The most disappointing accommodations of our safari was our night at Lake Nakuru Lodge in Lake Nakuru, Kenya. Incidentally, it was also our least favorite park which we visited on our safari.
When we arrived, we completed some paperwork before being led to our rooms. As soon as we got to our rooms, I realized that things were not run very smoothly at the lodge. Mom and dad were assigned to a room which had people staying in it and were reassigned to a different room not once, but twice.
Room 133 at Lake Nakuru Lodge
When we first arrived in our room we were instantly disappointed. The room was not bad, it was just such a step down from the previous camps that we had stayed at. While it was clean, the decor was dated and things were not maintained as well as they should have been.
When we returned from our game drive, we noticed 4 lizards in our room. Wondering where they came from Andy investigated and found that the screen in the bathroom was not sealed on all 4 sides. Being close to a lake, there were a number of mosquitos in the area and because our room had the flawed screen, there were a number of mosquitos in our room as well. We utilized the mosquito net at night to protect us from getting bit while we slept. Normally I would not want lizards in my room, but we were happy that they were there to eat the bugs.
Bathroom
The bathroom was functional but nothing to write home about. Fortunately we had adequate hot water and decent water pressure.
Lake Nakuru Lodge – Amenities
Dining
Similar to the rest of the lodge, the food was lacking compared to our other lodges. All of the meals were served in a buffet style and had fewer choices than we had gotten accustomed to. Fortunately we only had 3 meals at the lodge so it wasn’t a huge deal.
Patio
While our room had a patio, we didn’t utilize it as there were quite a few bugs outside. I was over at my parents room when my mom opened her door to take a picture of some baboons walking by. We saw a male coming quickly towards the balcony so we ran inside as we knew that they can be aggressive animals. We were able to close the doors just in time to lock him out. Since he couldn’t get into the room, he decided to urinate on the patio to mark his territory.
Needless to say, between the mosquitos and baboons we were all a little too nervous to spend any time outside on the patio.
Pool
There was a nice on-site pool at the lodge. It was a little too cold to get into it but that didn’t stop a massive group of kids from getting in. I’m not sure if they were part of a school group, or what they were doing at the lodge but they were having a good time.
Cat
I was pretty excited when I was walking home from dinner one night and saw a cat on the grounds. She was friendly, following me all the way back to my room to get some attention. Since we miss our cat Gingerbread, we had a good time hanging out with her before we turned in for the night.
Final Thoughts
While our room and the food was not as nice as other camps that we stayed at, I will give Lake Nakuru Lodge credit for keeping their grounds beautiful. The grounds were lush, well maintained and made the lodge feel nicer, at least outwardly.
The rooms while nice enough compared to some of the places that we stayed at in South America, were not nearly as nice as the other lodges that we stayed at during our safari. If we were to return to Lake Nakuru, I would look for a different camp to stay at.