Mara Serena Safari Lodge

Mara Serena Safari Lodge has a position no other property in the Maasai Mara can claim: it is the only lodge inside the Mara Triangle, the western sector of the reserve managed by the Mara Conservancy, and it sits on top of a bush covered hill with a 180 degree sweep over the plains and the Mara River. The building is a deliberate nod to Maasai design, a cluster of round ochre walled structures with curved doorways and hand painted detail, and the 74 rooms, including one suite, step down the hillside so that every one has its own balcony and an unbroken view. Rooms are simple and cool, with twin or king beds under mosquito netting, marble bathrooms with walk in showers, ceiling fans and WiFi; eight sets of interconnecting rooms handle families. Inside, a domed lobby opens through a full height window onto the savannah, and there is a restaurant, a bar, a broad viewing deck for sundowners and a swimming pool ringed by palms and loungers. The Maisha Spa and Health Club adds a treatment room, a resting area, a steam shower and a gym that looks out over the plains. The practical advantage of the Mara Triangle is traffic: far fewer vehicles than the eastern reserve, strict off road rules and direct access to the Mara River crossing points that the migrating herds use between July and October. Mara Serena airstrip is a few minutes away.