“A no-expense-spared American family home plucked from the Hamptons, with wraparound verandas, and a gym and pickle court among the extravagant touches.”
A beautifully-appointed family retreat discreetly tucked away on the edge of a private wildlife estate, Amani House is a luxurious home-from-home in the Kenyan bush and a gorgeous gateway to the unrivalled game viewing and glorious landscapes of the greater Masai Mara.
Amani House accommodates up to 14 guests in 7 ensuite bedrooms
“Ecotourism and rewilding mix with game viewing at this exclusive Masai Mara retreat. It’s probably the closest that any of us will get to living (comfortably) in the African savannah.”
A stay at Amani House is an opportunity to experience all the superlative safari adventures, abundant wildlife and incredible scenery of the magical Masai Mara – without compromising in the very slightest on luxury accommodation and every possible home comfort.
Amani House can be loosely translated from the Kiswahili as ‘Place of Peace’ and this perfectly encapsulates the lovely, calm and civilised atmosphere of this exceptional and very well put-together private home.
Its American owners, long-time visitors to Kenya and Masai Mara aficionados, decided it was time to create their own very special safari retreat for family and friends. Completed in 2019, Amani House welcomed its first exclusive-use guests in 2022.
Located on the northern boundaries of the Masai Mara, it sits in a secluded position on the fringes the private Naretoi Estate within the award-winning Enonkishu Conservancy – renowned for its pioneering commitment to environmental protection, animal conservation, preserving Masai heritage and improving local livelihoods.
Amani House has seven bedrooms – four luxurious ensuite King rooms in the Family House and three rooms in the Guest House: one with a private balcony with brass bath and fireplace, one twin room with a private verandah and fireplace and one with four queen-sized bunk beds – perfect for and very popular with older children and teens.
The central Main House houses an elegant drawing room, dining room and deep blue media room with matching snooker table. The property looks out over expansive lawns, swimming pool and pergola and across game-filled plains towards Kileoleni Hill, the very highest point in the Masai Mara.
With complete exclusivity and no set schedules or agendas, guests are free to plan their days and nights according to their wishes and can choose to be as active or as laid-back as they wish. The property has a full complement of welcoming and house-proud staff including a private host/guide and chef, together with private safari vehicles and drivers.
All meals and activities and excursions can be personalised to suit each group and every guest, and the management of Amani House is overseen by the Wood family, the founders of the Enonkishu Conservancy who own and run the nearby House in the Wild boutique eco-lodge.
When not out on day and night game drives, bush walks and other safari adventures, there is plenty to keep guests happily occupied at home and in and around the 1000-acre Naretoi Estate. As well as swimming pool and hot tub, snooker table, croquet and boules, the house has a basketball / pickle ball court and a well-equipped gym. In-house massages and yoga sessions are also available
Amani House sits within its own 15 private and secluded acres adjoining the 5-acre Naretoi Dam which attracts a variety of animal and birdlife. Nearby is a tennis court and fishing on the Mara River, and guests are free to explore and experience the estate and its flora and fauna on foot, by bicycle or even on a ‘boda boda’ motorcycle.
A short drive away is Olchorro Conservancy’s Rhino Sanctuary, a conservation project with staff from local communities protecting the area’s rhinos for the past 20 years. Closely guarded by a team of armed rangers, the rhino roam free on the slopes of Kileoleni Hill, and guests have the opportunity to get up-close and personal with Queen Elizabeth and Kofi Annan, two endangered Southern White Rhino.
A little further afield, guests can visit The Mara Elephant Project and learn about the vital work being done to reduce human-wildlife conflict and protect the elephants of the Mara. All kinds of other memorable experiences can be arranged, from rewarding community and cultural visits to thrilling helicopter trips and hot air balloon flights.
