In the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain, beside a copse of giant Acacia trees and a gently flowing natural spring, stands Amboseli Serena - one of Africa's finest safari lodges. All around the lodge roams the big game that have made East Africa legendary - lion, buffalo, cheetah, giraffe, baboon, gazelle and wildebeest. More wild elephant can be seen in Amboseli National Park than almost anywhere else on the continent.

With Kilimanjaro's 6,000 meter snow-capped peaks presiding over the landscape, the setting is unrivalled. Influenced by native Masai architecture, the lodge is in perfect harmony with its environment. Beautifully landscaped gardens, unique guest services and exceptional amenities enhance the distinctive ambience.

The uniquely constructed guest rooms, individually appointed with authentic Africana and murals painted by a renowned local artist, convey a distinctive Masai Manyatta mood. Grouped in the manner of a Masai village, each room enjoys a view of either majestic Mount Kilimanjaro or the expansive Amboseli plains which are home to herds of elephant that feed on the large, feathery acacia trees.

GUEST ROOM INFORMATION

 

Total guest rooms: (all en suite with bath and shower)	96
Rooms with two twin beds:	86
Rooms with one twin bed:	10
Inter-connecting rooms:	17
Check in time:	14:00
Check out time:	12:00

Overlooking the saltlick and floodlit waterhole, the open air dining room serves guests sumptuous international menus, buffets and barbecues alongside authentic African dishes. The full service bar - located next to the dining room - serves fresh fruit juices, soft drinks, tea and coffee, cocktails, wines, spirits and liqueurs. There is another small bar by the outdoor pool.

At least once a week guests are treated to a traditional African feast that is accompanied by Masai tribal dancing. At this special event, guest tables overlook the waterhole where the big game gathers.

Seating capacity of dining room: 125

 

Breakfast:	7:00 am to 9:00 am
Lunch:	12:30 pm to 2:30 pm
Dinner:	7:30 pm to 9:30 pm

 

To many, Amboseli Serena is the very essence of African "safari" country. Your day begins with tea or coffee, before you set out for an exhilarating dawn safari drive. Game viewing is best at this time of the day. Virtually every common species of East African wildlife may be seen at Amboseli Serena including lions, giraffes, wildebeests, wart hogs, zebras, gazelles, topi, hyneas, ostrich, hippos and baboons. But, against the backdrop of the snow-capped peaks of Mt. Kilimanjaro, it is the elephants that play the leading role. Amboseli National Park has the most accessible viewing of elephants anywhere in the world. It is also home to hundreds of species of wetland and wild birds.

Overlooking the sparkling swimming pool and beautiful landscaped gardens, the verandah also offers guests exceptional game viewing.

The lodge has four landcruisers which can seat 6 persons each. Game drives across the plains of Amboseli National Park are scheduled daily.

Daily Excursion Schedules:

Early morning from 6:30 am to 8:30 am
Morning from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Afternoon from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm

Indeed, there is a blaze of euphoria that seems to accompany game-viewing trips to the bush, but there are other unique offerings and events that guests are invited to experience at Amboseli Serena.

• With just a day's advance notice, guests can be treated to a private Mountain High breakfast (an afternoon tea in this same location can also be arranged).
• Traditional Masai feasts and tribal dancing. Dining tables overlook a floodlit waterhole where the big game gathers and are canopied by the vast acacia thorn trees.
• With advance notice the lodge can arrange a "Champagne Sundowner" at Observation Hill.
• There are daily guided nature/bird walks through the lodge grounds given by the resident naturalist.
• Each day from from 2:30 pm to 3:30 pm there is a lecture on some particular aspect of the Masai culture which is followed by tribal dances.
• All guests are invited to plant a tree as part of The Amboseli Reforestation programme.

Within the grounds of Amboseli Serena there is a fully air-conditioned conference room with unobstructed views of Mount Kilimanjaro. The room has a capacity of 80 people and is suitable for meetings, seminars or small banquets.

List of Available Conference/Meeting Services:

• Television and Video
• Slide projector
• Overhead projector
• Flip charts
• Stationery
• Secretarial services upon request
• Fax machine

Amboseli National Park (96,800 acres/39,206 hectares) is located in southeast Kenya with its southern boundary bordering Tanzania. It lies under the snow-capped peak of Mount Kilimanjaro which, at almost six thousand meters, is Africa's highest mountain. Amboseli attracts thousands of visitors each year, drawn by the mountain and Africa's largest elephant herds. Its saline lake is usually dry, but the park embraces two large, spring-fed swamps that provide permanent water to a region that receives only 12" (300 mm) of rain a year.

At the turn of the century, the area around Mount Kilimanjaro was a magnificent acacia woodland filled with some of the biggest "tuskers" ever found on the continent. The "great white hunters" soon depleted these herds of elephant to the point of extinction. The present day Amboseli National Park was established about forty years ago as a sanctuary for the remaining elephants.

The Amboseli landscape is dominated by the majestic peak of Kilimanjaro, a fitting backdrop to a wildlife sanctuary where the pastoral Masai and their cattle have lived in harmony with the wildlife for many centuries. The Masai are, in fact, the self appointed caretakers for the wildlife in Amboseli and share in the revenue generated by the park entrance fees.

This is a splendid place to view elephants. Some 55 other mammal species roam the land, including lions, leopards, cheetahs, impalas, Grant's gazelles, elands, fringe-eared oryxes, gerenuks, buffalos, and a few black rhinos. Many wildebeests, zebras, and Thomson's gazelles leave the park during the rains but return to be near the swamps in the dry months. More than 425 species of birds live here, with the Taveta golden weaver a highlight, and ostriches, vultures, eagles, bustards, sandgrouse, hornbills, and larks common in the grasslands.

Alden, Estes, Schlitter, McBride, National Audubon Society Field Guide to African Wildlife © 1995 p. 81

When Shadrack Karabilo, manager of the Amboseli Serena Safari Lodge, first visited Amboseli National Park he was deeply saddened by the degenerated state it was in. The park was dry and barren, with not a green tree in sight. It was dotted with the distressing sight of fallen tree trunks.

Shadrack quickly envisaged turning it into a beautiful oasis. With a team of eight, he set to work planting trees hoping to restore the Park to its former splendour in the immediate environs of Amboseli Serena Safari Lodge.

Today, thanks to Shadrack's efforts, the Park is slowly beginning to come to life. Over 60,000 indigenous trees have been planted. Thanks to Kenya Wildlife Service initiatives, the roads have been upgraded and off-road driving banned, giving the grass a chance to grow.

Amboseli is beginning to look green again.

Guests at the Lodge are encouraged to plant trees and have been very supportive. The Kenya Wildlife Service has already allocated a 2-acre plot to Serena to plant another 2,700 trees and a major tour operator has pledged a further 25 acres.

But a lot more needs to be done.

Amboseli National Park covers an area of 150 square miles and Shadrack hopes that before long his dream of an oasis within the Park can become a reality.

A message from Dr. D. Western - director of Kenya Wildlife Service

"Kenya Wildlife Service fully supports the habitat restoration undertaken by Serena Hotels in Amboseli. Such concern and action is the foundation of conservation".

© Serena Hotels Ltd / Choices Wild Limited, 2005.