Information on Safari Accommodations
Where you stay during your Safari is one of the most important aspects of your tour experience. Hotels available on Safari, especially in/around national parks are quite different from city hotels, and we strongly recommend our clients to go through the accommodations Website, Tripadvisor page & pictures to get an idea of the accommodations they will be staying at. Here is some important information to keep in mind on what to expect in general.
Selection of Accommodation
There is a wide choice of safari accommodations available in East Africa at almost all national parks/reserved, ranging from budget camps & lodges to high end luxury camps & lodges. We work with all the accommodations.
During the sales process, our sales consultant would send you a shortlist of accommodations for each location in your itinerary among all the ones available.
Our accommodation shortlist depends on a range of parameters including
- Location and accessibility
- Views
- Food & Service quality
- Quality of rooms & interiors
- Feedback from previous clients
As the price for accommodations increase, all or most parameters mentioned above, tend to improve.
This shortlisted set of accommodations is shared with you, so you have an easier choice to make from a smaller set of accommodations that we think offers good value for their price at each location.
However, our clients are free to share their preferred accommodations that are not part of our shortlist, and we will be glad to quote and book them.
Does Kim.tours own or operate the accommodations?
Accommodations suggested and booked are all run by independent third-party companies and Kim.tours and its agents/partners have no role in the management of these accommodations. At Kim.tours, our role with respect to accommodations is limited to reserving them as required for our clients itinerary.
How is a Safari hotel different compared to a hotel in the city?
There can be significant differences in the facilities offered at safari hotels and camps compared to hotels in cities.
Because of their remote location, most safari hotels in/around parks are usually not connected to the electricity grid and generate their own electricity from diesel generators or solar power. For example, even most of the high end/luxury camps do not have facilities like air-conditioning or mini-fridge or hair dryers or table/ceiling fans in room and may not have electricity and hot water may not be available for all 24 hours.
Some of the safari hotels - especially the tented camps inside parks offer bucket showers, wherein a bucket (of 20L) is filled with warm water and lifted behind the tent and flow can be controlled with a tap. Buckets will be refilled by helper if required.
While some safari hotels (usually lodges/tented lodges) have swimming pools, the majority of the safari hotels (tented camps), including several luxury ones, may not have swimming pools.
However, safari hotels do focus just as much on service as city hotels of comparable standard.
In case you need any particular amenity to be available at your safari accommodation, please let your sales representative know in advance and we will suggest options that cater to your requirements, where possible.
Connectivity
Because of their remote location, Wi-Fi/Phone network may not be available at some of the safari hotels. Even where it's available, it might not work consistently throughout the lodge and could be limited to common areas.
Location, Location, Location
Some of the lodges/camps are located inside national park/reserve while some might be located just outside the national park/reserve or in a nearby town/village.
Some accommodations could be as far as 1 hour drive away from the nearest park gate.
If you are specifically looking for accommodations located inside or very close to the gate or outside National Park / Reserve etc. or in the middle of wilderness or closer to next day’s destination etc., please inform your sales representative in advance so he/she can suggest accommodations that fit your criteria.
Safety from Wildlife
Several of the lodges/camps located inside the National Park are not fenced and wildlife might come close to the rooms. These are however absolutely safe and thousands of tourists, including many with young kids, stay in such camps across Africa every night. By following the basic safety instructions given by the hotel staff, you can avoid any potential conflict with wildlife.
Meals
All accommodations while on safari, are booked on Full Board basis. Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner are prepared and served by accommodation.
Beverages are not included at most accommodations and are charged additional to clients directly.
Some of the accommodations can be booked on an All-Inclusive basis in which case beverages will be included with your stay. This will be mentioned (as AI) in your voucher for the respective accommodation.
Lunch
Lunch while on safari, will be usually packed lunch arranged by your accommodation. Your guide will suggest a picnic lunch spot where you can enjoy the packed lunch. This allows for more flexibility in game drives and safari schedule.
Hot lunch can be arranged on some of the days upon prior request (needs to be informed before booking and might cost extra for some itineraries).
Special Dietary Needs
Any dietary restrictions, preferences should be communicated in writing, well before your arrival and our team will communicate the same to your accommodations.
However, our role is limited to notifying the accommodation about your dietary restrictions/ preferences and tour operators are not in a position to verify if accommodation follows these requirements.
Drinking Water
Most accommodations offer about 750ml to 1 liter drinking water per person per night. These bottles are usually found in your room by the time you check-in and are usually complimentary.
If you need additional drinking water, you can either buy from the accommodation or carry a few mineral water bottles from your vehicle to your accommodation. Bottled water ordered in restaurants is usually charged at hotel rates.
Please check with the accommodation staff during check in for exact details as each accommodation is different and operates differently.
Accommodations in the City
Accommodations in Cities/towns before or after your safari tour (in Nairobi/Arusha etc.) are usually booked on Bed & Breakfast basis. So Lunch/Dinner while in town before/after will be charged additional. It’s possible to pre-book lunch/dinner in these hotels by reserving them on Full Board or Half board basis by paying additional.
Laundry Service
Most accommodations offer laundry service for their guests, but you would need to stay at the same accommodation for 2 consecutive nights at-least so that you can hand over your laundry in the morning and collect it in the evening. Extra charges might apply and need to be paid directly by clients.
Room Configuration
Double sharing room would have 1 large bed (king size or queen size bed) and a twin sharing room would have 2 single beds in a room.
For 2 people sharing a room, we usually book a double sharing room. If clients need a twin sharing room, it should be communicated in advance. Price would be the same for double sharing or twin sharing.
For families with children, almost all accommodations allow 1 kid to share a room with 2 adults and majority of the accommodations also allow 2 kids to share a room with 2 adults. In addition, many accommodations offer family rooms or interconnected rooms for families with kids that can be booked at additional cost so that parents and children can stay closer while still having their privacy.
Service issues in accommodation
If you face any issues w.r.t your room or food or water or service or any other issues during your stay at accommodation, along with reporting to your camp manager, please also contact your briefing manager from Kim.tours. Your guide can help you get in touch with your briefing manager if required.
While we cannot guarantee an immediate resolution, our team would try its best to resolve the situation by contacting senior management of the camp if required.
Final thoughts
We strongly recommend you check the accommodation website and TripAdvisor reviews and evaluate if these accommodations suit your taste.
Please feel free to ask as many questions as you have about the accommodations to your sales representative.
After the end of your safari, our partners will request your feedback on the accommodations. Please share your valuable feedback on all the accommodations so that we can pass on suggestions for improvement to respective hotels.