In Essence
- A stylish, elegant and spacious private safari house – ideal for gatherings of family and friends
- Comfortable, secluded, luxurious, versatile and welcoming accommodation
- Swimming pool, hot tub, gym, pickle and basketball court
- Situated within the private Naretoi Estate – teeming with wildlife from the doorstep
- Managed and guided by the exceptional ‘House in the Wild’ boutique lodge team
- Access to 40,000 acres of private conservancies – plus the greater Masai Mara
- Excellent game viewing with private safari vehicles and knowledgeable guides
- Accommodates up to 14 guests in 7 ensuite bedrooms
Destination – The Masai Mara
Located in Southwestern Kenya alongside the Tanzanian border, The Masai Mara, together with the adjoining Serengeti National Park, forms one of the world’s most diverse and spectacular eco-systems. A region characterised by short grass savannah plains interspersed with areas of riverine forest and bordered by towering rocky escarpments, The Mara is home to an incredible abundance and variety of wild animals and is renowned worldwide as Africa’s most exceptional – and loveliest – safari destination.
The Maasai Mara National Reserve covers an area of 1,510 sq. km (580 sq. miles) at altitudes which range from 1500 to 2170 metres above sea level. The area has one of the highest lion densities in world, together with significant populations of cheetah, leopard, elephant and buffalo, and this is where over two million wildebeest, zebra and Thomsons Gazelle migrate annually. Home to over 95 species of mammal and 570 recorded species of bird, excellent ‘Big Five’ year-round game viewing is virtually guaranteed.
Beyond the northern and eastern boundaries of the National Reserve, many former cattle ranches and agricultural lands have been transformed into private conservancies. These are exclusive wildlife reserves committed to high-end, low-density tourism together with community and environmental initiatives and accessed only by guests staying within these designated areas. Here, walking and riding safaris, night game drives and other adventurous activities not permitted in the National Reserve are often on the safari menu.
Location - Enonkishu Conservancy, Masai Mara
Enonkishu, the most northerly conservancy in the greater Masai Mara, is a re-wilding success story.
Once intensively farmed and over-grazed, the area has become a world-class conservation area, host to an incredible variety and density of mammals including some of the world’s rarest animals, white rhino, wild dog and a wealth of plains game including antelope, giraffe, zebra, eland and wildebeest.
There is a resident pride of lion, families of cheetah and a number of leopard. Herds of elephant browse among the trees of nearby Kileleoni Hill, the highest point in the Mara and home to the endangered Mountain Reedbuck. Night game drives offer rewarding sightings of nocturnal animals such as honey badgers, porcupines and aardvarks.
Several other private conservancies are also close by, as is the Maasai Mara National Reserve. Given the quantity and quality of the wildlife in Enonkishu and its uncrowded surroundings, game drives in the National Reserve are usually only recommended during the annual wildebeest migration (usually July-October)
Enonkishu – which means ‘the place of healthy cattle’ in Maa – is also host to a working livestock ranch. The conservancy works with more than 50 local Maasai families to protect the surrounding wildlife grazing areas and a holistic grazing plan enables people, wildlife and livestock to thrive together.
At Enonkishu and Naretoi – which means “working together” in Maa – responsible, high-end eco-tourism goes hand-in-hand with conservation. Funds raised through conservation fees go towards supporting sustainable rangeland management, restoring biodiversity, mitigating human-wildlife conflict, assisting in ecological monitoring and training wildlife rangers.
The conservancy supports community-led initiatives which boost small businesses, support the local provision of health care, education and clean water and encourage and assist with bee keeping, tree planting and other sustainable farming practices that serve as a model for living in harmony with nature.
There are several scheduled daily flights from Nairobi’s Wilson Airport to the Mara Ngerende Airstrip and the flight takes one hour or less, followed by a 15-minute drive to House in the Wild. Private light aircraft and helicopters can land at the Naretoi Airstrip which is just a minute or two from the lodge.
