Last week I did a packing guide on what to pack for an African Safari. But before we go to the Safari experience itself, I want to tell you all about our stay at the Giraffe Manor! I first saw a picture of giraffes poking their heads into windows in an Ivy covered building on Pinterest, and couldn’t believe such a place existed. When I searched where it was, Kenya, I never thought I would ever visit this place. However, a year later, when we were planning our honeymoon, we decided to go to Kenya. Because Gursheel was born there and he wanted to go on a safari, it was perfect. I decided to include a trip to Giraffe Manor so we could have the trip of a lifetime!

 

Before going to Giraffe Manor, I was excited but didn’t know what to expect. I imagined it to be amazing, however, I had greatly underestimated how amazing it actually is! It’s unreal and I still can’t believe we stayed there. Even when we were there, I was constantly saying, “This is unreal, this is amazing, I can’t believe I’m actually here”. It looked amazing and I even got a picture that looked exactly like the one I first saw on Pinterest…

Giraffe Manor is owned by the Safari Collection, who own a bunch of other luxury camps and lodges in Kenya. When looking to book a room at the Giraffe Manor, we were shocked to see how much it costs!! A LOT!! You can look at the pricing on their website to see how much a room will cost you, depending on the season you go, and the room you stay in.

To make it more affordable, we decided to stay just one night at Giraffe Manor and started doing research into other agencies that can plan your trip for you. We negotiated with several agencies to plan our entire Kenya trip, and I recommend the same because we ended up saving over $1000 USD at the end! And if you are going there for you honeymoon, you can get special rates as well! We ended up choosing Mahlatini and had a good experience with them.

One thing I absolutely loved about Giraffe Manor was their decor!!! I love it, it is amazing and you see giraffes literally everywhere. There are giraffe art prints, giraffe-shaped candles, giraffe pillows as well as a chess set carved into animals including giraffes!! The aesthetic at Giraffe Manor is very similar to my style and I loved admiring all of its finishing details…

But the most beautiful room was our room!! The rooms at Giraffe Manor are named after the giraffes and we stayed in Betty’s room, which apparently is the best! And I agree.. I absolutely loved everything about it…

But the best part… Giraffes came to our windows!!…

And our balcony…

But the ABSOLUTE MOST AMAZING part about Giraffe Manor is breakfast! Not only was the food delicious (they accomodated our vegan/vegetarian diet), but the staff were amazing and giraffes literally came to our tables as we ate!

And I had to take a selfie, with a giraffe of course 😛 …

It was magical!

During our stay at Giraffe Manor, we also went to Giraffe Center, which is where the Rothschild giraffes go during the day and is open to the public. So, even if you can’t afford to stay at Giraffe Manor (which I highly recommend btw), I suggest going to Giraffe Center, for which you just have to pay a park fee and will be able to take pictures with the giraffes and get to feed them as well. This is a picture of me feeding one of the giraffes at Giraffe Center…

Another place we went to was the David Sheldrick Animal Orphanage, which is free for the public. We, however, donated an elephant and were able to go in the evening when the orphanage is only open to those who have donated an animal. This is a perfect time to go because the orphanage isn’t as busy and it’s not so hot outside either. Also, it was amazing, because it was where we saw our first and only Rhinoceros in Kenya (we didn’t get so lucky to see them in the wild in the Maasai Mara)…

Next week: Part 2 of our trip to Kenya, the Maasai Mara 🙂