Nairobi: Giraffe Manor
Honestly, when it comes to hotel accommodation, my needs are minimal. Is it in a good location? Is it relatively cheap? Is it clean (and even then, I’m willing to apply a sliding scale when grading cleanliness, based on cost and convenience)? I’ve slept comfortably in 16-person dorms, platform tents and a Japanese “capsule” the size of a twin bed. Usually, my rationale is that I’d rather spend money on an experience than a hotel. But sometimes, the hotel is the experience, and then it’s worth shelling out a bit more than I’d ordinarily consider. I paid extra for a pyramid view in Giza, and chose a hotel with a rooftop pool overlooking the Hong Kong skyline. And on my visit to Kenya, I decided it would be worthwhile to pay a premium to share breakfast with a giraffe.
I keep imagining the Jurassic Park guy intoning “Welcome... to Giraffe Manor.” But maybe that’s just me.
Giraffe Manor started its life as a lodge for safari tourists in the 1930s. Built on the then-outskirts of Nairobi and designed to resemble a Scottish hunting lodge, it became famous as the home of a small heard of Rothschild giraffes that have the run of the place. They wander about, both gangly and elegant, hitting up guests for grass pellets and being generally delightful.
The Rothschild giraffes are an endangered subspecies of giraffe. The most obvious way to tell a Rothschild from the more common reticulated giraffe is by looking at the coat (Rothschilds have a softer brown-orange pattern on a creamy beige background, and no markings on their lower legs so they look like they’re wearing stockings) and the number of ossicones on their head (most giraffes have 2, Rothschilds have 5 - one in front of and behind each ear and one in the center of the head). There are fewer than 2,000 of them in the wild. The manor participates in a breeding program to preserve the subspecies and expand the gene pool.
The giraffes drift over to the manor for breakfast (from around 6am to 9am) and for tea (around 5 pm). The nearby Giraffe Center is a 2-minute stroll across the grounds (a hotel staff member will escort you, carrying a stick to ward off curious warthogs). The giraffes tend to hang out there during the peak of the day because it offers some shade as well as tourist happy to feed them grass pellets, so that’s a good time to wander over and take a look at them from a slightly different vantage point.
If you go: The hotel itself is very small - only 6 rooms in the main hotel, and another 6 rooms in the adjacent Garden Manor. It books up months in advance, and often people plan their entire trip around staying at Giraffe Manor, so the earlier you decide to go the better your chances of getting a room. I waged a campaign of frequent emails and constantly checking their availability page and managed to score a last-minute room quite literally the day before I left for Kenya. It is pricey, but all transportation and meals are included. Even laundry is included in the price.
One of the many lovely lounges. The hotel is beautifully appointed, and the meals are excellent.
Me and handsome Edd
