Samburu Sopa Lodge served as our accommodations in Samburu. We stayed here for two nights. The great thing about this place is that it is located inside the Samburu National Reserve.
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| Samburu Sopa Lodge |
Aside from the great location, the service here is exceptional. Everyone - from the receptionists to the restaurant wait staff to the person manning the souvenir shop - were all professional, courteous, friendly, warm, and genuine. You could tell that they really wanted all their guests to have a wonderful time, whether at the hotel or while on safari. They really made our memorably stay in Samburu even better.
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| Welcome to Samburu Sopa Lodge |
One of the most special moments here was that while we enjoyed a late lunch upon our arrival, we got to see several impalas at a watering hole just outside the restaurant. After a long and tiring flight to Kenya and a long drive from Nairobi to Samburu, getting to see wildlife so close to us while we enjoyed a good meal was so exciting!
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| Impalas at the watering hole next to the restaurant |
We got to see more animals here the next day as we had lunch again, including baboons...
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| Baboons |
...and warthogs (plus a squirrel).
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| Warthogs (with a squirrel in the foreground) |
The rooms here are detached and dispersed over a relatively large area. This meant that we had to walk about 5 minutes or so from the lobby to our rooms. While this can be viewed as a disadvantage, my family and I appreciated this because it allowed us to walk and get a bit of exercise after each of our heavy buffet meals.
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| The rooms in Samburu Sopa Lodge |
I really love the rooms in Samburu Sopa Lodge. There's a lot of space inside...
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| Inside our room |
...and it has a balcony (although we never got to use it since we were out on game drives all the time).
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| The balcony in our room |
There is no fan nor aircon in the rooms but I never found it too hot while we were there. The temperatures go down in the evenings (the coldest temp was about 10-12 degrees Celsius during our stay) so it was actually pretty cool at night.
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| Screen windows allow air to get while keeping most bugs out |
Since the hotel is in the middle of a national reserve, it seems that they are trying to reduce their impact to the environment as much as possible. Upon arrival, we were told that power in the rooms is only available during certain parts of the day (if I recall correctly, it is available for couple of hours in the morning, during lunch time, and for a couple of hours in the evening). That said, there is electricity at the reception 24/7 so whenever we needed to charge our phones or other devices while power was out in our room, we would just ask reception to charge them for us.
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| Reception area |
The receptionist also told us that it is safe to walk to our rooms but if we are worried, especially at night, we can ask for an escort. (We never did.)
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| Pathway to our rooms |
Another memorable moment was that on our first night here, we had a special dinner set up in the bush, just outside the restaurant.
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| Dinner in the bush on our first night at the lodge |
We were regaled with a special performance of Kenyan dances and chanting. It included Adumu, the Maasai jumping dance.
We were told that we had this special dinner because it was a full moon on our first night there. It was a bit dark but it was still a wonderfully unique experience!
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| Full moon on our first night here |
I loved the food at our hotel. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are all buffet and they offer mostly international fare, with a few local items. We also really loved Kenyan coffee!
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| Restaurant at the Samburu Sopa Lodge |
There was a souvenir shop next to the lobby. We bought a few items here.
Samburu Sopa Lodge has an awesome location, the rooms are spacious and comfortable, the food is great, and the staff and service are amazing. There is also a swimming pool but we never got to use it. If you plan to go to Samburu for a safari experience and you are looking for accommodations, Samburu Sopa Lodge is a perfect choice.
Next: Sentrim Elementaita Lodge in Lake Nakuru
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