Amboseli Serena Safari Lodge

Not sure if he was the general manager or head of the reception was not accommodating at all like he did not want guests there despite a receptionist was willing to assist The GM had like a stone face !

This place may have been luxury twenty years ago.. it certainly is not now. The whole place needs a huge refurb. Our room was dark and red hot with a useless fan to cool it down. Rust in the bath. Flaking paint work. Old old furniture. “Dining” is a queue for your own meal with food in vats that looks like it has been reheated time and again. I mentioned to my husband how horrible the food looked and tasted and sure enough twelve hours later I was very ill with food poisoning… losing a full day of an expensive safari and having to travel in a hot safari bus whilst feeling most unwell. We contacted the lodge about this directly .. we are still waiting for a reply. A musician at dinner with a guitar… local Masai guys posing for photos… ridiculous. Not in any way a luxurious safari lodge. I cant believe our agent thought this place would be suitable. We went on to stay in other Serena lodges and they are all suffering similar aging issues. Dreadful.

We had a fantastic 3 night stay at this lodge! The in park location is a huge advantage as to what time you can start and end your daily game drives! Grounds are lovely, higher standard than I expected. Downside compared to some other lodges in the area: you cannot see the mountain from anywhere on the property and odds of seeing wildlife on the property other than monkeys is not good. 3 nights was the perfect amount. We saw many people only staying 1 night and with no guarantee of seeing Kilimanjaro I think that is a big mistake. Rooms would be much better if they had AC and a small fridge but lodge provided a room fan in addition to ceiling fan and upon request provided us with a second room fan which made a huge difference! Supplied daily bottles of water get hot with no fridge. The rooms are of excellent size though. Employees very friendly, high standard of service and they really remember the guests who stay more than 1 night. Pool was very nice and perfect relaxation in between game drives. Food was good* - good for a buffet but was more of a quantity over quality situation. Selection was large though and they did vary things daily. Drinks were extra for lunch and dinner - included for breakfast and always had nice fresh juice options as well as various coffee drinks. Monkeys can be a bit of a nuisance. Cute on first day but after they mistook our gift shop souvenir bag for food they became not as much fun to have around and had some concerns about pool cleanliness with them always around. Did not experience or witness any serious altercations though and the hotel has a Maasai or two to keep them away. Gift shop very nice with same or better pricing than the tourist shops along the roadside to/from Nairobi without the sales pressure. We bought quite a few things and all are good quality. Location is the main factor here, it is in the best position to maximize your game drives in the park! I highly recommend and would stay here again if going back to Amboseli.

Our place of stay at Amboseli. Good location, nice views and decent food. A Nice outdoor sitting area. Pretty responsive to customer needs. A nice outdoor patio where you can spend the evenings. Has a swimming pool as well, if one is interested. There is also a small masai village behind the lodge, which is a must visit