Enonkishu Conservancy, Masai Mara, Kenya
A beautifully-appointed family retreat discreetly tucked away on the edge of a private wildlife estate, Amani House is a luxurious home-from-home in the Kenyan bush and a gorgeous gateway to the unrivalled game viewing and glorious landscapes of the greater Masai Mara.
Amani House accommodates up to 14 guests in 7 ensuite bedrooms.
“Ecotourism and rewilding mix with game viewing at this exclusive Masai Mara retreat. It’s probably the closest that any of us will get to living (comfortably) in the African savannah.”
Overview
A stay at Amani House is an opportunity to experience all the superlative safari adventures, abundant wildlife and incredible scenery of the magical Masai Mara – without compromising in the very slightest on luxury accommodation and every possible home comfort.
Its American owners, long-time visitors to Kenya and Masai Mara aficionados, decided it was time to create their own very special safari retreat for family and friends. Completed in 2019, Amani House welcomed its first exclusive-use guests in 2022.
Amani House can be loosely translated from the Kiswahili as ‘Place of Peace’ and this perfectly encapsulates the lovely, calm and civilised atmosphere of this exceptional and very well put-together private home.
Located on the northern boundaries of the Masai Mara, it sits in a secluded position on the fringes the private Naretoi Estate within the award-winning Enonkishu Conservancy – renowned for its pioneering commitment to environmental protection, animal conservation, preserving Masai heritage and improving local livelihoods.
Amani House has seven bedrooms – four luxurious ensuite King rooms in the Family House and three rooms in the Guest House; one with a private balcony with brass bath and fireplace, one twin room with a private verandah and fireplace and one with four queen-sized bunk beds – perfect for and very popular with older children and teens.
The central Main House houses an elegant drawing room, dining room and deep blue media room with matching snooker table. The property looks out over expansive lawns, swimming pool and pergola and across game-filled plains towards Kileoleni Hill, the highest point in the Masai Mara.
“A no-expense-spared American family home plucked from the Hamptons, with wraparound verandas, and a gym and pickle court among the extravagant touches.”
With complete exclusivity and no set schedules or agendas, guests are free to plan their days and nights according to their wishes and can choose to be as active or as laid-back as they prefer. The property has a full complement of welcoming and house-proud staff including a private host/guide and chef, together with private safari vehicles and drivers.
All meals and activities and excursions can be personalised to suit each group and every guest, and the management of Amani House is overseen by the Wood family, the founders of the Enonkishu Conservancy who own and run the nearby ‘House in the Wild’ boutique eco-lodge.
When not out on day and night game drives, bush walks and other safari adventures, there is plenty to keep guests happily occupied at home and in and around the 1000-acre Naretoi Estate. As well as swimming pool and hot tub, snooker table, croquet and boules, the house has a basketball / pickle ball court and a well-equipped gym. In-house massages and yoga sessions are also available.
Amani House sits within its own 15 private and secluded acres adjoining the 5-acre Naretoi Dam which attracts a variety of animal and birdlife. Nearby is a tennis court and fishing on the Mara River, and guests are free to explore and experience the estate and its flora and fauna on foot, by bicycle or even on a ‘boda boda’ motorcycle.
A short drive away is Olchorro Conservancy’s Rhino Sanctuary, a conservation project with staff from local communities protecting the area’s rhinos for the past 20 years. Closely guarded by a team of armed rangers, the rhino roam free on the slopes of Kileoleni Hill, and guests have opportunity to get (relatively) up-close and personal with Queen Elizabeth and Kofi Annan, two endangered Southern White Rhino.
A little further afield, guests can visit The Mara Elephant Project and learn about the vital work being done to reduce human-wildlife conflict and protect the elephants of the Mara. All kinds of other memorable experiences can be arranged, from rewarding community and cultural visits to thrilling helicopter and hot air balloon flights.
Enonkishu Conservancy, Masai Mara
Amani House sits close to the Mara River on the fringes of the 1000-acre Naretoi Estate within Enonkishu Conservancy, the most northern conservancy of the Maasai Mara. Guests also have access to the extensive Ol Chorro and Lemek Conservancies – together these cover an area of over 40,000 acres and provide excellent game viewing across a variety of landscapes well away from the busier tourist trails.
Several other private conservancies are also close by, as is the Maasai Mara National Reserve. Given the quantity and quality of the wildlife in Enonkishu and its uncrowded surroundings, game drives in the National Reserve are usually only recommended during the annual wildebeest migration.
