The Ark Lodge

Location: Aberdare National Park, Nyeri, ke

Star Rating: 5 Stars

Property Type: Lodges

About this Property

Important Information

Policies

Check-in: 12:30 PM - 02:00 PM

Check-out: 07:30 AM

Amenities & Facilities

• Offsite parking discounted rates available
• Parking
• Non-smoking rooms
• Restaurant
• Terrace
• Luggage storage
• Express check-in/check-out
• Packed lunches
• Currency exchange
• Private check-in/check-out
• Shared lounge/TV area
• Shuttle service (additional charge)
• Express check-in
• Free wired internet
• Self parking (surcharge)
• Offsite parking discounted rates available
• Internet access
• Housekeeping on request
• Fishing nearby
• Accessible shuttle
• No accessible shuttle

Rooms Available

• Standard Twin Room

  Featuring free toiletries, this twin room includes a private bathroom with a shower. The twin room features a wardrobe and a carpeted floor. The unit has 2 beds.

  Max Occupancy: 2 (2 Adults)

  • Shower
  • Toilet
  • Private bathroom
  • Wardrobe or closet
  • Cots

• Triple Room with Bathroom

  Room with 3 single beds.

  Max Occupancy: 3 (3 Adults)

  • Shower
  • Toilet
  • Private bathroom
  • Wardrobe or closet
  • Cots

• Standard Queen Room

  Providing free toiletries, this double room includes a private bathroom with a shower. The double room provides a wardrobe and a carpeted floor. The unit offers 1 bed.

  Max Occupancy: 2 (2 Adults)

  • Shower
  • Toilet
  • Private bathroom
  • Wardrobe or closet
  • Cots

• King Room

  Offering free toiletries, this double room includes a private bathroom with a shower. The double room offers a wardrobe and a carpeted floor. The unit offers 1 bed.

  Max Occupancy: 2 (2 Adults)

