Borana Lodge

It’s hard to know where to start writing this review, Borana will forever hold a special place in our hearts. The outstanding hospitality, the brilliance of both of guides Patrick and Joseph, the amazing rides across the breathtaking landscape and of course the unparalleled kindness and generosity of Tatiana and her family make Borana truly one of a kind. We loved the horse safaris, galloping with the zebra and riding so close to elephant and rhino will stay with us forever. The dinners in the gorgeous dining room were so lovely and we were so lucky to meet so many likeminded people. Tatiana was just the most gorgeous host, nothing was too much trouble. I could go on forever but there wouldn’t be enough adjectives to describe our stay! Thank you again from the bottom of our hearts and we will absolutely be back, Craig & Charlie

What an extraordinary place, and what an incredible team of people working there. I recommend anybody who has the chance to stay at Borana Lodge does so. 3 generations of my family all stayed there this week, and Tatiana and her team were exceptional at making our stay there some of the most memorable days of our lives, it truly was above and beyond expectations. Big shout out to Peter our guide, his knowledge and enthusiasm even managed to keep our 3 young teenagers enthralled.

It is rare that one finds a place such as Borana Lodge, there are many stunning places in the world, with amazing hotels and fantastic cuisine, sunsets and scenery and Borana is all of that, but somehow the sum of the parts become more ... Borana Lodge is a 5 star hotel, in its own conservation area, in Kenya, with big game and horses to be ridden, that in its self is pretty amazing. It is as you would expect (its not cheap) very well managed, the service is perfect, not to much, not to little, the rooms are incredible, the food superb (the vegan options were very very good - no mean feat) and the game rides, the horse rides (the horses are very well kept and do not hang around!), the guides, all spot on, and that is enough, more than enough. But when you add that this is probably the best example of eco tourism you can find, a true intention to be part of the community, to work with the community, to be sustainable and protect endangered animals and species, then it really becomes something very special. The guides talk about some of the plants and animals having a symbiotic relationship, and for ,me it was the same for the guests and Borana, that was the magic, you by visiting them and choosing to spend your $$ with them allows them to do what they are doing with their mission as a non profit with the community and the animals, whilst having a super luxury experience - and for us, that made this holiday the holiday of the lifetime. Thank you to all of the team for facilitating a very special 5 days for us. (Have intentionally not posted 1000's of photos to keep some of the magic and suprise if you visit)

HORSE BACK RIDING SAFARI PARADISE! INCREDIBLE FARM TO TABLE MEALS!! THE MOST AMAZING WILDLIFE (and we were here after the great migration; you will see everything you ever dreamed of) THE BEST AND MOST CARING STAFF AND MANAGEMENT (Nancy took the best care of us and our room; Patrick is a must for all safari's, Nicholas and Chaz were the best horse trail guides, and Tatiana of course was just a gem and a wonderful host. The masseuses and the massage room setting was magical). FYI- I had an old iphone and let some friends with the great cameras and new phones take the good shots, so I apologize for the quality of some of these. BUSH BREAKFAST- imagine riding up on horse back, ebike, or Land rover to an incredible breakfast setting in the middle of the bush.

My husband and I were lucky enough to stay at Borana Lodge for our first African safari experience. Having had no idea what to expect-other than hopefully seeing some of the wildlife of course-we were absolutely blown away by how incredible the entire team at Borana Lodge was! From the moment we arrived, we were treated as family, not guests. It's clear the team feels passionately about making each person who comes to stay comfortable and welcomed, and at every corner they were willing to go above and beyond to ensure our stay was perfect! From a special private birthday dinner by the pool our first night, wake up calls each morning with hot tea and biscuits to watch the sunrise from our private porch, and periodic chats about how our day is going and checking in on what activities we were interested in participating in, we felt beyond catered to. Some of the small touch highlights included the fire lit in our room each night accompanied by hot water bags placed on each side of the bed to keep it warm while we had dinner and the fresh flowers in our room and on the table for each meal! The attention to detail was impeccable, and went far beyond what I ever could have expected or imagined for our stay. While the entire team deserves only the highest praise, I must extend special thanks and recognize Tatiana for an incredibly warm welcome and generous hospitality from the moment we arrived throughout the entire duration of our stay, to Osman for impeccable attention to detail accompanied by wonderful food selections and adjustments for an admittedly picky couple (easily some of the BEST meals we have ever had-in all of our travels, both at home and abroad-were here at Borana Lodge!), to Kasao for a wonderful knowledge of the wildlife, conservancy, and some of the best driving we've ever seen, and to Nicholas and the entire team at Riding Wild Borana for the most breathtaking guided rides on incredible horses. Getting to see the incredible animals that call Borana Conservancy home was incredible, but it was the stay at Borana Lodge that elevated the experience into something beyond our wildest expectations for this experience. We came to Kenya for the wildlife, but left feeling arguably equally, if not moreso, fulfilled by the amazing team and experience we had at Borana Lodge. If you're on the fence about a stay here, myself and my husband can wholeheartedly say-don't wait another second! I couldn't imagine visiting Kenya any other way, and we're already planning for a visit in the future-and bringing more of our family along for the ride next time!

