My cabin door at the Keekorok Lodge in Masai Mara
Keekorok Lodge, located in the heart of the Masai Mara Game Reserve, has 87 standard rooms, 10 chalets, 1 presidential suite, and 1 executive suite with 3 bedrooms.
My Room at the Keekorok Lodge, Masai Mara Game Reserve, was a standard room was a brick bungalow with a private veranda. The room backed up to the hippo pond and the reserve. While the photo on the website shows a double bed, my room actually had two twin beds pushed together but made-up separately.
The bungalows are older and not airtight, so bugs get into the room. You are provided with a mosquito net, which is appreciated at night after you’ve had the lights on for a bit and the bugs have gathered. The beds were pretty comfortable; the pillows very soft but didn’t have much body to them.
My room at the Keekorok Lodge in Masai Mara
The beds only have a comforter—no sheets—but as the temperatures get pretty chilly at night (40s and 50s while I was there in July) you welcome the warmth of the comforter. Rooms are equipped with fans, but no heaters. You’ll want to make sure your windows are shut before you go to bed.
There are about 4 hours in the middle of the night when the power is turned off for conservation, but the room is provided with an emergency light (big flashlight) so you can see if you need to get up.
Vervets playing behind and on my veranda
There are no TVs in the room. I rather enjoyed watching and listening off my veranda for hours—hearing hippos, hear zebras grazing at night, and watching the vervets play. Wi-fi is available, but the connection is spotty and weak and only available in some areas. The fee was steeper than most hotels at 500 KES for 1 hour or 1,200 KES for 24 hours.
The first night I was there, I was awoken in the middle of the night by the sound of what I figured to be zebras—a little horse-type snorting and the sounds of grazing. I went onto the veranda, but couldn’t see anything; I could only hear them. The next morning I found a fresh pile of dung about 15 to 20 feet away from my veranda. The hotel staff confirmed it was Zebra dung. The next night while walking back from dinner, I could hear and see the zebras grazing in front of the rooms!
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Hello Merlot Mommy!
I’m so happy to see your review of Keekorok Lodge! Your photos look amazing and make me happy that I will be going there.
I have recently booked a stay there for 2014. While my research has turned up mostly very favorable information, I have encountered a couple new disturbing reviews. I am primarily concerned about cleanliness (of bathrooms particlularly), food quality/safety, and general ability to protect against mosquitos and biting insects in the cabins.
From what I can tell, the unhappy people were put into lodges not normally given to guests (and used for employee housing) due to overbooking; or they were in what appears to be one of a few lodges that are not as well maintained.
Any additional insight or tips you could provide would be greatly appreciated! Was your trip to Masai Mara in July 2013?
Hi, Lorraine! You are going to have a wonderful stay! My trip was in July 2013. So amazing! The Keekorok is the oldest lodge in the Mara. The bathrooms were older, but far from unclean. As far as bugs, well, there are a lot of bugs. The cabins are older and not air tight, but I stayed two nights and really had almost no bug bites at all. The mosquito net did its job, for sure. I brought bug spray but found I really didn’t need it. The food was very good. I’m a super picky eater (and a bit of a freak about food safety/storage) and found plenty to eat at each meal. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed if you stay at the Keekorok. I would go back in a heartbeat.
This sounds so nice, what it lacks in creature comforts makes up for it with the excitement! I’d love to do a trip like this!