Dine with and enjoy the company of giraffes at the comfort of your room

When you search for this hotel on the internet, you’ll find a lot of dreamy pictures of guests having their moments with a colony of giraffes. In one photo, a couple is sharing breakfast with them poking their heads through the dining room’s window. In another, guests are feeding them through their bedroom window, and in another, a reveller is feeding them while playing on a swing. It is such photos that have made this iconic hunting style building, Giraffe Manor, become a dream place for many tourists both local and international, who travel far and wide just to enjoy the scenic views, as well as the exclusivity of indulging and feeding the giraffes by hand. The hotel’s fame has grown over the years making it one of the most Instagrammed hotels and the only place in the world where you can feed the Rothschild giraffes, one of the most endangered distinct giraffe population as of 2018. It has attracted various celebrities, such as Ellen DeGeneres and her partner Portia de Rossi and United Kingdom businessman Richard Branson, who have toured the property. Edgar Orlando, a duty manager who has been at the hotel for the past five years credits this rise in popularity to social media. “Unfortunately, not many people know that Giraffe Manor is in Nairobi. When I came, the average occupancy was at 60 to 70 per cent, but over the last five years, the hotel has gained a lot of popularity, all thanks to social media. Many of the guests say they knew about us through Instagram,” he says. The writer receives an unusual visitor while having breakfast in her room. Photo/PD/HARRIET JAMES However, recently, with the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic, this exclusive hotel came under fire from a section of Kenyans who bashed it for only showing interest in foreigners, and accused it for releasing resident rates during the pandemic, because no more foreign tourists were flying into the country. In their defence, Orlando says most of the accusations made were based on a lack of understanding on how the hotel works. The first misunderstanding is the booking process, which is a little bit different from other hotels. Dicrimanation claims “We do get a lot of inquiries via phone calls from Kenyans who would like to come for a day. Sadly, the hotel is part of a conservancy and for safety purposes, we restrict walk-in guests. It would also be unfair for guests who have paid a premium to stay at the hotel to share the same experience as the other guests who maybe just want a picture with the giraffes or just want to have a meal,” he explains, adding that the hotel only has 12 rooms, so they can only manage a small number of guests per day. To have an ultimate experience, one has to spend a night or two at the hotel, and booking entails sending email via the Safari Collection website. Should there be availability, clients can proceed with booking by filling two form, one with terms and conditions for staying at the property and a contact tracing form. Clients will then receive a secure 3G link to make payments in full. A night at the hotel costs around Sh100,000. Orlando says it can take up to a year, before a room is available, because the place is always booked. Sometimes they find guests who have specific requests in terms of the room they want. “At the time of the inquiry, one might request for a room that might not be available at the moment. If you are still persistent that you want that particular room, we might put you on the waiting list. You can also give us a date in case the room is vacant and you will be notified once it’s open for you to book,” explains Orlando Surprise visits I had the rare chance of spending a night at the hotel to have the coveted experience. I was anticipating to catch a few giraffes when I arrived and was a bit disappointed when I didn’t find any, but Orlando assured me that there are specific times when they come to enjoy the company of humans as they wait for their treat. As soon as you enter the building, the interiors at every corner has this feel of elegance and class, the gardens are lush and green, and the courtyard is delightful. There are two buildings in the property; the main manor was built in 1932 and the garden manor where I spent the night. The main manor, can be booked as a stand-alone property, but should you book the garden manor, one has to at least e spend a night or two at another Safari Collection property, at Solio Lodge in Laikipia or Sasaab Tented Camp in Samburu. My room was Helen, named after one of the giraffes born in front of the manor in August 2009, but sadly passed away in May 2015. Helen was named after a Catholic sister, who was a friend of Betty Leslie who, together with her husband Jock bought the manor in the 1970s and began the giraffe breeding programme. The property has since been bought by Kenyans Tanya and Mikey Carr-Hartley, who have been running it since 2009. It is also one of the spacious and often visited by hungry giraffes looking for treats in the morning. It has west-facing views towards the Ngong Hills as well as southward views over the giraffe sanctuary and forest. There is another room named after the famous writer, Karen Blixen. The ever helpful and knowledgeable Peter Igara, was my waiter during my stay. Having interacted with nature for a while and knowing how unpredictable they are, I thought that I will be out without the perfect shot, but my host was there to assist and also booked me a picture session with the giraffes. Photo moments The scheduled time was at 4pm, each guest had their chance to take as many photos with the giraffes as they took their afternoon tea. One also has to have pellets in their hand to attract them and this, Peter ensured that I had in full supply. It was amusing watching guests, me included changed into their best outfits just to have their best instagrammable shots. At 6.30pm, the giraffes head back into the wild. Peter told me to be awake as early as 6am to have another giraffe experience. At six, in the morning, I had a knock at my window and I saw a giraffe eager for some goodies. The rooms are equipped with pellets, so it was an awesome experience just feeding them as they come and take photos while at it. “We call it organised chaos as you have to balance between, breakfast, safety, and taking photos. At the end of the day, they are giraffes and one must ensure safety of the guests and also that everyone gets to experience a great time and have their photos taken,” explains Orlando. Another misconception, which Orlando refutes is that the hotel prefers only white guests. “Even before we came up with resident rates, we still had many Kenyans coming to stay with us. We just had a one price-fits-all system. There was really no need for putting up separate costs for residents, but with Covid-19, we came up with a third of the normal rates to allow Kenyans who couldn’t travel before to enjoy the experience,” says Orlando. The revised rates have, however, not been applicable since May this year, and they are working on one. Research funding To educate their guests on the Rothschild giraffes, the hotel is running a campaign dubbed ‘behind the selfie’ to raise awareness about the status of giraffes. “The property does not just exist as a spectacle for guests, but for giraffe conservation. Through the campaign, guests are enlightened on what it means to spend their vacation there and how part of the money they paid will be used for research for the breeding of the Rothschild giraffe,” explains Cecilia Mweni, the assistant director, Footprint Foundation, a Safari Collection’s initiative that supports a diverse range of conservation projects, which benefit the wildlife, wilderness and local communities. The Safari Collection owns and operates a collection of four properties in Kenya’s finest locations and specialises in bespoke East African itineraries. The Safari Collection’s ethos is to not only share the incredible natural wonders of East Africa, but to live in harmony with the environment and be passionate protectors of it for the benefit of future generations. The Safari Collection supports a carefully chosen selection of the most inspiring and impactful conservation and community projects operating in Kenya today. The different projects all directly conserve wildlife, address the primary causes of their decline and also meet the most important needs of the surrounding communities. These initiatives have been united for the first time under Footprint Foundation. Footprint is the charitable foundation, which runs the Safari Collection’s programmes, such as Feeding Young Minds, Conservation Scholars, medical clinics, teacher training, school building, community boreholes, and also supports conservation partners such as The Pangolin Project and The Giraffe Conservation Foundation, among many others.

Dine with and enjoy the company of giraffes at the comfort of your room

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