Olerai House

We live in Kampala Uganda , have seen many places in Kenya and beyond, and we consider Olerai House a nice place.

The breakfast and lunch in the garden, with a great sun, and a great view over its private park, with zebras and giraffes strolling around. Very peaceful.

Nice walks. Even a swimming pool (in the main house, 800m walk).

We stayed here for the first two nights of the safari, rather than spending the first night in Nairobi.

I would recommend doing this as it took us under two hours to reach the house (and this included a stop at a viewing point of the rift valley).

Other Hotels and Holiday Lodges in Naivasha

This meant we could be close to wildlife much sooner – a night in Nairobi would have felt like we were still waiting for the safari to begin!

On arrival we were greeted with juice and taken to our room – which was a more like a large wooden hut with a four poster bed and a bay window, which was surrounded by a cushioned window seat that could have seated 10!

The room and bathroom were clean (with mossie nets) and beautifully decorated but it was the view that stole the show, right outside the window we could gaze at zebras, gazelles and giraffes – and they were so close – a truly beautiful sight to start our first trip to Kenya.

By the end of the holiday I would be complacent about seeing a Zebra, but at this point we whisked out the camera and spent hours taking photos of this beautiful place.

But not only is the room and grounds stunning, I liked the location too, we did some great trips from here, boating on the lake with hippos and then walking with grazing animals on Crescent Island afterwards (unmissable).

Walking though hells gate was so much fun (but a guide is essential – I couldn’t have completed it without ours due to some of the steep sections he had to drag me up)! We also spent time walking around the grounds of the house with a guide, spotting many animals (monkeys to waterbuck) and birds (including fish eagles).

Every time we came back to the beautiful area around the rooms (where breakfast and lunch would be served outside) we would be greeted with coffee and cake.

And ooooo… the food – it was incredible! As people have said they grow the vegetables there, and serve meals to you (rather than buffets you often get), the food was far better than anything we had for the rest of the holiday – the food was so tasty it was so difficult to pace yourself through the courses!

They even provided us with an incredible hamper for packed lunch (including beers!) – again of a much better quality of food than we had else where.

In summary I adored this place, and compared all others to it, none had this level of magic (only one came close)! When we return to Kenya we will be altering routes to fit this fantastic place in, I still miss it now, four months on…

Olerai House is a beautiful country home set on the shores of Lake Naivasha in Kenya's Great Rift Valley. Painted ochre-red, it nestles under yellow acacia trees and purple jacarandas and is fanned by a cool breeze from the shores of Lake Naivasha and is watched over in the far distance by the extinct blue volcano of Mount Longonot

Olerai House Overlooks a waterhole, with views across the plains to Mt. Longonot. Sweet smelling jasmine, home baked biscuits and country flowers welcome you to this charming farm house.

The property has its own game sanctuary and guests can walk amongst herds of zebra, giraffe, eland and other antelopes.

At night hippos emerge from the lake to graze on the lawns - an unforgettable sight to see these lumbering animals outside your bedroom window.

Accommodation is offered in five rooms which are beautifully furnished with natural materials and decorated with local art and colourful fabrics. Each room has its own special character and ensuite bathroom.

Guests at Olerai can enjoy a romantic cruise on Lake Naivasha in a beautiful Gondola, do walks and hikes in the sanctuary, go birdwatching, swim at the Sirocco House pool or do a day's excursion on the lake.

Location:

Olerai is located on Lake Naivasha in Kenya's Great Rift Valley. It is 100 km from Nairobi, the capital of Kenya - or 20 minutes by plane.

Accommodation:

Olerai Lodge has 5 enchanting double rooms with en-suite bathrooms.

General facilities:

Dining room

Lounge

Swimming pool

Golf course

Game drives

Cycling

Bird watching

Fishing

Horse riding

Hiking