the staff- they really do make it; they are friendly and very kind. Loved the 3 J’s… Joy, Janet and Jamie and the chef Reynold(?). They all introduced themselves and made it a point to say hi.||The accommodations; The cabin/tents are very clean. The beds and pillows are very comfortable. It is wonderful how the tent windows all open up and invite the outdoors in. It is a very basic cabin, not luxury but does meet your needs, Other than the beds, there was one wicker style love-seat in the room and small table and one portable closet. The is a very nice deck attached but unfortunately there are no seats outside to sit and enjoy. The pathways to the cabins are easy to walk and have nice lighting. Our view was of the back of a cabin about 30 ft away. There is lots of bush around that does make it very pretty and you can hear birds singing anytime. There is no housekeeping once you have checked in. Each guest is allotted one bath towel and one hand towel (no face cloths), for the duration of your stay. Beds are not made up.||One draw back for us was that for two nights there was a cabin that was about 30 feet in front us with a group of ladies, who were very loud through out the evening. Their voices really carried. They went on quite late, which was sad as I didn’t come to nature to hear that. The second night we yelled for them to quiet their voices down at 10:30 so that we could get a good sleep. The other cabin that was about the same distance away, who in the afternoon after returning from the Safari’s would play their music. It would be nice if management addressed noise with guests upon arrival as the cabin/tents are close together and sound travels. We may not all like the same music and may prefer just to hear nature.||Food and drinks. On check in, we were shown the cabin/tent and told that we could have two waters a day that are included. This seemed odd to us being an all inclusive package, to have a restriction on water. On day two, no waters were left and day three none was brought in the morning either. At lunch time, we grabbed waters out of the fridge (that is kept locked at times) and the girl brought us out a bill after lunch to pay for it. At this time the staff knew that we were leaving a day early (and paying for it) and still chose to charge us for this. ||The food we found to be literal camp food and not great. It was bland, the chicken was very overcooked and dry. Breakfast is served without fruit and is mostly breads and bread products. There were hard boiled eggs and sausages served as well. Most food was buffet style and left overs are common. Dinner is served after 7:30 pm at the earliest. For us, after a long day on a Safari, we hoped to be able to eat early our safaris started at 6:30 in the morning and found the evening meal to be to late too eat and to be able to sleep early. We had boxed lunches prepared- they consisted of a stale uncut bun with no butter, a bag of chips, a bruised old banana, a left over piece of chicken that had been cooked and left out already at the buffet from the night before and a juice box. This was very disappointing.||Entertainment|On the one night there was a fire, in looking at the website I see now that it would’ve been open to everyone. However there was no invite or mention that it was for everyone, so we assumed that a family had booked this as a separate event.||We made a decision to leave a day early as our expectations were different than what they provided. Would I recommend this facility to others? It depends what you are looking for. I think it is a budget friendly choice, with base choices. The staff make...

It was not the best experience at this camp. To be fair I want to highlight both the great things and the poor things. When we arrived, we were welcomed with beautiful smiles, a warm towel to wash up and a drink. That was great! Easy check in. One of the best things about this place is the staff- they really do make it; they are friendly and very kind. Loved the 3 J’s… Joy, Janet and Jamie and the chef Reynold(?). They all introduced themselves and made it a point to say hi.

The accommodations; The cabin/tents are very clean. The beds and pillows are very comfortable. It is wonderful how the tent windows all open up and invite the outdoors in. It is a very basic cabin, not luxury but does meet your needs, Other than the beds, there was one wicker style love-seat in the room and small table and one portable closet. The is a very nice deck attached but unfortunately there are no seats outside to sit and enjoy. The pathways to the cabins are easy to walk and have nice lighting. Our view was of the back of a cabin about 30 ft away. There is lots of bush around that does make it very pretty and you can hear birds singing anytime. There is no housekeeping once you have checked in. Each guest is allotted one bath towel and one hand towel (no face cloths), for the duration of your stay. Beds are not made up.

