Unique places to stay in Kenya

In Kenya, where you sleep can be the highlight of the trip. Here are the stays visitors talk about for years afterwards, from the edge of Nairobi to the Swahili coast.

Giraffe Manor, Nairobi

A 1930s country house in Lang'ata, built in the style of a Scottish hunting lodge, where Rothschild's giraffes put their heads through the windows at breakfast. The giraffes are part of a long-running conservation programme that has helped return this rare subspecies to the wild. It is small and books up months ahead; if you can't get a room, the Giraffe Centre next door lets you feed them from a raised platform.

Treetops and The Ark, Aberdares

Two of Kenya's most famous "tree hotels" sit in the forest of Aberdare National Park, built high above floodlit waterholes. Treetops is where Princess Elizabeth was staying in 1952 when she became Queen; it reopened in 2024 after a long closure. The Ark is shaped like Noah's ark, with viewing decks and a ground-level hide. At both, you watch elephants, buffalo and sometimes leopards come to drink through the night.

On the equator, Nanyuki

At the foot of Mount Kenya, the Fairmont Mount Kenya Safari Club sits right on the equator, with lawns, peacocks and views of the peaks. It is an easy base for Ol Pejeta Conservancy, and a fun place to stand with one foot in each hemisphere.

Classic tented camps, Maasai Mara

Sleeping under canvas with lions calling at night is the original safari experience, and the Mara has camps for every style, from simple to very grand. Cottar's 1920s Camp recreates the safaris of a century ago with antique furniture and old-style canvas tents. In the private conservancies, small camps mean fewer vehicles at every sighting.

Old Swahili houses, Lamu

In Lamu Old Town and nearby Shela, you can stay in centuries-old stone houses with carved wooden doors, inner courtyards and rooftop terraces over the water. There are no cars on the island: you arrive by boat and get around on foot or by donkey.