Saruni

Blending authenticity with luxury, Saruni offers its guests an intimate, boutique-style experience in two of Kenya’s best reserves. Private conservancy settings next to the Masai Mara and Samburu ensure each Saruni camp enjoys the best of both worlds: uninhibited game viewing and low-density exclusivity.

Saruni Mara sits in the Mara North Conservancy and has a family villa and five thatched cottages plus a private honeymoon villa; Saruni Wild lies close by and offers intimate, deluxe 3-tent accommodation. Game viewing at both is enjoyed by vehicle and on foot as well as from the vantage of a hot-air balloon.

Saruni Samburu is a sumptuous designer lodge located in Kenya’s wild north, the only lodge in the Kalama Conservancy, which borders the Samburu National Reserve. Guests here enjoy decadent villa accommodation and a different side to Kenya’s wildlife as well as panoramic views. Cultural excursions and animal-tracking expeditions are balanced by wellness treatments and massages to offer a diverse and rewarding safari.

For those travellers seeking to combine bush and beach, look no further than relaxing after your safari at Saruni Ocean at Msambweni on Kenya’s picture-perfect south coast. Located on six kilometres or nearly four miles of pristine private beach, Saruni Ocean is the perfect embodiment of castaway chic and barefoot luxury. Lapped by the warm waters of the Indian Ocean, the lodge’s seven expansive villas and top-notch spa are the ideal for a romantic honeymoon.

But there’s more to Saruni than fine views, blissful beach resorts and game viewing: 60 percent of the bed night fees at Saruni Samburu, for example, is used to fund community projects (such as school bursaries and water projects) while the remainder is used to fund the annual operating costs of the conservancy. Committed to their local communities and the environmental integrity of their settings, Saruni camps have been designed to have a light ecological footprint. Recycling is a major part of their philosophy as is rainwater harvesting, eco-friendly bathrooms and the use of solar power.

Saruni also emphasises the cultural side to Kenya. Guests will enjoy interacting with Masaai and Samburu guides and there are village visits and guided bush walks to look forward to, part of Saruni’s aim to promote an atmosphere of respect, understanding and appreciation between visitors and Kenyans.