The giraffe manor
Presentation
Practical information
More than an unusual hotel, the Giraffe Manor is a unique experience to live: in the footsteps of Betty Leslie Melville.
The setting of this story takes place in a Scottish-style manor, built in the 1930s, about twenty kilometers from Nairobi and at the foot of the magnificent Ngong Hills. Forty years later, when this property was sold to the grandson of a Scottish earl, Jock Leslie Melville and his wife Betty, three Rothschild giraffes had made their home on this land. Jock and Betty Leslie Melville turned their property into a haven for this endangered species in Kenya; Betty, nicknamed “the Giraffe Lady”, dedicated her life to protecting this species, adopting her first giraffe, Daisy, and founding AFEW (African Fund for Endangered Wildlife) in 1974.
Upon her husband's passing, Betty opened Giraffe Manor as a guest house and decided to donate the profits to AFEW. This vast estate, now in the chic suburbs of Nairobi, is managed by Rick and his wife, who welcome you with the utmost care to make your stay an unforgettable experience. Here, time has stopped; there is no need to look for a spa or plasma screens in the rooms — there are none. Dinner is served by candlelight, family portraits line the walls up to your room, and the fire crackles in the fireplaces.
If you have a choice among the ten rooms, opt for the Betty room, which opens onto a large terrace on the first floor, allowing you to admire at leisure these charming giraffes roaming freely in the park.
Morning and evening, they approach the house, peeking curiously through an open window or coming to meet you. When was the last time you shared your breakfast with a giraffe?
✯ Annual closure: first two weeks of January ✯
The setting of this story takes place in a Scottish-style manor, built in the 1930s, about twenty kilometers from Nairobi and at the foot of the magnificent Ngong Hills. Forty years later, when this property was sold to the grandson of a Scottish earl, Jock Leslie Melville and his wife Betty, three Rothschild giraffes had made their home on this land. Jock and Betty Leslie Melville turned their property into a haven for this endangered species in Kenya; Betty, nicknamed “the Giraffe Lady”, dedicated her life to protecting this species, adopting her first giraffe, Daisy, and founding AFEW (African Fund for Endangered Wildlife) in 1974.
Upon her husband's passing, Betty opened Giraffe Manor as a guest house and decided to donate the profits to AFEW. This vast estate, now in the chic suburbs of Nairobi, is managed by Rick and his wife, who welcome you with the utmost care to make your stay an unforgettable experience. Here, time has stopped; there is no need to look for a spa or plasma screens in the rooms — there are none. Dinner is served by candlelight, family portraits line the walls up to your room, and the fire crackles in the fireplaces.
If you have a choice among the ten rooms, opt for the Betty room, which opens onto a large terrace on the first floor, allowing you to admire at leisure these charming giraffes roaming freely in the park.
Morning and evening, they approach the house, peeking curiously through an open window or coming to meet you. When was the last time you shared your breakfast with a giraffe?
✯ Annual closure: first two weeks of January ✯
Giraffe Manor
PO Box 15004
Langata Rd
00509 Nairobi, Kenya
Tel : +254 732 812896
From 875 USDPO Box 15004
Langata Rd
00509 Nairobi, Kenya
Tel : +254 732 812896
Pricing details
Rates 2021, per person per night on a full board basis (based on two people sharing a double room), starting from 875 USD.Maximum capacity 10 rooms, 25 guests.
Annual closure in May.
Note: All prices are provided for informational purposes only and must be confirmed directly with the establishment.
Comments
To see, The Giraffe Center and The Karen Blixen Museum, the former home of the Danish author, who notably wrote Out of Africa, based on African Farm, and lived on this property between 1917 and 1931. 
