Sarova Shaba Game Lodge

The buffet meals were of an acceptable standard.

There were no top sheets on the beds and it was very warm evening. It was not possible to open the windows due to masses of mosquitoes. Despite a fan on full all night , it was impossible to be comfortable and I was Karen alive by mosquitoes. Not fun in a malaria area

Nice location - but inside a national reserve, so you have to pay that extra. Nice personell, great pool with cool water (may be cold for some but we enjoyed it)

Quite pricey, rooms a bit small

Shaba — An Epic Nature Escape! Shaba was absolutely epic! The natural beauty was breathtaking — the sound of water trickling through the surroundings was so calming and truly refreshing. They’ve really done a great job greening the place, which adds to its serene vibe. The fish foot massage was an unforgettable experience — I thoroughly enjoyed it, even though Jo couldn’t quite stand it (she still earned a gold star for trying!). The food was divine, and Chef Joseph was always there, making sure we were well taken care of. And I can’t forget to mention Nimo — she was simply amazing and took such good care of Jo.Thank you for honoring Jo's Elephant theme😊 We’ll surely be back and I highly recommend Shaba to anyone visiting Isiolo!

While this was not at the property it was the payment of park fees that was paid to a personal number that left so many question's as we have been used yo Citizen

Food, bed was comfortable

I paid 20000 for a game drive all other white guests got to get the new cruisers while I was given the oldest one with worn out seats and rusted roof. I was embarrassed.

Staff appear to be doing their best to be nice, except when asked difficult questions like 'Why is the lodge charging this amount of money?' and 'Well can I just walk 8km?'

USD 160 charged by this lodge for a 35 minute drive from the nearest airstrip, Samburu Kalama, which is 22 km away, and of which at least 13km is tarmac A2 highway road. I’m a resident, doesn’t matter. One way, as the lodge kept reminding me. You have to take their transport. There are no alternatives and they will do everything they can to stop you from walking. The lodge doesn’t answer email or Booking.com messages either - I sent several asking which airstrip to fly to, no answer so I opted for the nearest one. I’ve never been charged by a lodge for airstrip pickup before so I expected it would be complimentary or certainly very reasonable. By the time I found out they wanted to charge USD 160 I could not cancel my reservation. I made a cancellation request to discuss it anyway, it was ignored. I also never confirmed I wanted pickup. I arrived planning to find alternatives or hitchhike, but somehow the lodge vehicle was waiting for me. Even though I had told them via phone that very morning that I would call later to confirm if I needed pickup. They effectively forced me to take the trip so they could charge me USD 160. Bear in mind the cost of 3 hour game drives in a safari vehicle, per person, is USD 150. So why is the transfer MORE expensive for a journey 1/6 of the time and mostly tarmac road? As for the return journey... Can I take a game drive in the morning and be dropped off at the airstrip? No, they say. Can I just walk to the reserve gate (8km) and be picked up by a private driver? No, they say, walking along the dirt track is 'too dangerous'. Can I just get dropped off at the gate? That'll be at least USD 80 for that 8km, they say, after a LOT of arguing. I cannot ever recommend a lodge that will charge USD 320 for airstrip transfer. What kind of racket are they running here? The underhand pricing makes no sense. They are out to extort you for as much money as possible. Horrible feeling.

Everything was great.

What the advert and all the online briefing and information about the Lodge failed to say was that, in addition to the price of rooms, onw had to pay a significant Park Entry fee to reach the hotel. This added some 20% onto the price of the advertsied cost and is verging on misrepresentation. This needs to be rectified or might render the Hotel liable to legal action.