We visited in August with two 9 year old girls. We all loved Borana Lodge. The room was exceptional and comfortable. It also had a great view. We had the family suite which is essentially two large connected spaces. A special thanks to Millie, the manager, who was exceptional. She was so amazing with the girls and you could see that the excellent customer service at the lodge was guided by her lead. We would return in a minute. Thank you so much for an excellent vacation.

A very special place. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Borana. It's like another world, surrounded by nature and is so peaceful. We enjoyed numerous game drives, a bush breakfast, a riverside picnic, and rhino tracking on foot. As well as a visit to the local farm and ranger centre - which was fascinating! The staff and service was impeccable. A memorable stay that I will treasure for a long time. Thank you to Tat's, Charlie, Ruth, Philip, Mike, and Mercy for your care and welcome. Highly recommended.

This place is outstanding. We built our whole 16-day trip around staying here for a few days and it did not disappoint. We had the Villa with rooms 7 & 8 - wow! Private plunge pool with views of elephants right across the valley, fireplace, amazing living spaces and bathrooms/showers, patio... fantastic. Just as great were all the staff from Issac at our room to all the support and dining staff, to Millia and Tatyana, and Ben, our guide. He was funny, kind, thoughtful and knows so much. Such great energy, truly a special person. The grounds, the game drives, horseback safari, ebike safari, rhino tracking, and behind the scenes at the conservancy... do it all. We even got to see the Masai inauguration which happens every 15 years. If you had 1 place to go in Kenya to experience and see everything (we saw the big 5 in just 2 days, and even a baby zebra being born as we rode by on horseback!), this is it.

It’s hard to know where to start writing this review, Borana will forever hold a special place in our hearts. The outstanding hospitality, the brilliance of both of guides Patrick and Joseph, the amazing rides across the breathtaking landscape and of course the unparalleled kindness and generosity of Tatiana and her family make Borana truly one of a kind. We loved the horse safaris, galloping with the zebra and riding so close to elephant and rhino will stay with us forever. The dinners in the gorgeous dining room were so lovely and we were so lucky to meet so many likeminded people. Tatiana was just the most gorgeous host, nothing was too much trouble. I could go on forever but there wouldn’t be enough adjectives to describe our stay! Thank you again from the bottom of our hearts and we will absolutely be back, Craig & Charlie

What an extraordinary place, and what an incredible team of people working there. I recommend anybody who has the chance to stay at Borana Lodge does so. 3 generations of my family all stayed there this week, and Tatiana and her team were exceptional at making our stay there some of the most memorable days of our lives, it truly was above and beyond expectations. Big shout out to Peter our guide, his knowledge and enthusiasm even managed to keep our 3 young teenagers enthralled.

It is rare that one finds a place such as Borana Lodge, there are many stunning places in the world, with amazing hotels and fantastic cuisine, sunsets and scenery and Borana is all of that, but somehow the sum of the parts become more ... Borana Lodge is a 5 star hotel, in its own conservation area, in Kenya, with big game and horses to be ridden, that in its self is pretty amazing. It is as you would expect (its not cheap) very well managed, the service is perfect, not to much, not to little, the rooms are incredible, the food superb (the vegan options were very very good - no mean feat) and the game rides, the horse rides (the horses are very well kept and do not hang around!), the guides, all spot on, and that is enough, more than enough. But when you add that this is probably the best example of eco tourism you can find, a true intention to be part of the community, to work with the community, to be sustainable and protect endangered animals and species, then it really becomes something very special. The guides talk about some of the plants and animals having a symbiotic relationship, and for ,me it was the same for the guests and Borana, that was the magic, you by visiting them and choosing to spend your $$ with them allows them to do what they are doing with their mission as a non profit with the community and the animals, whilst having a super luxury experience - and for us, that made this holiday the holiday of the lifetime. Thank you to all of the team for facilitating a very special 5 days for us. (Have intentionally not posted 1000's of photos to keep some of the magic and suprise if you visit)

