Lentorre Lodge is a luxury safari camp located in the Great Rift Valley’s Olkirimatian Conservancy, on a spur of the Nguruman Escarpment with views of Mount Shompole, Ol Donyo Gelai, and Ol Donyo Lengai, an active volcano.
Overview
Consisting of a main lodge and six villas, the main guest area of Lentorre Lodge is divided into lower and upper spaces. Vaulted thatch roofs, floors of local stone and wide-open sides leading to a large multi-level deck with loungers, swimming pool and expansive views: everything here contributes to a sense of space, luxury, and harmony with the region’s landscape and culture. The watering hole directly beneath the lodge often attracts zebra, elephant, lion, and a plethora of other wildlife, making overnight stays at Lentorre’s hide a must.
Food and service
The cuisine at Lentorre Lodge is a highlight, with the highly adaptable kitchen able to accommodate any dietary requirement or request, and there is a well-stocked bar and wine cellar. Breakfast and lunch are served in the upper common area, while dinner is taken on the lower level, under the stars and with views of the watering hole. The service, from restaurant floor to room care to guiding, is excellent.
Rooms
There are six villas; four are a double/twin set-up, one a family option and a honeymoon villa. They all include a private plunge pool, floor-to-ceiling glassless windows, and ensuite facilities with a shower. All feature design and décor balance elements of African tradition with contemporary European style. The larger family villa offers different options depending on children’s ages, and the honeymoon villa is notable for its position directly above the watering hole. Both the deluxe villas feature bathtubs with views over the valley.
Activities
Activities at Ndoto House include day and night drives, nature walks, swimming, fishing, and helicopter trips. The property’s hide is something else. Pro guide Squack Evans is a huge fan: ‘The hide is superb – air-con, soundproofed, set up for six people, includes six beds in an anteroom. Dinner is brought down to the hide, there are tea and coffee facilities, a bathroom, and a well-stocked fridge with all-important G&T to hand. Lion, leopard, and cheetah are all present.’
Impact
Conservation
Lentorre works in partnership with the South Rift Land Owners Association (SORALO), an organisation whose mandate is to bring landowners in the area together to promote effective management of resources, on initiatives including a series of conservation areas linking Amboseli National Park and the Maasai Mara Reserve.
Commerce
SORALO is about local communities as well as the land they inhabit, and its work creates real benefits for the people of the Olkeramatian Conservancy in terms of education and opportunities for enterprise.
Culture
Lentorre also supports Lale’enok Research Centre and Rebuilding the Pride. Owned by the women of Olkiramatian, the former provides the local community with a forum where they can engage with outside partners on knowledge creation, dissemination and application. The latter, based at the research centre, exists to minimise human-wildlife conflict in the region.