3 Best Hotels in Kenya

One of Kenya's most environmentally friendly camps, this lovely spot in the Kuku Group Ranch—the natural corridor between Amboseli and Tsavo West National Parks—is owned by an Italian couple who are deeply committed to the environment and the local Maasai community. The camp's name means "Camp of the Hidden Treasure" in Swahili, and was the first camp in Kenya to be gold-rated by Ecotourism Kenya for its efforts in sustainable tourism, and has won other prestigious international ecotourism awards. It's also co-owned by the Maasai, and the ranch itself stretches 1,115 square km (400 square miles) from the foothills of Mt. Kilimanjaro and up into the Chyulu Hills in the east. Activities include game drives (where the game is really wild and not used to vehicles), guided walks including the trek into the cloud forest along the peaks of the Chyulu Hills, bird-watching, and cultural visits. Take your kids to the Maasai school and open their eyes to a completely different way of life. The main lounge and dining areas are in Tembo (Elephant) House, which has superb views of Kilimanjaro and the Taita Hills. All the thatched roof tented cottages have great views, as well as wooden floors, a veranda, and an en suite bathroom with flush toilet, and hot and cold running water. The Hemingway and Simba tented suites also boast king-size beds and a dressing room, while Kanzi House is a thatched villa that sleeps up to eight and has a swimming pool. Note that there is an additional US$120 per-person, per-day conservation fee, which entirely benefits the local Maasai community.

Located on the Maasai-owned Mbirikani Group Ranch on the southwestern flank of the volcanic Chyulu Hills, this stylishly romantic and superluxurious lodge is considered one of the best in southern Kenya. It is dramatically perched on a hillside, so every suite has great views of the plains, Mt. Kilimanjaro, and several waterholes. No two of the ten large suites in six stand-alone villas are the same. They all have rooftop "star beds," which are accessed from the verandah by a winding stone staircase, which allow you the option of sleeping under the stars but with all the comforts of your suite just below. All but two of the suites have private pools, too. Some villas have four beds each and private sitting rooms and are ideal for families or small groups of friends. Excellent food and friendly, attentive service are the norm. Meals are taken in the centrally positioned dining room with a big open fireplace for those chilly nights, or in the wine cellar, or on the terrace next to the pool or even in a private lantern-lit boma. A wealth of activities is available at Ol Donyo and included in the rates—bush walks, game drives, mountain-biking and day trips to Amboseli National Park, but the standout activity is horse-riding and the stables are home to more than 20 horses suitable for all abilities.

This truly uniquely designed lodge is set in the Taita Hills Wildlife Sanctuary just outside Tsavo West and off the main Voi-Taveta road (A23). A clutch of giant honey-color rondavels with dark brown thatched roofs sit on stilts, linked by aerial bridges, and overlook a chain of small floodlit waterholes—it looks a bit like a fantasy settlement from The Lord of the Rings's Middle Earth. The entire lodge is so high off the ground that the animals, even elephants and buffaloes, simply walk underneath. The en suite, small, round rooms are comfortably if basically furnished, but it's the experience you're here for, not the room decor, although the public areas are sumptuously decorated with rugs, batiks, and a number of authentic African artifacts. Request a top room or one over a waterhole for close-up encounters with game. Be sure to visit the underground viewing room at night, too, and you might be lucky to spot nocturnal animals like civets, porcupines, and maybe even a leopard. The food is excellent with lots of fresh homegrown vegetables.

If you can't get a room here, stay at the renovated Taita Hills Safari Resort nearby, also in the Taita Hills Wildlife Sanctuary, and visit Salt Lick during the day.