Giraffe Manor
An iconic boutique hotel in Nairobi’s Langata suburb where giraffes take centre stage
Lounges, library, breakfast room, dining rooms, garden dining, wellness centre, and café
A total of 12 rooms between the original building and the newer garden manor, including two family suites
Breakfast with the giraffes, Giraffe Centre, Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, Nairobi National Park, Karen Blixen Museum, horseriding, orchid house, and lawn games
Our Yellow Zebra Opinion
-
Indulgent and iconic
Activities
Giraffe Manor offers plenty of activities for the family, mostly centred on the resident giraffes for whom the property is renowned.
Breakfast with giraffes
Giraffe Centre
Sheldrick Wildlife Trust
Nairobi National Park
Karen Blixen Museum
Horseriding
Orchid House
Lawn games
-
Breakfast or afternoon tea with the giraffes is an absolute highlight of staying at Giraffe Manor. Watch these gentle giants gently poke their long necks through the windows, searching for grass pellets – a rare and truly special encounter reserved for a privileged few.
Nairobi’s beloved allows visitors close-up encounters with the resident Rothschild’s giraffes from an elevated feeding platform. It’s run by the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife, and there’s an area where you can learn about the fund’s work and find out some interesting facts about this gentle, endangered species.
The is renowned for its orphan elephant rescue and rehabilitation program, and meeting the elephants at their Nairobi Nursery is an absolute highlight if you’re transiting through the city. From 11am until midday daily, guests can visit the young elephants for their mud bath and milk feed at the orphanage in Nairobi National Park. Access is by advance booking only.
Located on the city’s southern outskirts, is an extraordinary wild space, home to an impressive wildlife population, including lion, leopard, hyena, and more than fifty black rhino. Stretched against a backdrop of towering skyscrapers, the park is unique to Nairobi and worth visiting if you’re on an extended stay.
Set up in the home that once belonged to Danish writer Karen Blixen, of Out of Africa acclaim, the is a journey back in time, featuring antique furniture, artwork, and memorabilia offering guests a glimpse into a bygone era. The museum gardens are beautiful, and there’s also a nature trail and gift shop on site.
Malo stables offer wonderful forest horse rides with views of the Ngong Hills, led by professional hosts. Various riding options are available, and we can even include an alfresco lunch. We recommend you book in advance and note that a 50 per cent deposit is required to secure the booking.
Orchid House is a beautiful, light-filled room in the manor where guests can go to read, meditate, or sketch one of the 150 orchids growing there. With prior notice, we can even arrange a candlelit private dinner in this lovely setting.
You might like to try croquet or boules outside on the manor lawns. Alternatively, at The Retreat next door, they have giant Jenga – great fun for all the family.
Make an EnquiryFacilities
Both buildings have communal spaces, including inviting lounges and dining rooms.
The original manor is home to the iconic ‘sun room’, where inquisitive giraffes poke their heads through the windows over breakfast and afternoon tea, and there’s a library with a selection of books, games, and a handmade chessboard. Guests dine together around a long table in the formal dining room, and a traditional afternoon tea is served outside on the manicured lawns. Next door, there’s a wellness centre called The Retreat with a 21-metre infinity pool, fully equipped gym, steam room, sauna, and hot tub. Massage and beauty treatments are offered, using premium organic brand Healing Earth products. Daisy’s Café is also located here, and guests can choose from a selection of juices and smoothies or sit down to a meal from the seasonal à la carte menu.
Make an EnquiryAmenities
Guest accommodation at Giraffe Manor consists of 12 rooms and suites split between the original 1932 building and the newer Garden Manor.
Each building has five double/twin rooms, named after giraffes who have roamed the manor’s grounds, and a suite suitable for families. Please be aware that the original manor rooms are reserved for guests staying at one of The Safari Collection’s other properties. All units have a chic country-house aesthetic and special features such as toasty fireplaces, stained-glass windows, four-poster beds, and parquet floors. Some also have balconies, windows, or verandas, from which you can feed the giraffes with the provided grass pellets (the giraffes have access to the rooms named Kelly, Helen, Lynn, Marlon, Jock, Daisy, Betty, and the Karen Blixen Suite). You’ll find a double or twin bed/s, bedside tables with reading lights, a seating arrangement, a writing desk, and a tea-and-coffee station. The en-suite washrooms are often slightly quirky, with a shower, twin washbasins, a flush toilet, and some with a bathtub (please let us know if you have specific preferences, and we’ll help you select the appropriate room). The duplex Finch Hatton Suite has a fireplace ideal for keeping warm on chilly Nairobi evenings. It accommodates two adults on the ground floor and two to three children in a loft mezzanine accessed via a spiral staircase. At 113m2, the largest unit is the Karen Blixen Suite, on the top floor of the original manor house. Here, you’ll find a king-sized bed in the master bedroom and an interleading twin room with an additional daybed suitable for a young child.
Similar Lodges
-
Tribe Hotel
Enquire for pricing Contact Us for pricing detailsWith a keen emphasis on modern African art, Tribe offers a completely different experience from the ‘Out of Africa’ approach so often encountered in Kenya and other countries. It has a much more contemporary feel, not least due to its location in the grounds…
-
The Emakoko
From £648 – £648 ppThe Emakoko has loads to recommend it, whether you are looking for a stopover for a couple of nights or a longer stay! With very comfortable accommodation and an interesting mix of activities, this is one of the leading lodges in the region. Highly…
-
Ololo Lodge
Enquire for pricing Contact Us for pricing detailsWe reckon Ololo is really lovely, though sadly we cannot quite get over the noise of airplanes that fly overhead and so we do not suggest it to our travellers very often. But a heavy sleeper who could overlook this feature, will find a really stunning place…
-
Ole Sereni
Enquire for pricing Contact Us for pricing detailsOle-Sereni is a conveniently located city hotel near Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on the north side of Nairobi National Park. In a city with as much traffic as Kenya’s sprawling capital, close proximity to the airport is a major perk,…
-
Karen Gables
From £187 – £187 ppKaren Gables is privately owned and run. It’s a Cape Dutch-style building, with rounded gables and white-washed walls. The accommodation is booked on a B&B basis, including parking and Wi-Fi. Exclusive bookings are available, and children of all ages are…
-
Karen Blixen Coffee Garden Cottages
Enquire for pricing Contact Us for pricing detailsKaren Blixen Coffee Garden & Cottages is the site of the original farmhouse on Karen Blixen’s old coffee farm estate in what is now one of Nairobi ’s prettiest, most upscale residential suburbs. More of a tranquil countryside idyll than a city hotel, it’s a…
-
House Of Waine
From £291 – £291 ppThe House of Waine is a lovely hideaway for travellers before or after a safari or beach holiday. It is also well suited to business guests, with its first-rate service within a stunning setting!
-
Hemingways Nairobi
From £380 – £470 ppHemingways Nairobi is perfect for travellers who wish to explore the city and surrounds from a very comfortable base. This hotel really is very high spec – a high score from Yellow Zebra! Hemingways has been rated the fifth-best hotel in Nairobi and is an…
What our Customers say
Talk to someone who’s been there
Real expertise doesn’t come from a few trips to Africa. All our specialists have either been guides, run the camps, or grown up and lived in Africa. That’s over 600 years of genuine safari experience.As Seen In