  • Shower
  • Toilet
  • Private bathroom
  • Wardrobe or closet
  • Cots

Guest Reviews

• Chinjako (10/5): -
• Amanda (9/5): Wonderful location - The location Hard to get hot water for shower
• Murt Hebs (6/5): - Location overview of wildlife The room alocated to us was old not refurbished as others
• Mercy (7/5): -
• Tom (9/5): Incredible observation of wildlife! - Location, location, location!!! Rooms are small, atmosphere is cosy. I guess in high season it can be crowded and will definitely feel like cramped.
• christina (10/5): best place to be- ever- lovely helpful great personal with great experience, wonderful rooms a beds - das beste Personal ever, hilfsbereit, liebevoll, extrem nett und überaus engagiert. das schönste Hotel ever, mit dem besten Platz für Tierbeobachtungen, würde immer immer wieder kommen
• Wolfgang (10/5): -
• Govani (10/5): -
• Oliver (9/5): -
• Frank (9/5): Spectacular - Spectacular experience Okayish food
• Can (10/5): -
• Wallace (9/5): -
• Nigel (10/5): -
• Nigel (10/5): -
• Awa (10/5): -
• Brenda (10/5): Great value for quality experience. Convenient location. - The Aberdares/Ark combo works well. Check in and lunch at the country club then short transfer into the park to Ark. It’s a great half way stop between Nairobi and our destination, Meru. A mixture of colonial luxury and animal watching at economical prices especially compared to glamp safaris. Plenty of viewing space at Ark. Activities for a longer stay at Aberdare Country Club. Do the horse ride safari. Food fabulous. Staff professional. Predinner talk at Ark very interesting. Rooms at ACC enormous. ASK FOR 10am transfer out of Ark! Wanted more days there. And more elephants but thats the joy of early rain season. Other animals esp Genet buffalo hyena and so many birds compensated . They may need more horses at the Club?
• Brenda (10/5): Quirky but worthwhile Safari experience. - Wonderful, quirky safari experience easily accessed through aberdare country club. Great evening talk, choice of viewing areas plenty of opportunity for all guests to get a good view of the visiting animals and birds. Less rain more elephant ( out of your control)
• Maryann (8/5): Ark Lodge Unique experience - Unique experience, unfortunately no elephants due to heavy rainfall days before. Great hospitality and great food Price of wine 🍷 a little expensive.
• Liam (10/5): -
• Romana (9/5): Traumhafte Unterkunft durch optimale Tierbeobachtungen - Wir waren dort für eine Nacht und haben bereut, dass wir nicht noch eine Nacht länger gebucht haben. Denn diese Unterkunft hat ein Wasserloch direkt anliegend. Das großartige ist der Balkon, von dem man die Tiere wunderbar beobachten kann. Außerdem kann man selbst von dem Speisesaal durch die großen Scheiben auch sehr gut Tiere beobachten, die sich auf den Weg zum Wasserloch begeben. Essen war super und das Personal war außergewöhnlich freundlich. Außerdem gibt es einen sehr gemütlichen Kamin, an dem man sich nach Sonnenuntergang zum Tee o.ä. hinsetzen kann. Der Game Drive in diesem Nationalpark ist eingeschränkt zu empfehlen. Durch die Dichte Bepflanzung, kann man Tiere nur relativ kurzfristig sehen… Sehr zu empfehlen ist übrigens auch das Mittags Buffet (im Preis inbegriffen) im Aberdare Country Club außerhalb des Nationalparks. Man wird dort mit einem kostenlosen Shuttle hin- und wieder zurückgefahren. Der Park ist wirklich sehenswert . Er ist wunderschön, angelegt mit Pfauen und anderen Tieren. Eigentlich nichts .. Die Ausstattung ist etwas in die Jahre gekommen, was aber für uns total nebensächlich war.
• Veronika (10/5): - Very pleasant and comfortable hotel with a welcoming atmosphere. The food was excellent, and I really appreciated the thoughtful touch of a hot water bottle in the bed at night😃
• Lara (10/5): - We had to change the date of our stay at very short notice, which was no problem at all. The hotel is quiet and cozy, and the staff are very attentive. You can watch animals at the watering hole while enjoying a leisurely cup of tea.
• Sanne Gøj (7/5): -
• Alex Bisig (10/5): -
• Isabelle (8/5): -
• Rudy (9/5): Ontspannend en interessante dieren te zien van dichtbij. - Observatiemogelijkheden uitstekend. Vriendelijke mensen en lekker ontbijt en buffet. Lunch was iets minder.
• Susan (9/5): Great stay! - The setting in the park was lovely, food was great, and staff were kind and attentive. We enjoyed the bird feeding; especially staying a little later to see the ganet cat and the bush babies feeding. We also saw a hyena hanging out hoping to catch one of the small antelope below. The viewing at the waterhole was great as we saw elephants, hyenas , bush bucks, water buffaloes, wart hogs and many birds. Nil
• Robin (8/5): Unique wildlife location - The location of the Ark is exceptional right in the middle of the national park with a large watering hole and lots of wild animals to view The staff were very friendly and attentive, and the food was excellent with a great choice available The double rooms were very small for the price I paid and in the end I opted for a twin room which had a little more space, but nonetheless the bedrooms on the B level are quite small
• Pauline (9/5): -
• Shi Chung (7/5): Great value ! - Breakfast was good and room was good too. Animals are not enough for watching purpose.
• Sylvain (9/5): - Architecture du bâtiment, emplacement, repas très variés, personnel charmant Chambres un peu petites mais reste dans l' esprit d'une cabine de bateau
• Montse (10/5): Idílico!! - Todo me encantó!!! No puedo poner ninguna pega. Para volver!!
