Mara Serena Safari Lodge

Mara Serena Safari Lodge stands on a bush-covered hill in the Mara Triangle — the only lodge in that part of the reserve — looking down over the savannah and the Mara River. The buildings follow the circular shape of a Maasai manyatta. There are 74 rooms, one of them a suite, each placed for an open view of the river and the plains, with a private balcony, a king-size bed or twin beds under mosquito nets, ceiling fans, a writing desk and a marble bathroom with a walk-in shower. Wi-Fi is included; the television is in the suite only. Eight sets of interconnecting rooms are kept for families, and cots and extra beds come on request. The suite adds a separate sitting room, a bathtub, two private balconies and a dedicated room steward.

Between game drives there is a heated swimming pool set into the rock, and the Maisha Spa and gym, with steam showers and the lodge's own Oringa massage. The restaurant is open-plan and looks out over the plains: buffet breakfast and lunch, a five-course dinner, and three evenings a week Maasai dancing alongside Kenyan dishes such as nyama choma and sukuma wiki. The bar has outdoor seating around a campfire that is lit every night. The lodge also arranges breakfast beside the hippo pool on the Mara River, bush dinners under the stars, sundowners on Lookout Hill, balloon safaris at sunrise, day and night game drives, Maasai village visits and a hike up the Ololoolo escarpment, which rises 400 metres above the plains. A Maasai market is held at the lodge every Thursday and Saturday.

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