One draw back for us was that for two nights there was a cabin that was about 30 feet in front us with a group of ladies, who were very loud through out the evening. Their voices really carried. They went on quite late, which was sad as I didn’t come to nature to hear that. The second night we yelled for them to quiet their voices down at 10:30 so that we could get a good sleep. The other cabin that was about the same distance away, who in the afternoon after returning from the Safari’s would play their music. It would be nice if management addressed noise with guests upon arrival as the cabin/tents are close together and sound travels. We may not all like the same music and may prefer just to hear nature.

Food and drinks. On check in, we were shown the cabin/tent and told that we could have two waters a day that are included. This seemed odd to us being an all inclusive package, to have a restriction on water. On day two, no waters were left and day three none was brought in the morning either. At lunch time, we grabbed waters out of the fridge (that is kept locked at times) and the girl brought us out a bill after lunch to pay for it. At this time the staff knew that we were leaving a day early (and paying for it) and still chose to charge us for this.

The food we found to be literal camp food and not great. It was bland, the chicken was very overcooked and dry. Breakfast is served without fruit and is mostly breads and bread products. There were hard boiled eggs and sausages served as well. Most food was buffet style and left overs are common. Dinner is served after 7:30 pm at the earliest. For us, after a long day on a Safari, we hoped to be able to eat early our safaris started at 6:30 in the morning and found the evening meal to be to late too eat and to be able to sleep early. We had boxed lunches prepared- they consisted of a stale uncut bun with no butter, a bag of chips, a bruised old banana, a left over piece of chicken that had been cooked and left out already at the buffet from the night before and a juice box. This was very disappointing.

Entertainment On the one night there was a fire, in looking at the website I see now that it would’ve been open to everyone. However there was no invite or mention that it was for everyone, so we assumed that a family had booked this as a separate event.

We made a decision to leave a day early as our expectations were different than what they provided. Would I recommend this facility to others? It depends what you are looking for. I think it is a budget friendly choice, with base choices. The staff make...

Mara Empiris Safari Camp served as our accommodations in Maasai Mara. We stayed here for two nights. It was the most basic of all the places we stayed while we were in Kenya, but that somehow made our experience quite unique. It is not too far from the main entrance to Maasai Mara and there is a Maasai Village within easy walking distance (we visited this village as part of our tour).||Our rooms were heavy-duty tents set over permanent fixtures, making us feel like we really were in a camp. The rooms are really big and spacious. Ours had three beds (queen-size, I think). The tents have "floor-to-ceiling windows" that you can roll up to let sunlight and fresh air in. But even when they are rolled up, there is a screen that prevents bugs from coming in. In case some bugs do manage to make it inside the tent, there is a bug zapper.||The shower and toilet area is pretty basic but I love that there the sink, the toilet area, and the shower are all separate sections. This was pretty convenient because it meant that different people could be using different parts of the bath and toilet area at the same time (e.g. someone could be brushing their teeth while someone else is showering.) The shower also has hot water.||The food here was not fancy but it was always good enough and we didn't really need luxurious dishes. Since all meals were served buffet style, we always had more than enough food.||The best thing about Mara Empiris for me is their service and very friendly and hospitable staff. They always greeted us with smiles and made us feel very welcome. They also wanted us to be as comfortable as possible. They always adjusted the time that breakfast would be served depending on the time we would leave in the morning. They also prepared packed lunch for us during our whole day game drive in Maasai Mara. Also, as we left the hotel, the staff stood at the doorway of the safari camp and waved us goodbye. It was really heartwarming.||The best moment that showcased their service and hospitality came after we had already checked out. Around 20 minutes after we had left, our guide Zachary got a call from the hotel, asking us if we might have left a bag at the reception. We did! The manager and the chef decided to meet us halfway since they were heading to the market anyway and they brought our bag with them. This saved us some time since we didn't need to go back all the way.||Even if the this hotel is a bit more basic than others, our experience here was great and memorable, especially because we had such cool and unique rooms and the service was very warm, friendly, and genuine. I also love how integrated to nature it is, with our rooms surrounded by so many trees. Overall, we had a very enjoyable and memorable stay at Mara Empiris...