Giraffe Manor | Nairobi One Of Kenya’s Best Safari Lodges

Although we’re in the heart of the Langata suburb of Nairobi, it’s hard to believe we’re in the city, surrounded as we are by 56ha of indigenous forest that’s the habitat of several endangered Rothschild’s giraffe. We’re at Giraffe Manor, a grand colonial-era mansion on 12ha of private gardens that dates back to the 1930s. With its stately ivy-covered exterior, terraces and courtyards, it feels like a setting for a novel, and I can’t believe it’s real.

My partner and I are seated next to the window enjoying an English breakfast in the sunlit dining room when the speckled head and long flexible neck of a giraffe appears through it. Regarding us with curiosity, it delves into the bowl of pellets left on our table for just such a visit. We’re completely delighted, as hearing a friend recount this experience was the reason we’d chosen to stay at Giraffe Manor. The other guests are equally thrilled as another giraffe pops his head in the opposite window, and then a third one appears. These are Rothschild’s giraffe, products of a breeding project that pulled the subspecies from the brink of extinction in 1974. To date, more than 300 of these endangered giraffe have been released into the wild. Once fed, the giraffe amble back to their forest sanctuary followed by the eager family of warthog that tails them everywhere looking for dropped pellets, and we leisurely finish our breakfast. Although there are only the two of us, we couldn’t resist booking the Karen Blixen suite, so we make our way across the fairy-tale garden back to it. Big enough to sleep a family of five, our suite has a spacious bed and spiral staircase leading up to the loft area, along with a comfortable sitting area, fireplace and en-suite bathroom. After freshening up, we decide to go for a walk around the estate, where we hope to have a few more giraffe encounters, cameras at the ready!

Having giraffe on the grounds alone is amazing, but to see them pop their heads through the windows for breakfast is something I’ll never forget. It’s an experience unreplicated anywhere in the world. I also thoroughly enjoyed walking down to the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife’s Giraffe Centre, where we learnt all about the endangered Rothschild’s giraffe. Plus having our own chauffeur take us to see the sights of Nairobi was great. Both the Karen Blixen and Nairobi museums were fascinating, but my ultimate was the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, where we adopted our own baby elephant orphan.

• Grand colonial-era boutique hotel and giraffe sanctuary surrounded by beautiful gardens and indigenous forest. Eight rooms and two suites are spread across the Main and Garden manors.
• Private estate, local transfers, private dining available and flexible schedules.
• Breakfast with giraffes and then spend a day exploring Nairobi including the Giraffe Centre visit, David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust visit, shopping excursions, helicopter excursions (additional cost), horse riding (additional cost), Karen Blixen Museum visit, Nairobi Museums visit (additional cost). Other day trips include a visit to the Nairobi National Park visit (additional cost) or the rift valley lakes, Naivasha, Lake Nakuru and Lake Natron.
• Children welcome and babysitting available. Family suites and extra beds available.

• Not only do African safari lodge prices shift with the seasons, they also change based on your length of stay, room type, travel party composition, special offers, if your trip involves stays at sister lodges – and for more reasons besides.
• It’s worth noting that depending on your itinerary, your lodge cost will make up about 75–85% of your total safari trip cost.
• Our safaris are tailor-made to match your personal safari dream, we’d be delighted if you’d allow us to create a bespoke proposal for you.  Simply enquire now – our quotes are complimentary and obligation-free.
• However, to help you get an idea of safari lodge prices we’ve created three safari-lodge categories with various price ranges, to find out more click here.