Masai Mara National Reserve - Kenya
Secreted deep within the Masai Mara National Reserve, the Mara Serena Safari Lodge is the ultimate safari destination. Set high on a bush-cloaked hill, embraced by arcing vistas and washed by a sea of richly rolling grasslands, it stands centre-stage to one of Africa's most dramatic wildlife arenas and has a ringside seat for the greatest wildlife show on Earth, the legendary migration of the wildebeest. Styled to mirror the circular motif of a traditional Maasai ‘Manyatta', the lodge has been designed to blend international sophistication with raw African beauty.
It features individual rooms, each with their own balcony and view of eternity, a sky-blue swimming pool and a spectacular restaurant, overlooking a water hole where a fantasia of creatures collect to drink. Drawing its inspiration from the traditional Maasai cultural motif of a cluster of domed, mud-coloured huts encircled by a ‘Boma' of brushwood, the Mara Serena offers a rare blend of raw African splendour and sumptuous sophistication. The essentially ethnic décor also draws on a vibrant colour-palette of sun-burst colours, embellished by a unique selection of Maasai art to create the look and feel of a traditional bush encampment. At the end of an action-packed day, guests can also enjoy a dip in the cool of a natural stone swimming pool, which clings to the edge of the hillside and commands endless views of the magnificence of the Mara.
Location
The Masai Mara is 170 miles from Nairobi. The lodge also has its own landing strip.
The Background
The Masai Mara National Reserve
When it comes to game-viewing, there is nowhere in Africa richer in wildlife or more eventful in encounters than the Mara. A pristine wilderness of haunting beauty, it promises its visitors a profusion of wildlife, prolific bird life and the unprecedented opportunity of catching up with all the members of the ‘Big Five' in one morning.
As to scenery, the 1,800 sq kilometres of this veteran reserve offer the classic mix of African imagery; miles of lion-gold grasslands, shoals of lilac-misted hills, a meandering river, acres of thorn-bush and mile upon mile of undulating wilderness.
The Miracle of the Migration of the Wildebeest
Known as the ‘greatest show on earth' the annual migration of up to one and a half million animals between the dry plains of Tanzania and the lush grasslands of Kenya (and back again) has featured as an annual event on Earth's calendar for the past two million years. And it's still as extraordinary, enlightening and exciting an event as ever.
Taking place around the months of August and September the migration is a spectacle, both comic and tragic, that features the epic journey of vast herds of wildebeest between the grasslands of Kenya and Tanzania - flanked by a carnival of other herbivores and stalked by a ruthless pack of predators. As a vivid portrayal of the violence of the concept, ‘survival of the fittest', this is a spectacle, not always for the faint-hearted, that goes beyond memorable and into momentous.
Kenya hotels and accommodation
Amongst the wide range of Kenya hotels, some make the ideal Kenya safari destination. Choose a safari lodge, safari hotel, bush camp, luxury lodge, safari camp, tented camp or bush lodge. National park accommodation usually takes the form of a traditional safari lodge or tented camp, but numerous other options exist on the park boundaries. Luxury lodges and luxury camp options are also offered in the private wildlife conservancies.
Accommodation
The wide-spaced and secluded rooms have been sensitively designed so as to blend seamlessly into the landscape whilst offering magnificent Mara-vistas from their private verandas. As for the interiors, individually styled in exuberant bush colours they feature spacious bathrooms and the calm sophistication of a world-class hotel.
The lodge offers: 73 Standard rooms, 1 Presidential Suite, 20 double rooms with king-sized beds, 56 twin bedrooms and 5 pairs of connecting rooms. Triple rooms can be requested.
Services include: The all-time favourite, Breakfast by the Hippo Pool, a range of bush dinners, game-drive breakfasts, sundowners at one of the Mara's many vantage points, private picnics, lunch boxes and specialist cultural entertainments. Express check-in/out. Full housekeeping services (laundry, valet, babysitting, children's menus/dining shoeshine etc).Full medical back-up and emergency evacuation facilities. Extensively stocked Africana Gift Shop. Beauty treatments, massage and hairdressing.
Swimming Pool, nature walks, bird watching and game drives. 24-hour Forex facilities. A wide range of board games plus a full library of books on Africa.3 Game Drives daily (in 6-person Land Cruisers with radios and hatch-tops).
Dining and bars
The traditional safari-styled dining room overlooks the Lodge's action-packed water hole and features a vibrant bar area, a relaxed candlelit atmosphere and menu choices that include a broad selection of imaginative and traditional safari favourites.
Conference and event facilities
The Mara Serena Safari Lodge Business/Entertainment
Facilities
State-of-the-art presentation facilities
To include: A full selection of projection TV, screen, video, video conferencing and audiovisual equipment.
Full Conference organisation service
To include: badges, registration desks, delegate packs, delegate services, specialist delegate gifts, secretarial back up and communication links, tailor-made itineraries, private safaris and individually planned and themed menus.
A full range of imaginative incentive packages and fully tailored accommodation packages is also available.
Magical Mara Weddings and Honeymoons
Options Include:
Bush-bowered wedding ceremony
Individually themed champagne reception - at the lodge or in the bush
Sumptuous floral arrangements, bouquets and buttonholes
Private candle-lit honeymoon dinner for two
Luxurious honeymoon Suite supplied with tropical fruit and chilled champagne
Cultural Dancing
Colourful range of guest entertainments
Photography and videoing of your special day
Special accommodation packages for the entire wedding party
Masai Guard of Honour
Special Occasions
Services include:
Individually themed menus
Bush dinners, starlit bars, Maasai feasts, and poolside cocktails
Entertaining under canvas - with campfires, hurricane lamps and safari cuisine.
Specialist cocktails
Private game drives and savannah picnics
Champagne sundowners on the hilltop of your choice
Live music, vivid cultural entertainment
Dancing - inside or under the stars
Floral decorations or culturally/colour coordinated style themes
Individually styled guest gifts
Child-friendly
All Serena lodges are child-friendly and offer: family rooms, additional beds, cots, children's mealtimes and menus, babysitting services, educational materials, wildlife presentations, guided nature walks.
Other attractions
Activities and Entertainment
Daily game drives (Each drive is accompanied by knowledgeable guides and equipped with full safari picnics).
Balloon safaris over the Mara followed by a champagne breakfast
Morning bird walks with our resident naturalist
Nature trails
Participation in the Mara Eco Programme
Visits to a traditional Maasai Manyatta
Wildlife and cultural talks, videos and film shows
Tribal dancing displays nightly
‘Sundowners' at a selection of magnificent Mara lookouts
Discovering the brilliance of the local bird life
Game viewing around the water hole
Adventure game drives around the Mara eco-system
Bush dinners
Swimming in the spectacular natural pool.
Mara Serena Safari Lodge - Masai Mara • Safari Lodge • Kenya Hotels, Safari Lodges & Tented Camps
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