Located on the Nguruman Escarpment in southern Kenya’s Shompole Conservancy, Ndoto House is a first-rate accommodation, has one of the finest hides in the country, and is available on an exclusive basis.
Overview
A stone-and-thatch build situated high on the escarpment overlooking the conservancy’s valley floor, Mount Shompole, and occasionally even Lake Natron, Ndoto House consists of three main bedrooms and a shared area. Beautifully designed, the shared area is open plan and includes seating and dining areas, two infinity pools, and a hide. The look and feel is simple and considered, with lovely pieces of furniture, white concrete flooring and steps, polished supporting trunks of wood, and the odd well-chosen ornament giving shape and form to a space that is all about lines of sight, the changing light, and the exceptional views.
Food and service
The owners are committed to working with the local community, Ndoto House is locally staffed, comprises a manager, a chef, room stewards, maintenance, and security, and aims to provide a service that is both relaxed and expert. Meals are served either at a dining table overlooking the escarpment, in the seating area with views across the valley, or in the comfort of one’s room.
Rooms
A mix of thatch, wood, and stone, the bedrooms at Ndoto House are situated along the ridge on either side of the main area, and include a double bed, en-suite bathroom, plunge pool, and seating area. Like the main area, the design is simple and simply beautiful, the thatched roof supported by polished trunks, the same expansive white flooring, and everything – bed, pool, and seating – pointing to those extraordinary views. Note that there is a fourth, much smaller, and still very beautiful room that would suit either the travelling group’s private guide or a ‘young single or couple’.
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’s 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.’
Community
Proceeds from traveller’s stay at Ndoto House are used, say the owners, ‘to create meaningful partnerships with the surrounding Shompole community. We provide direct payments that benefit them by funding their projects thereby improving awareness of conservation and sustainability of this stunning wilderness area’.