Giraffe Manor

necessary to book years in advance

Giraffe Manor is located in the Nairobi area of central Kenya.

This beautiful old house dates back to the 1930s when European visitors first started to arrive into East Africa for safaris. With its stately façade and elegant interior, Giraffe Manor has an extraordinary appeal. Guests remark that it is like walking into the film Out of Africa and indeed the main protagonists in that film, Karen Blixen and Denys Finch Hatton surely would have visited the house for dinner parties.

The most fascinating thing about Giraffe Manor is not the house itself, but the resident herd of Rothschild giraffes. These beautiful creatures often visit morning and evening, poking their long necks into the windows in the hope of a treat, before retreating to their forest sanctuary.

Since 1974 the house has been the base of a breeding project which has seen this rare subspecies pulled back from the brink of extinction and in recent years animals have started to be reintroduced into the wild, notably in the areas north of Lake Baringo.

Close to the main house is an annex known as The Retreat, which contains four day rooms (which cannot be used overnight), treatment rooms, sauna, hot tub, gym and infinity swimming pool, along with a small cafe.

Rooms

Guest accommodation at Giraffe Manor is in just twelve rooms, ten of which are designated as superior suites, one family suite and one superior family suite. Each room has its own distinct personality, with elegant furnishings, four-poster beds and spacious bathrooms …

• Finch Hatton Suite : double/twin/family : sleeping up to five, 2 adults and 3 children
• Karen Blixen Suite : as above but suitable for wheelchair users
• Betty, Lynn and Arlene : double (one large bed)
• Daisy, Edd, Jock, Marlon, Salma and Helen : double/twin (one large or two small beds)
• Kelly : twin/double/triple

Activities

Giraffe Manor provides access to the following activities, not all of which are necessarily included in the room rate …

• Giraffe centre
• Giraffe breakfast
• Giraffe tea
• Elephant orphanage
• Karen Blixen Museum
• Shopping and craft centres

Most people try to get through Nairobi as quickly as possible. But those staying at Giraffe Manor usually stay at least one or two nights.

If you specifically want to spend more time in the area, perhaps to visit Nairobi National Park, Langata Giraffe Sanctuary and the Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage, then options in or near the quiet garden suburbs of Langatta and Karen to the southwest can be really rather attractive.

some interesting activities in the area