• Wiebe (8/5): - The Ark is located at a beautiful location in the Aberdare Range, with a view of a watering hole that attracts many animals. The hotel is very clean and the staff is great. The food is in a buffet style, and is good. It is a bit confusing that guests are supposed to check in at the Country Club (at a 20-30 minute drive from the Ark), to be transported in a shuttle bus to the Ark. Guests are woken up at 6.30 am by the staff for breakfast, so sleeping in is not an option as the shuttle back to the Country Club leaves at 8 am. This isn't a big issue, but for us this was not clear when booking. The drinks at the bar are relatively expensive.
• Linleeya (10/5): amazing stay, animal galore, family friendly, excellent team. - An all round amazing experience, we were travelling with our three young children, the hotel, team were very accommodating, the sight seeing and animal exposure was a once in a lifetime opportunity. There was nothing to not like.
• Grace (10/5): -
• Gareth Symonds (10/5): - This is such a unique and special experience, we really loved it - food at both the country club and ark was excellent, and the nature experience is unbeatable- watching bird feeding and sitting over the waterhole watching elephants all night- what am amazing time. Everything was great The water wasn't hot in the shower.
• Christinne (9/5): -
• Torsten (9/5): - Spektakuläre Lage, Zimmer in die Jahre gekommen, seit Erbauung der Lodge 1969 wurde hier leider wenig investiert, dennoch ein mustvisit
• Singh (8/5): -
• Khurshid (8/5): The location makes it unique and so does the wildlife. - The location in the forest. It is a great destination to visit Slightly worn out as a lodge. But good enough for 1night stay to watch the wildlife.
• Rasa (9/5): Cosy stay in the mist beautiful national park. - Very beautiful and cozy, old style, charming hotel in a gorgeous location! Excellent for watching wildlife! There is no space outside - even for a short walk. But things understandable, because of all the wildlife around.
• Catherine (8/5): Highly recommend a stay for amazing wildlife - Very quirky hotel which was entertaining for one night. The wildlife viewing was really amazing and is the only reason really to visit the Ark. Hundreds of elephants, buffalo, warthogs, bushbucks, hyena and much more. Check in wasn't as smooth as it could have been but the staff resolved the issue quite fast once they understood that the mistake was on their end. We also had a pair of binoculars stolen from the shared viewing platform - the staff were very helpful in trying to locate them (unsuccessfully.) If you go, keep hold of your stuff!
• Ronald (10/5): Exceeded expectations in every way. The ranger talk in the evening was very excellent -
• Dimitrios (10/5): A unique place - Superb location, nice design, excellent service
• Patrick (10/5): What an experience to witness, with the animals… I loved every minute. - Well maintained and the location to the water whole was amazing… Nothing…
• ROBERTO (10/5): -
• Mrs (10/5): It was magical and the experience of watching the animals at the waterhole was unforgettable. - The food and services were excellent and the staff were friendly and knowledgeable. The locates beautiful and the viewing decks were second to none. It was lovely to visit the Abadere Country Club for lunch and the journey to The Ark was also good. The bird feeding experience was also really lovely. Nothing
• Esther (10/5): Fantastische ervaring - Het uitzicht was fantastisch Op elke verdieping was een uitkijkpunt. We hadden het geluk dat er ‘s avonds en ‘snachts veel activiteiten waren bij het water. Zelfs de aanval van de hyena’s op een klein buffeltje kunnen zien Tja, dat is hoe het werkt in de natuur Ook was het personeel erg aardig en behulpzaam
• Adam (10/5): - Magical place
• Eriksen (10/5): A place to visit! - Fantastic place. Will be back with friends. A must go place. Similar to Sarova Salt Lick but even better.
• Rainer_Malta (10/5): Simply perfect! - Very friendly and professional service, perfect facilities to watch the wild life, tea and coffee all night, good food, hot water bottle in bed..... We stayed for 2 nights, The activities offered during the day were pretty limited. Everything else was very good!
• Brenda (10/5): Great elephant experience - Most people just stay one night, I stayed two and spent a day on the deck. It’s mainly an elephant viewing place in afternoon evenings. Plenty of birds too. The place is organised like a cruise ship w decks and cabins. Cabins are small. Ok for one, would be cosy for two. It’s close to the sister lodge outside the park. Buffet good but I found the food very salty. All drinks are chargeable. Checkin at Aberdare Country club is essential and I’d recommend a night there too w fabulous gardens w wildlife roaming.
• Anne (8/5): Une belle experience au coeur des Aberdares - Endroit incroyable pour observer les animaux, c'est vraiment magique de se poser sur une des terrasses et observer la faune Sauvage. L'ambiance est bonne et lesrepas de qualite. On vient ici pour l'experience et on est pas decu. Un manque de communications avant le debut du sejour a amene a un peu de frustration a notre arrivee. Mais le personnel sur place a ensuite ete vraiment parfait pour trouver des solutions.
• Rogier (9/5): -
• Beatrice (10/5): - Anne was very helpful when we requested for changes in our booking. Thank you very much. We enjoyed our stay
• Stephen (8/5): - Beautiful,serene,very relaxing place. Awesome staff Board games or indoor games could come in handy
