4-Star Hotels in Narok, Kenya

I booked this amazing Mara resort on my own (after getting scammed by a Nairobi safari agency which disappeared). If you want to experience the famous Mara game drives, but don’t want to “rough it out in the tents”, this resort offers familiar 5-star luxury hotel-style rooms (fully enclosed with floor-to-ceiling windows), right along the famous Mara River. I woke up to sounds of hippo frolicking in the river, I was well fed with made-to-order meals, and even surprised with a romantic riverside candlelight dinner, and a bush sundowner. As I visited the resort during June before the peak safari season, I basically had the whole resort to myself. My safari driver Lucas was amazing and kept in constant contact with his driver friends to obtain latest information about wildlife sightings, and I had to the great fortune of seeing all the big 5 animals, including the endangered rhino. As mentioned before, I booked this resort on my own, so I contacted Helen from reservations, and she sorted out my private airport pickup from Nairobi Airport (US$270 per trip), as well as to provide food allergy information. The nearest airstrip to the resort is Keekorok Airport (about 45 mins drive), and if you book the all-inclusive package, airstrip transfers to Keekorok is included as well. In summary, if you want to experience a true 5-star luxury Mara safari (at a small fraction of the Ritz/JW), Pristine Mara Bay Lodge is no doubt my absolute recommendation. I cannot repeat this enough, Pristine Mara Bay Lodge was the most wonderful safari experience for me, and please come with small USD bills to tip the absolutely amazing staff, nothing seemed too difficult for them, and they will greatly appreciate it.

We absolutely loved this camp! The double tent is well equipped and beautifully decorated. The staff were all amazing! Each night, our bed had hot water bottles in it, making it so cozy and warm. Early morning wake-up calls included coffee and milk delivered to the room. From the time we arrived to the time we left, we felt pampered. Big shout out to our safari guide Samson and his intern Felix. Samson knew exactly where to go to find the wildlife and explained everything to us, from the animal feces to their mating rituals. We could not have had a better guide. Another shout out to Daisy and Duncan at reception, Dinah in the restaurant, Marc the conservationist, John who delivered our wake up calls, Loisiana in the restaurant, Debbie who told us so much about Masai culture, and Robert the Masai village chief’s son. Also, Ben who assisted us with getting to the hot air balloon safari. Make time to visit the village to learn about the culture, be patient and kind to everyone, especially your safari guide, and be sure to tip! They deserve it! The location is perfect, the bed is comfortable, and can’t say enough about the staff! Definitely highly recommended!

The location of the hotel is very good, the environment is very good, the view is open, overlooking the Masai Mara delta. The breakfast variety is quite plentiful, and it is also a good choice to bring children to play.

Fantastic location and friendly staff. Excellent helpful staff and a great all inclusive meal choice. Would highly recommend as it’s close to the Sekenani gate of the Maasai Mara game park. Thank you everyone for a fantastic stay.👍

Great tent, amazing location by mara river. You can hear hippos grunting throughout night. The morning are beautiful with birds chirping all around. They also had the option for night safari which was an amazing experience.

The room is very large and spacious. At night, it will come in to spray mosquitoes and pull mosquito nets. The monkey at the door is also very friendly. It will not grab food. The food level is not bad. The overall environment is very quiet. It seems that this is the number one choice for travel agencies.

The hotel staff were very friendly and attentive, the bedding and pillows were very comfortable and I slept well, and the decor was simple yet stylish. It was a pity there were a few small insects and mosquitoes.

The geographical position is superior, located on the edge of the Mara River in the national park, you can enjoy wildlife when you go out in the rainy season, and you can watch the Great Migration directly at the hotel during the migration season. The hotel provides professional hunting activities for a fee, cost-effective, and the room is fully integrated into nature. It looks better than the picture.

Overall, the camp is good, but not amazing. The rooms are old and a bit worn in places, the food is mediocre, and the road leading to the camp is simply terrible – keep that in mind. However, the location is good. When I was looking for a hotel, the price-value ratio was acceptable for me, but if you have other options, I would recommend looking around.