Due to the recent troubles in Kenya, there were very few guests at the lodge. The staff said that they were only 15-30% full, during what would otherwise have been a peak season. This is very unfortunate for them. For us it meant we had the lodge and the surrounding wildlife practically to ourselves. On safaris, it seemed as if ours were the only vans in that side of the park, so unlike the crush of vans when a cheetah or pride of lions is sighted, we could observe them at our leisure.

The trip from Nairobi to the gate of the national park took about 4 hours, with another two hours from the gate to the lodge. Along the way, we stopped numerous times to photograph herds of elephants, lions and lionesses, and other wildlife. So we arrived rather late in the afternoon. We were greeted with a very welcome cool, wet towel to wash off the dust from our faces and arms, and a glass of juice. Then, rather than insist on having us fill in the registration forms immediately, the staff very kindly let us have lunch first, and let us go through the check-in formalities at our leisure.

Service at the hotel was always courteous, though not always quite up to scratch. Some requests were misunderstood - but we ascribed this to the fact that all lodges have had to lay off quite a lot of staff, due to the huge drop in visiting tourists. The remaining staff were a little stretched, or sometimes very new.

The best part about this lodge is the view. From the swimming pool and every room, you get a 180 degree vista of grassland dotted with acacia trees, with the Mara river, populated by hundreds of hippos, glinting through bushes. With good binoculars, you can pick out various animals from the comfort of your room or while lounging by the pool.

The rooms are very comfortable, but the showers are a little cramped. The buffet meals were okay, though the pasta station got tiring as it was offered every lunch and dinner, and the pasta was invariably overcooked. The chefs are quite willing to prepare dishes that are requested by the guests - take advantage of this if nothing on the buffet appeals to you.

The lodge also has some massage and spa options, which were quite good. Overall the service and food was about a 3-star quality, but the views were stupendous.

Comfortable rooms, very good service, nice food, good location (but see below), great views. We had to cut our trip short by 1 night due to the awful Kenya roads doubling our anticipated journey time so needing a beak on the journey back - no quibbles from the hotel who could have insisted on us paying the cancelled night but didn't - nice touch.

A fact about the Masai Mara (you won’t get this in the guide book) is it’s predominantly earth called’ black cotton’ that turns into a glutinous mass when it rains. And it rained hard the 1st day we were there. So the 4-wheel drive capability of my vehicle was put to the test, we were slipping and sliding all over the place, we had to splash through 1metre deep lakes that the roads had turned into in places, and had to get pulled out of the mud twice by other vehicles and a tractor. It all added to the fun, but at the time it’s a bit scary to be stuck in mud the middle of nowhere – the Masia Mara is a big park. Not something to do at dusk. And the location of the hotel means you really have to go over the black cotton to get anywhere. A downside to its central location, but only if it rains very hard.

The rooms are very nice and include a sitting room offering a great view. The grounds are very attractively landscaped. Its greatest weakness is the restaurant. The meals are served buffet style although there is "active" cooking (eggs at breakfast and pasta at lunch). The space in which the buffet service was set up was cramped as was the restaurant seating. Our biggest complaint was that no one staff person was responsible for a table so the service was disorganized. The food here (and all three other Serenas at which we stayed over our two weeks in Kenya) was bland and tasteless.
Although we were here during the civil uprising, at no time did we feel that we were in jeopardy.

Fantastiv hotel, great views , great food. Staff incredibly pleasant. Super safari destination. Rooms are nice with great views of the Rift valley. Migration was returning and from the room you could see lots of wildebeast and other animals. Also went to the Masai Village and had a tour and purchased items from them. Lots of animals on the safaris, lions, giraffe, elephants,crocs, hyenas , zebra, wildebeast, hippos, rhinos. Relaxed atmosphere lovely pool. Loved the location, can't get much more beautiful.Highly reccomend.