In Detail
Main House
- Living and Dining Room
- Media / Billiard Room
- Veranda with dining table and sitting area
- Family Kitchen
Guest House
- King ensuite bedroom with private balcony with brass bath and fireplace
- Twin ensuite bedroom with private veranda with fireplace
- Quadruple Queen bunk bedroom with adjoining bathroom
- Upstairs Sitting Room with television and balcony
Family House
- Four ensuite King bedrooms
- Downstairs veranda with swinging beds
- Upstairs Sitting Room and Library with television and balcony
OUTSIDE
- Swimming pool 13 x 3 metres including Hot Tub
- Poolside Dining Pergola
- Basketball / Pickle Ball court
- Well-equipped Gym
- 15-acre enclosed plot
Connectivity
- Wi-fi internet
- Good cell phone signal – Safaricom
- Indoor & outdoor Sonos system in Main House
- Each house has a high-definition television with Apple TV
- 24-hour solar power
- Back-up generator
- Hairdryers Provided on request
- CPAP machines supported
Activities
- Day & night Game Drives
- Exclusive-use safari vehicles and driver/guides
- Guided wildlife, birdlife and scenic walks
- Sundowners, picnics and bush dinners
- Cycling and running through the Naretoi Estate
- Farm and community project visits
- Tennis – there is a nearby bush tennis court with racquets and balls provided
- Fishing on the Mara River
Optional extras include
- Massage treatments and yoga sessions
- Cultural and school visits
- Maasai homestay
- Boda Boad motorbiking
- Scenic flights
- Helicopter excursions
- Hot Air Balloon flights
- Visits to the Mara Elephant Project
- Rhino sanctuary and other conservation project visits
Visitors' Book
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Rates
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“Ecotourism and rewilding mix with game viewing at this exclusive Masai Mara retreat. It’s probably the closest that any of us will get to living (comfortably) in the African savannah.”
A stay at Amani House is an opportunity to experience all the superlative safari adventures, abundant wildlife and incredible scenery of the magical Masai Mara – without compromising in the very slightest on luxury accommodation and every possible home comfort.
Amani House can be loosely translated from the Kiswahili as ‘Place of Peace’ and this perfectly encapsulates the lovely, calm and civilised atmosphere of this exceptional and very well put-together private home.
Its American owners, long-time visitors to Kenya and Masai Mara aficionados, decided it was time to create their own very special safari retreat for family and friends. Completed in 2019, Amani House welcomed its first exclusive-use guests in 2022.
Located on the northern boundaries of the Masai Mara, it sits in a secluded position on the fringes the private Naretoi Estate within the award-winning Enonkishu Conservancy – renowned for its pioneering commitment to environmental protection, animal conservation, preserving Masai heritage and improving local livelihoods.
Amani House has seven bedrooms – four luxurious ensuite King rooms in the Family House and three rooms in the Guest House: one with a private balcony with brass bath and fireplace, one twin room with a private verandah and fireplace and one with four queen-sized bunk beds – perfect for and very popular with older children and teens.
The central Main House houses an elegant drawing room, dining room and deep blue media room with matching snooker table. The property looks out over expansive lawns, swimming pool and pergola and across game-filled plains towards Kileoleni Hill, the very highest point in the Masai Mara.
With complete exclusivity and no set schedules or agendas, guests are free to plan their days and nights according to their wishes and can choose to be as active or as laid-back as they wish. The property has a full complement of welcoming and house-proud staff including a private host/guide and chef, together with private safari vehicles and drivers.
All meals and activities and excursions can be personalised to suit each group and every guest, and the management of Amani House is overseen by the Wood family, the founders of the Enonkishu Conservancy who own and run the nearby House in the Wild boutique eco-lodge.
When not out on day and night game drives, bush walks and other safari adventures, there is plenty to keep guests happily occupied at home and in and around the 1000-acre Naretoi Estate. As well as swimming pool and hot tub, snooker table, croquet and boules, the house has a basketball / pickle ball court and a well-equipped gym. In-house massages and yoga sessions are also available
Amani House sits within its own 15 private and secluded acres adjoining the 5-acre Naretoi Dam which attracts a variety of animal and birdlife. Nearby is a tennis court and fishing on the Mara River, and guests are free to explore and experience the estate and its flora and fauna on foot, by bicycle or even on a ‘boda boda’ motorcycle.
A short drive away is Olchorro Conservancy’s Rhino Sanctuary, a conservation project with staff from local communities protecting the area’s rhinos for the past 20 years. Closely guarded by a team of armed rangers, the rhino roam free on the slopes of Kileoleni Hill, and guests have the opportunity to get up-close and personal with Queen Elizabeth and Kofi Annan, two endangered Southern White Rhino.
A little further afield, guests can visit The Mara Elephant Project and learn about the vital work being done to reduce human-wildlife conflict and protect the elephants of the Mara. All kinds of other memorable experiences can be arranged, from rewarding community and cultural visits to thrilling helicopter trips and hot air balloon flights.
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