Hotel Review: Giraffe Manor, Nairobi

Ever since I saw a photograph of my friend sitting in the breakfast room of a grand old manor house, a giraffe stretching its long neck through the window, I’ve been intrigued by Giraffe Manor. As a South African who grew up going on authentic family safari holidays – the self-drive kind where sightings aren’t guaranteed – I questioned whether the hotel was more spectacle than substance. 

Yes, feeding giraffes that are poking their heads through your bedroom window will always be a hook – but at its core, I quickly discovered Giraffe Manor is a serious working conservation project, which relies on that very visibility to sustain it.

Once a 1930s private home modelled on a Scottish hunting lodge, the manor was bought in 1974 by conservationists Jock and Betty Leslie-Melville, who set about turning it into a sanctuary for the endangered Rothschild’s giraffe. Set within 12 acres of private gardens inside a further 140 acres of protected indigenous forest in Nairobi’s Langata suburb, the property has evolved into both a boutique hotel and a working conservation base, with generations of giraffes bred here before being relocated to national parks and private conservancies across Kenya. In 2009, it was acquired and restored by The Safari Collection, who expanded the manor while preserving its longstanding partnership with the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife.

Today, Giraffe Manor comprises just 12 rooms, spread between the original ivy-clad house and a newer garden manor extension that slots seamlessly into the estate’s Scottish baronial 1930s aesthetic, with polished wood floors, open fireplaces, four poster beds and sash windows framing the lawns where giraffes wander at will. Rooms in the original manor house are reserved for guests combining their stay with other Safari Collection properties, while first-time visitors can opt for the Garden Manor, where three rooms offer the same close proximity to the giraffes.

A few years ago, the offering expanded with the launch of The Retreat, a dedicated wellness space set just beyond the main house, with an infinity pool overlooking the sanctuary, hot tub, steam room and treatment rooms, alongside a relaxed restaurant and private day rooms available for early arrivals or late departures.

Back at the main lodge, more recent additions include the Finch Hatton Family Suite and The Orchid House & Wine Cellar. The latter can be booked for private dining among 150 orchids, with an adjoining walk-in cellar housing a curated selection of African wines. There is also a new coffee garden experience, which explores Kenya’s caffeinated heritage.

This all comes together in a stay that feels polished while keeping conservation firmly at its core. Beyond the house, the giraffe sanctuary remains open to day visitors for a modest entrance fee, allowing guests and locals alike to feed the giraffes from raised platforms and learn about the breeding programme that began here in the 1970s. Entrance fees fund the on-site work of the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife, while hotel stays feed into The Safari Collection’s wider Footprint Foundation.

Days here start at 6am, when the giraffes amble up to your bedroom window in search of pellets, followed by breakfast in the dining room, where they continue their rounds, stretching their heads through the sash windows. The day is yours until afternoon tea, when they often drift back into the garden, though as free-roaming animals their appearances are never guaranteed, particularly during a birth or after a loss within the herd.

Each meal is served as a three-course set menu, with dishes such as roasted beetroot salad with orange and fennel or Swahili Nile perch kebabs, though the kitchen was happy to adapt, producing an excellent chicken sandwich for me one afternoon without hesitation.

As with much of Kenya, it’s the people who define the experience, and the service was warm and genuine. What set it apart, though, was the jar of Marmite waiting for me at breakfast, word having travelled from a previous hotel that I’d asked for it.

C&TH Key Notes

– Don’t miss: A visit to the sanctuary to understand the breeding programme, followed by a few unhurried hours at The Retreat between breakfast and afternoon tea.

– Room to request: The Marlon Superior Room. Its balcony sits at the ideal height for giraffe encounters and, positioned away from the main breakfast room, is less likely to compete for their attention at feeding time.

– You should know: Breakfast, lunch and dinner are included, alongside select house drinks and daily laundry.

– Best bit of the room: The balcony rooms, which offer extra outdoor space and front-row access to the giraffes.

THE LAST WORD

It would be easy to dismiss Giraffe Manor as a novelty, but it earns its reputation through the conservation that makes that moment possible.

BOOK IT

The Superior Rooms at Giraffe Manor start at £1,000, including meals, select house drinks and laundry. thesafaricollection.com