For sure without a doubt, Kenya is home to some of the most beautiful luxury camps and resorts in the world; gems that keep us ranking amongst the very best on the global tourism and travel industry.
Mahali Mzuri, which means “beautiful place” in Swahili, has just been named the no. 1 hotel in T+L’s World’s Best Awards. Mahali Mzuri is Sir Richard Branson’s 12-tented luxury safari camp located in the private Olare Motorogi Conservancy in the wider Maasai Mara ecosystem in Kenya.
A press statement just released and published on the Mahali Mzuri website says, “We are delighted to announce that Mahali Mzuri has been voted the #1 Hotel in the World in the Travel + Leisure Awards 2021! We are thrilled to have won this prestigious award and want to say a huge thank you to everyone who voted for us – we are so grateful! We are also very happy to have won the #1 Safari Lodge in the 2021 Awards, so we have plenty of reasons to celebrate!”
According to Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards Sir Richard Branson’s majestic safari camp in the Masai Mara is “just perfect.” The seemingly space-age tents somehow rise up out of the landscape and blend in with it simultaneously. Wildlife remains abundant in the surrounding bush — ideal for the twice-daily game drives — and the guides are extremely knowledgeable. One respondent raved about the “excellent service,” adding that “the hospitality provided at Mahali Mzuri resembles the name,” which means beautiful place in Swahili. Another reader says simply that it’s “the best luxurious camp to visit on the African continent.”
The Luxury camp officially opened its doors in the year 2013 when owner Sir Richard Branson hosted President Uhuru Kenyatta at this luxury pad in the Masai Mara. ” Mahali Mzuri was built to protect large areas of the land that act as pathways for Africa’s famous Great Migration. Positioned within the Maasai Mara ecosystem, the camp has a front row view of the wild and roaming game of the Great Migration. The Migration was over by the time I visited, but the wonderful thing about visiting MahaliMzuri is the area surrounding it is such a perfect place for many of the animals that they don’t leave,” Sir Richard Branson.
In an interview with a travel magazine, Sir Richard noted that the destination that surprised him was Kenya. “The first time I went to Kenya I was still a teenager and had the privilege of visiting the Mara when there were almost no vehicles. It was absolutely magical. I also flew in the first balloon that had been introduced to Kenya. It truly felt like how Africa must have felt hundreds of years ago. This is exactly the feeling we try to recreate at Mahali Mzuri.”
Each of the 12 luxurious tents are designed to be your home away from home throughout your stay, with an en suite bathroom, inviting private deck and views. There are six tents on either side of the Main Tent, each accessible by a walkway, the furthest of which is approximately a five minute walk from the Main Tent. Ten of the suites can be configured with either king or twin beds and two of the suites are four poster king size beds designed to accommodate up to two additional children on sofa beds in the living room. They can cater for a maximum of 24 guests in the camp at any one time.
(all pictures courtesy of Micato safaris and Mahali Mzuri)