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Honeymoon to Kenya & Tanzania
Taylor Healey & Patrick Murphy, 3rd January 2022Truly speechless. Since our return many people have asked what my favorite part of the trip was and my only response has been "every single second". I believe my husband and I just lived the best three weeks of our lives. In the moment, it was impossible to believe that we could be so lucky to be seeing all that we were seeing. The wildlife was stunning, the lodges were amazing and the kindness of each and every person we encountered was moving. On safari, the guides absolutely blew us out of the water with their knowledge and ridiculous eye sight. We woke up every morning thinking "what could we possibly see today that is different than yesterday", and sure enough they proved us wrong. Transfers were seamless and every person we encountered greeted us by name and knew where we needed to be and when. I have never before cried when leaving a vacation but this one did it to me. Thank you so so so much!!
Countries Visited
Kenya
“Kenya was wonderful. From Nairobi to Samburu to the Mara everyone was so kind and helpful. We learned and saw so much in each location and loved them all for different reasons.”
Tanzania
“We didn't get to see the mainland of Tanzania so that is now on our to-do list for another trip :) Zanzibar was beautiful, though.”
Accommodation Visited
Emara Ole-Sereni
“Ole was perfect for our intended purposes. We added a second night due to our late arrival time (we wanted 24 hours to acclimate before heading off for safari) so we ended up having downtime at the hotel for a full afternoon. We were bummed to find out that the pool was under construction and inquired with the front desk who simply told us "no it is not open". It wasn't until after dinner that we found out there is another pool in the adjacent building that we could've used. A beautiful, rooftop pool overlooking the conservancy. It was definitely something we wish they mentioned but it wasn't the end of the world. Staff was nice, food was good and location was great for our plans.”
Saruni Samburu
“We pulled up to Saruni Samburu and were immediately welcomed by 5+ people, addressing us by name, congratulating us on our wedding/honeymoon, taking our bags, handing us drinks... the list goes on. This place was magical and beautiful. The staff here were high energy and so sweet. They were constantly trying to anticipate our needs and went above and beyond to ensure an outstanding stay. The food was good (albeit A LOT) and we were stuffed at the end of every meal. The villa was seriously INCREDIBLE (villa number 5). Remarkable views of the reserve down below, animal noises throughout the day and night (we consider this a good thing!), fresh air 24/7, it was beyond what we could've imagined and hoped for. The stars were unreal every night and it was just so beautiful. Joseph, our guide, was sooo knowledgeable and provided amazing game drives multiple times each day. He knew exactly where to look for certain animals and was able to read their behavior and predict their next moves. He was an incredible tracker and we spent a lot of time checking footprints looking for the leopard which was so awesome! He was so cool and we loved him!”
Saruni Mara
“Saruni Mara was remarkable. We were the only guests there for 4 out of 5 nights which made for a really intimate experience. The management was lovely and hospitable. Our guide, Sinia, was the best of the best! He took us out every day and caught the most AMAZING sights. We learned so much from him about all of the Mara. It was pretty mind blowing how he could read the animals and predict what they were about to do. Our waiter, James, was an angel. He was so kind and so helpful, always wanting to make sure we had everything we needed. The food here was exceptional (even better than our previous lodge). Every meal was cooked to perfection and tasted amazing. They set up tables for us on the lawn and in the library to make meals special and exciting, which was so sweet and thoughtful. We were also able to have the Masai Warriors come and they danced and sang around the fire (so did we!) which was a really beautiful experience. The lodge itself is lovely, tucked in the mountains with an amazing view of sunset. There are animals roaming around which we absolutely loved (baboons, zebra, buffalo and of course Jaki the Oryx to name a few!). They explained the hot water situation when we arrived, which was that they light a fire to heat the water and need a 30 mins heads up prior to showering. We never once had an issue with lack of hot water. They also put warmers in your bed when they are turning down your room for the night which was amazing. We utilized their complimentary laundry service and honestly, even that was spectacular. I don't know how they folded the clothes so perfectly but I would really like to learn. This was just the most incredible experience and I cried the whole morning we had to leave because I didn't want to say goodbye.”
The Residence Zanzibar
“The Residence was a beautiful resort with welcoming, kind staff and gorgeous villas. We loved our ocean view villa with our plunge pool. The food here was terrific too! The boat house provides free water sports which was wonderful! We utilized the paddle boards daily. The one thing that we were disappointed about was the beach which, because of the tides, was un-swimmable. Even when taking the boards out, the water was FULL of sea urchins, seaweed and even some garbage. Of course, ocean wildlife is no fault of the hotel which is why we still give this 5 stars, we just think its something people should be aware of. Many of the guests we met and talked with had the same feelings. The infinity pool was amazing! Pool staff were so much fun and just so great. Rose, down at the beach bar, was the kindest gal and we spent a lot of time getting to know her. She makes a mean Dawa!!! Definitely the best one on the island. Again the staff here could not have been nicer. The one thing that felt weird was that there were a couple managers that live on site, wear business attire etc and are constantly patrolling around. As an observer, it just looked like everyone was walking on egg shells (of course this is only a perception). It just felt kind of punitive to the staff, who were always doing an outstanding job. We tried to compliment the servers endlessly to the management whenever we got the opportunity. We get why it's called the Residence because we certainly did not want to leave. In fact, we were not sad at all when our flight home got cancelled and we had to stay 3 extra days!”
Staff Review
“Steve is the MVP!!! We are so grateful to have been connected with him for our honeymoon. He was a rock through the ups and downs of trying to plan a wedding and honeymoon during a pandemic. No matter when unexpected hurdles arose (cancelled flights, variant breakouts, emotional break downs haha!) Steve provided comfort and a voice of reason, assuring us everything was going to work out no matter what. He edited our itinerary many times to accommodate continuous, unexpected airline changes. He was always reachable and responsive, despite our 8 hour time difference. He even kept in touch during his vacation, as it fell just the week before our planned departure, and also made sure he had someone covering (Claire, who was also great!) From the moment we stepped off the plane in Nairobi our trip was absolutely seamless thanks to Steve. We chatted with him throughout whenever we had questions. There were some additional last minute flight changes while we were in Zanzibar and thanks to Stave, we didn't even have to think about it because he took care of everything and just sent over confirmations when all was said and done. Its truly hard to put in words how perfect this trip was but what we can say is that it's all thanks to Steve.”