In recent decades, the area, once intensively farmed and over-grazed, has been devoted to a ground-breaking rewilding project. Enonkishu has become a world-class conservation area, host to an incredible variety and density of mammals including some of the world’s rarest animals, white rhino, wild dog and a wealth of plains game including antelope, giraffe, zebra, eland and wildebeest.
There is a resident pride of lion, families of cheetah and a number of leopard. Herds of elephant browse among the trees of nearby Kileleoni Hill, also home to the endangered Mountain Reedbuck. Night game drives offer rewarding sightings of nocturnal animals such honey badgers, porcupines and aardvarks.
For keen ornithologists, Enonkishu and the adjoining conservancies are home to a huge variety and quantity of birdlife. Several hundred species include ostrich, hornbill, crested cranes and secretary birds as well as dozens of different types of eagle, vulture and other birds of prey.
Enonkishu – which means ‘the place of healthy cattle’ in Maasai - is also host to a working livestock ranch. The conservancy works with more than 50 local Maasai families to protect the surrounding wildlife grazing areas, enabling the community to earn revenue from guests as well as from their cattle. A holistic grazing plan allocates space and resources which enable people, wildlife and livestock to thrive together.
At Enonkishu and Naretoi – which means “working together” in Masai – responsible, low-impact, high-end eco-tourism goes hand-in-hand with conservation. Funds raised through conservation fees and other community-based enterprises go towards supporting sustainable rangeland management, restoring biodiversity, mitigating human-wildlife conflict, assisting in ecological monitoring and training wildlife rangers.
The conservancy supports community-led initiatives which boost small businesses, support the local provision of health care, education and clean water and encourage and assist with bee keeping, tree planting and other sustainable farming practices that serve as a model for living in harmony with nature.
In Detail
(Click on any of the headings below for full information)
Accommodation and Facilities
Main House
- Living and Dining Room
- Media / Billiard Room
- Veranda with dining table and sitting area
- Family Kitchen
Guest House
- King ensuite bedroom with private balcony with brass bath and fireplace
- Twin ensuite bedroom with private veranda with fireplace
- Quadruple Queen bunk bedroom with adjoining bathroom
- Upstairs Sitting Room with television and balcony
Family House
- Four ensuite King bedrooms
- Downstairs veranda with swinging beds
- Upstairs Sitting Room and Library with television and balcony
Outside
- Swimming pool 13 x 3 metres including Hot Tub
- Poolside Dining Pergola
- Basketball / Pickle Ball court
- Well-equipped Gym
- 15-acre enclosed plot
Connectivity
- Wi-fi internet
- Good cellphone signal – Safaricom
- Indoor & outdoor Sonos system in Main House
- Each house has a high-definition television with Apple TV
- 24-hour solar power
- Back-up generator
- Hairdryers Provided on request
- CPAP machines supported
Activities
- Day & night Game Drives
- Exclusive-use safari vehicles and driver/guides
- Guided wildlife, birdlife and scenic walks
- Sundowners, picnics and bush dinners
- Cycling and running through the Naretoi Estate
- Farm and community project visits
- Tennis – there is a nearby bush tennis court with racquets and balls provided
- Fishing on the Mara River
Optional extras include
- Massage treatments and yoga sessions
- Cultural and school visits
- Maasai homestay
- Boda Boad motorbiking
- Scenic flights
- Helicopter excursions
- Hot Air Balloon flights
- Visits to the Mara Elephant Project
- Rhino sanctuary and other conservation project visits
Management and Staff
- Manager and Concierge – Angie
- Head of House and Chef – Esther
- Housekeeper – Joanne
- Bartender and Waiter – Benjamin
- Driver / Guides – Boston and Moses
- Garden and Pool – Isaac
- Askari – Michael
Getting to Amani House
- Daily scheduled flights on Safarilink and Air Kenya are available from Nairobi’s Wilson Airport to the Mara Ngerende airstrip. The flight takes approximately 1 hour followed by a 15-minute game drive to Amani House.
- Private planes and charter flights can land at the Naretoi Estate’s private airstrip close to the property.
- Amani House is a 4-5 hour drive from Nairobi.
Rates
Exclusive-use rates for up to 4 guests per night
| Up to 4 guests | Additional adult | Additional guest (12-17 yrs) |
| USD 6,000 | USD 1,500 | USD 1,125 |
Minimum stay – 3 nights
Maximum occupancy – 14 guests in 7 bedrooms
Check-in 11am, Check-out 10am
No children under 12 years
| Conservation fees | Adult: USD 90/day | 12-17 years: USD 50/day |
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