There’s no shortage of stellar Kenya safari lodges on offer. This selection has been cherry picked by the Art of Safari team following first-hand experience; whether it’s a treehouse in the Masai Mara or a hilltop villa in Samburu, you can be sure it’s one of the best African safari lodges.
Ask anyone involved in Kenya safaris, and they’ll tell you that this is where the concept of safari was invented. Safari, after all, is a Swahili word. The benefit of having a head start is everywhere on display: Kenya offers a range of unparalleled, sublime accommodation options, and Kenya’s safari lodges are among the best in Africa.
Kenya does, of course, have some distinct natural advantages: few other countries can compete when it comes to variety of landscape and location. Kenya’s lodge owners have made the most of this, designing accommodation options that fit perfectly in settings ranging from savannah to seaside.
Wherever they’re found, these lodges invariably offer a seamless entry into their surroundings. Luxury tented camps on the plains of the Masai Mara are perfectly suited to setting out on the trail of the Great Wildebeest Migration (indeed, some camps are themselves mobile). On the Indian Ocean coast, beachside villas take their design cues from traditional Swahili architecture to give unfettered access to pristine, palm-fringed beaches.
In Kenya’s Laikipia high country and in the semi-arid Samburu region, different styles prevail – but again, they draw on local traditions and organic materials to underline the sense of place and create a comfortable closeness to the surrounding bush. Whether facing sunrise or sunset, the best Kenya safari lodges truly have a glow about them.