HORSE BACK RIDING SAFARI PARADISE! INCREDIBLE FARM TO TABLE MEALS!! THE MOST AMAZING WILDLIFE (and we were here after the great migration; you will see everything you ever dreamed of) THE BEST AND MOST CARING STAFF AND MANAGEMENT (Nancy took the best care of us and our room; Patrick is a must for all safari's, Nicholas and Chaz were the best horse trail guides, and Tatiana of course was just a gem and a wonderful host. The masseuses and the massage room setting was magical). FYI- I had an old iphone and let some friends with the great cameras and new phones take the good shots, so I apologize for the quality of some of these. BUSH BREAKFAST- imagine riding up on horse back, ebike, or Land rover to an incredible breakfast setting in the middle of the bush.

My husband and I were lucky enough to stay at Borana Lodge for our first African safari experience. Having had no idea what to expect-other than hopefully seeing some of the wildlife of course-we were absolutely blown away by how incredible the entire team at Borana Lodge was! From the moment we arrived, we were treated as family, not guests. It's clear the team feels passionately about making each person who comes to stay comfortable and welcomed, and at every corner they were willing to go above and beyond to ensure our stay was perfect! From a special private birthday dinner by the pool our first night, wake up calls each morning with hot tea and biscuits to watch the sunrise from our private porch, and periodic chats about how our day is going and checking in on what activities we were interested in participating in, we felt beyond catered to. Some of the small touch highlights included the fire lit in our room each night accompanied by hot water bags placed on each side of the bed to keep it warm while we had dinner and the fresh flowers in our room and on the table for each meal! The attention to detail was impeccable, and went far beyond what I ever could have expected or imagined for our stay. While the entire team deserves only the highest praise, I must extend special thanks and recognize Tatiana for an incredibly warm welcome and generous hospitality from the moment we arrived throughout the entire duration of our stay, to Osman for impeccable attention to detail accompanied by wonderful food selections and adjustments for an admittedly picky couple (easily some of the BEST meals we have ever had-in all of our travels, both at home and abroad-were here at Borana Lodge!), to Kasao for a wonderful knowledge of the wildlife, conservancy, and some of the best driving we've ever seen, and to Nicholas and the entire team at Riding Wild Borana for the most breathtaking guided rides on incredible horses. Getting to see the incredible animals that call Borana Conservancy home was incredible, but it was the stay at Borana Lodge that elevated the experience into something beyond our wildest expectations for this experience. We came to Kenya for the wildlife, but left feeling arguably equally, if not moreso, fulfilled by the amazing team and experience we had at Borana Lodge. If you're on the fence about a stay here, myself and my husband can wholeheartedly say-don't wait another second! I couldn't imagine visiting Kenya any other way, and we're already planning for a visit in the future-and bringing more of our family along for the ride next time!

We visited in August with two 9 year old girls. We all loved Borana Lodge. The room was exceptional and comfortable. It also had a great view. We had the family suite which is essentially two large connected spaces. A special thanks to Millie, the manager, who was exceptional. She was so amazing with the girls and you could see that the excellent customer service at the lodge was guided by her lead. We would return in a minute. Thank you so much for an excellent vacation.

A very special place. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Borana. It's like another world, surrounded by nature and is so peaceful. We enjoyed numerous game drives, a bush breakfast, a riverside picnic, and rhino tracking on foot. As well as a visit to the local farm and ranger centre - which was fascinating! The staff and service was impeccable. A memorable stay that I will treasure for a long time. Thank you to Tat's, Charlie, Ruth, Philip, Mike, and Mercy for your care and welcome. Highly recommended.

This place is outstanding. We built our whole 16-day trip around staying here for a few days and it did not disappoint. We had the Villa with rooms 7 & 8 - wow! Private plunge pool with views of elephants right across the valley, fireplace, amazing living spaces and bathrooms/showers, patio... fantastic. Just as great were all the staff from Issac at our room to all the support and dining staff, to Millia and Tatyana, and Ben, our guide. He was funny, kind, thoughtful and knows so much. Such great energy, truly a special person. The grounds, the game drives, horseback safari, ebike safari, rhino tracking, and behind the scenes at the conservancy... do it all. We even got to see the Masai inauguration which happens every 15 years. If you had 1 place to go in Kenya to experience and see everything (we saw the big 5 in just 2 days, and even a baby zebra being born as we rode by on horseback!), this is it.