Masai Lodge, Kitengela Glass Art, Rolf's Place
Living in Nairobi during the times of COVID-19 got less exciting since the travel ban blocked our amazing weekend trips as of March 16th. As an alternative to ease our boredom, we started to discover what’s in the city that would make us feel as if we are not in the city for a while.
Having this purpose, we decided to experience different accommodation options. Oh and this was only in May because we realized that the lockdown is not going to end anytime soon. We convinced ourselves that a little bit of socializing would not hurt us as long as we keep being attentive to hygiene standards.
Our first weekend out of home was Masai Lodge, located in the South of Nairobi National Park. It is not a small complex, but since there are no foreign tourists anymore, there were only a few guests other than us. The rooms are little huts with a view of NNP. The beds are comfortable, and each hut has a terrace where you can enjoy a drink by the sunset. The lodge is not luxurious, however, it gives you all the comfort you need. It’s very clean. And as we were informed, because of COVID-19 they do not rent the same room in a row. They clean the room and keep it vacant for a night before they offer it to a new guest. The lodge has a nice pool, clean and big enough to enjoy swimming.
Service is a little slow and might be problematic. We were a group of four this weekend and our dinner order ended up being a big failure. Our meals were served too late and wrong. Though, everything was delicious. I come from a country where the service is mostly very satisfying, therefore I cannot help myself but criticize such things. But when you live in Kenya, you get used to it in time.
The lodge does not provide much other than the pool and sunset. However, around the lodge, there are a few things you can do to fill your day. First of all, of course, Nairobi National Park is a great option and it’s just next to the lodge. You can spend a full morning or a full afternoon doing a game drive in the park. Nairobi is famous for it, the only city that has a national park within. It’s kind of cool seeing the city behind a lion, I cannot deny. Second, there is a little Bohemian place called Kitengela near the Masai Lodge. This place has two glass ateliers one of them is the famous Anselm – famous because they are doing recycled blown glassware and have stores in two malls, Junction Mall and Village Market in Nairobi. They have nice glass art and normally we could watch the glass maestro blowing the glass by the fire. However, again due to COVID-19, it was not active. So we could only visit the place and the shop. Third, there is this restaurant/hotel called Rolf’s Place. It has an iconic bridge from the car park to the place. If you do not consume anything during your visit, they charge 100 KES for just crossing the bridge. We went there for lunch, the food was all right. The place is a bit tired but still worths a visit. The hotel takes his name from the past owner called Rolf, who as we were informed was a German man, passed away some years ago. I did not see the rooms, but the main building was interesting with its rustic / somehow Kenyan touch. Again, the food is not extraordinary, but they are doing fine.
One night away from home in May made us very happy, and helped us discover a few new spots in Nairobi.
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