Sanctuary Olonana

Olonana was beautiful. It has been completely remodeled in the past few months. The location of the rooms right on the river is awesome. They don't have screens in the bedroom area so you can't really leave the doors open for air. Not an issue for u s except it got a little stuffy at times. They are talking about putting in air conditioning.

Then off to Kenya and the Masai Mara. We stayed at the Sanctuary Olonana Camp for 3 nights. The hardest part of this stay was leaving our rooms every morning. We have traveled extensively all over the world and have stayed in every form of accommod ation imaginable ....this place is over the top. On the banks of the Mara River with hippos just below your deck serenading you all night. The staff is the most caring and attentive (not overbearing) you could possibly want. The viewing of wildlife was continuous. I think the range of motion of my neck has increased 100% from constantly spinning my head around to see a multitude of animals from a group of lion cubs play fighting to a huge pool of hippos basking in the sun. Benson, our driver did everything possible to get you close to the animals without harassing them. Many times we would come across sleeping lions who would raise their heads as we neared, see us, and just put their heads back down like we weren't there. If there was a specific animal you hadn't seen during your visit just mention it to Benson and he will make it his mission to find one.

We flew to the Masai Mara and stayed for four nights and saw a lot of lion, hyena, black rhino, warthog and a couple of leopard. A truly amazing time. Olonana was also a lovely place. The setting on the Mara River was very nice. Maurice the manager c ame and spoke to us at most meal times. The food was excellent with an incredible choice for breakfast. Two choices of starter for lunch and two choices of main and two choices of pud. In the evening three choices of mains. Once for lunch Colin didn't like either of the mains so they cooked him something else. Then one night he asked which main to have as he liked the steak and the prawns so they did half and half, perfect. On the last night they brought me a birthday cake and all the staff sang. The tent was a very good size with a lovely view. Unfortunately there was no off roading or night drives in the Mara. However we did two full days and went to different areas both times and saw different habitats and animals.

We stayed at the Olonana Sanctuary in the Masai Mara and it was breath taking. Excellent location on the river where a family of hippo resided. Tented accommodation that a king or queen would have been proud of. Main game lodge that had more style that the Paris fashion week but what really set this place apart was the service of all that worked there.

Oh. My. Gosh. I cannot say enough wonderful things about Olonana. We had one of the most amazing experiences of our lives there. From the moment Bonnie (our game driver) picked us up from the airstrip, we were treated so well and had the best time. I can't even begin to capture how much we loved our time at Olonana. We planted a tree on the grounds that we hope to visit again very soon.

"Your selection of accommodations was fantastic and each one had their own unique characteristics that we will always remember. At Olonano, we slept within a stones throw from a family of hippos. The food at all of these places was first class!"

"The safari was great and i will have lots of memories! the Olonana camp was perfect and if I EVER have the opportunity to go back to Kenya i am definatly going to that place again. it was everything I expected and much more!"