All the time, when on the move, the wildebeest emit harsh grunts, something like the sound of frogs, something like that of old men clearing their throats. People have called them ungainly because of their high shoulders and sloping hindquarters and also clowns because of their long pale faces and white beards, but in fact they move with grace and sometimes playfulness, leaping and cavorting with apparent joie de vivre. Last Days in Eden, Elspeth Huxley and Hugo van Lawick.

Secreted deep within the Masai Mara National Reserve, the Mara Serena Safari Lodge is the ultimate safari destination. Set high on a bush-cloaked hill, embraced by arcing vistas and washed by a sea of richly rolling grasslands, it stands centre-stage to one of Africa’s most dramatic wildlife arenas and has a ringside seat for the greatest wildlife show on Earth, the legendary migration of the wildebeest. Styled to mirror the circular motif of a traditional Maasai ‘Manyatta’, the lodge has been designed to blend international sophistication with raw African beauty. 

It features individual rooms, each with their own balcony and view of eternity, a sky-blue swimming pool and a spectacular restaurant, overlooking a water hole where a fantasia of creatures collect to drink.   Drawing its inspiration from the traditional Maasai cultural motif of a cluster of domed, mud-coloured huts encircled by a ‘Boma’ of brushwood, the Mara Serena offers a rare blend of raw African splendour and sumptuous sophistication. The essentially ethnic décor also draws on a vibrant colour-palette of sun-burst colours, embellished by a unique selection of Maasai art to create the look and feel of a traditional bush encampment.  At the end of an action-packed day, guests can also enjoy a dip in the cool of a natural stone swimming pool, which clings to the edge of the hillside and commands endless views of the magnificence of the Mara. 

Location

The Masai Mara is 170 miles from Nairobi. The lodge also has its own landing strip.

The Background

The Masai Mara National Reserve

When it comes to game-viewing, there is nowhere in Africa richer in wildlife or more eventful in encounters than the Mara. A pristine wilderness of haunting beauty, it promises its visitors a profusion of wildlife, prolific bird life and the unprecedented opportunity of catching up with all the members of the ‘Big Five’ in one morning. 

As to scenery, the 1,800 sq kilometres of this veteran reserve offer the classic mix of African imagery; miles of lion-gold grasslands, shoals of lilac-misted hills, a meandering river, acres of thorn-bush and mile upon mile of undulating wilderness. 

The Miracle of the Migration of the Wildebeest

Known as the ‘greatest show on earth’ the annual migration of up to one and a half million animals between the dry plains of Tanzania and the lush grasslands of Kenya (and back again) has featured as an annual event on Earth’s calendar for the past two million years. And it’s still as extraordinary, enlightening and exciting an event as ever. 

Taking place around the months of August and September the migration is a spectacle, both comic and tragic, that features the epic journey of vast herds of wildebeest between the grasslands of Kenya and Tanzania - flanked by a carnival of other herbivores and stalked by a ruthless pack of predators. As a vivid portrayal of the violence of the concept, ‘survival of the fittest’, this is a spectacle, not always for the faint-hearted, that goes beyond memorable and into momentous.     

Accommodation

The wide-spaced and secluded rooms have been sensitively designed so as to blend seamlessly into the landscape whilst offering magnificent Mara-vistas from their private verandas. As for the interiors, individually styled in exuberant bush colours they feature spacious bathrooms and the calm sophistication of a world-class hotel. 

The lodge offers: 73 Standard rooms, 1 Presidential Suite, 20 double rooms with king-sized beds, 56 twin bedrooms and 5 pairs of connecting rooms. Triple rooms can be requested.  Services include: The all-time favourite, Breakfast by the Hippo Pool, a range of bush dinners, game-drive breakfasts, sundowners at one of the Mara’s many vantage points, private picnics, lunch boxes and specialist cultural entertainments. Express check-in/out. Full housekeeping services (laundry, valet, babysitting, children’s menus/dining shoeshine etc).Full medical back-up and emergency evacuation facilities. Extensively stocked Africana Gift  Shop. Beauty treatments, massage and hairdressing.   Swimming Pool, nature walks, bird watching and game drives. 24-hour Forex facilities. A wide range of board games plus a full library of books on Africa.3 Game Drives daily (in 6-person Land Cruisers with radios and hatch-tops). 

Dining and bars

The traditional safari-styled dining room overlooks the Lodge’s action-packed water hole and features a vibrant bar area, a relaxed candlelit atmosphere and menu choices that include a broad selection of imaginative and traditional safari favourites.  

Conference and event facilities

The Mara Serena Safari Lodge Business/Entertainment Facilities 

State-of-the-art presentation facilities 

To include: A full selection of projection TV, screen, video, video conferencing and audiovisual equipment. 

Full Conference organisation service 

To include: badges, registration desks, delegate packs, delegate services, specialist delegate gifts, secretarial back up and communication links, tailor-made itineraries, private safaris and individually planned and themed menus. 

A full range of imaginative incentive packages and fully tailored accommodation packages is also available.

Magical Mara Weddings and Honeymoons 

Options Include:

• Bush-bowered wedding ceremony
• Individually themed champagne reception – at the lodge or in the bush
• Sumptuous floral arrangements, bouquets and buttonholes
• Private candle-lit honeymoon dinner for two
• Luxurious honeymoon Suite supplied with tropical fruit and chilled champagne
• Cultural Dancing
• Colourful range of guest entertainments
• Photography and videoing of your special day
• Special accommodation packages for the entire wedding party
• Masai Guard of Honour
• Special Occasions
• Services include:
• Individually themed menus
• Bush dinners, starlit bars, Maasai feasts, and poolside cocktails
• Entertaining under canvas – with campfires, hurricane lamps and safari cuisine.
• Specialist cocktails
• Private game drives and savannah picnics
• Champagne sundowners on the hilltop of your choice
• Live music, vivid cultural entertainment
• Dancing – inside or under the stars
• Floral decorations or culturally/colour coordinated style themes
• Individually styled guest gifts

Child-friendly

All Serena lodges are child-friendly and offer: family rooms, additional beds, cots, children’s mealtimes and menus, babysitting services, educational materials, wildlife presentations, guided nature walks.

Other attractions

• Activities and Entertainment
• Daily game drives (Each drive is accompanied by knowledgeable guides and equipped with full safari picnics).
• Balloon safaris over the Mara followed by a champagne breakfast 
• Morning bird walks with our resident naturalist
• Nature trails
• Participation in the Mara Eco Programme 
• Visits to a traditional Maasai Manyatta
• Wildlife and cultural talks, videos and film shows
• Tribal dancing displays nightly
• ‘Sundowners’ at a selection of magnificent Mara lookouts  
• Discovering the brilliance of the local bird life
• Game viewing around the water hole
• Adventure game drives around the Mara eco-system
• Bush dinners
• Swimming in the spectacular natural pool