• Alexei (9/5): - Unique hotel in the must list for Kenya in the hear of the forest. We have seen the leopard!
• kago (3/5): Not a great stay! - The animals They used wet wood at the fireplace - what followed was very noisy extraction of smoke; which permeated throughout the building.
• Malvinder (9/5): Excellent! - As always, the Ark did not fail to impress. Staff, and food excellent! Can't wait to go back again!
• Lancelot (9/5): Would have been the perfect experience with hot water :) - No hot water and the place is quite cold in the mountains so a down for the experience. Staff was informed but still had fresh/cold water.
• Justine (10/5): We started our honeymoon at the Ark and it couldn't have been better! - The Ark's location is second to none. Our first night there we saw so many elephants at the watering hole. Truly so special to see them up close. Our room was very comfortable; as mentioned by others the rooms are small but they are well designed and very functional. The rest of the Ark is very comfortable with lounge areas as well as comfortable seating at each level to see the animals. The buffet has lots of different food options!
• ETSUKO (10/5): -
• Mary (10/5): -
• Rosario (9/5): Maravillosa inmersión en la naturaleza con confortables instalaciones - La ubicación con miradores encima de la laguna hace que sientas que formas parte de su hábitat sin perturbarlo. Vimos manadas de elefantes y de hienas, búfalos, facoteros, jabalíes y cantidad de aves. Las instalaciones muy confortables y acogedoras La habitación de cama grande es pequeña y sin armario
• GermanDeza (10/5): Un lujo - Nosotros dormimos en una habitación con dos camas que era más amplia que las que luego vimos por los pasillos. El baño muy bien y limpio, con una ducha con agua caliente y bien de presión. Fue un auténtico lujazo alojarnos en este alojamiento. Nosotros íbamos con coche de alquiler e hicimos directamente el check in en el alojamiento. El parque es un auténtico bosque y no vimos prácticamente ningún animal en todas las horas que estuvimos conduciendo por él, pero las cascadas merecen mucho la pena, el paisaje es espectacular. La charca del hotel es maravillosa, con animales continuamente apareciendo, especialmente facóqueros, antílopes, búfalos y elefantes sueltos. También vimos una huiena. Estuvimos toda la tarde pegados a las terrazas y balcones que dan a la charca. La comida es tipo buffet y es fantástica. Hay un timbre en la habitación que se supone que suena cuando un animal aparece en la charca: un pitido si es elefante, dos si es rino, tres si es leopardo y cuatro si es un animal especial. Durante la noche, apareció una manada enooorme de elefantes en la charca y no sonó la campana en ningún momento, nosotros los oímos porque estuvieron peleándose y teníamos la habitación muy cerca, así que nos levantamos a verlos. Estuvieron muchísimo rato y no entendemos por qué no sonó, así que tenemos serias dudas de que la hagan sonar realmente o simplemente es un reclamo.
• Vera (9/5): Grandiose Lage - Eine wunderschöne Lodge mitten im Aberdare National Park (Achtung: es sind NP Gebühren für alle Tage zu zahlen!). Der Check in erfolgt im Aberdare Country Club und von dort gibt es auch einen Transfer. Wir waren mit eigenem Wagen und Fahrer da, das ist natürlich deutlich flexibler. Die meisten Reisenden kommen in Gruppen und bleiben nur einen Tag. Wir waren drei Nächte dort. Manchmal waren wir fast allein und manchmal war es richtig voll. Die Aussichtsplattformen sind grandios! Wir haben Elefanten, Büffel, Hyänen, Kronenkraniche, DicDics und viele, viele Vögel gesehen. Es gibt eine Vogelfütterung am Nachmittag und das ist wirklich zu empfehlen. Tee und Kaffee gibt es nonstop. Die Zimmer sind einfach und nicht so groß. Die Dusche war mal heiß und mal kalt. Abends gab es eine tolle Wärmflasche. Man kann einen Game Drive buchen, aber wir sind mit unserem Fahrer und einem Ranger herumgefahren. Der Aberdare NP ist nicht so stark besucht. Man sieht die Tiere nur schwer weil der Wald sehr dicht ist und man an nur wenigen Stellen herumspazieren darf. Dennoch: toll!! Wir haben unsere Zeit sehr genossen. Das Essen war ebenfalls großartig!
• Amador (9/5): -
• Walter (4/5): Die Lodge lebt nur von der Lage Rezeption-Organisation zum Vergessen - Einmalige Lage Lassen ihre Gäste nachts vor verschlossener Türe mit 3 Hyänen warten Keine Möglichkeit zu klingeln oder anzurufen Frühstück hat nichts mit 5 Sternen zu tun Fruchtsaft mit 60% Wasser und dies in Kenya Leben nur von der Lage
• Mike (9/5): Must-do, excellent - A great, must-do location with friendly, professional staff, well organised and we saw lots if wild animals. Thanks for the wonderful experience!
• Thi Cam (9/5): Rất hài lòng - Nhân viên nhiệt tình , dễ thương
• Leila (8/5): - Staff were all friendly and helpful.
• Joanne (10/5): Exceptional - Every thing, especially the Familes of Elephants and the comfortable bed, and incredible choices of food
• Kago (8/5): Very good -
• Veerle (9/5): Not to miss out! - The location is fantastic! It's an unforgettable experience to see elephants, hyenas, buffalos, impalas, warthogs and other animals so close by. The place is very charming. Acoustics are not great and can affect sleep. My room was also quite chilly (staff brought hot water bottles though)
• Joan (10/5): Exceptional - The animal encounters were amazing. All the staff were great but Christine was incredible - I would have to say she was the best staff member I have ever experienced in any hotel across the world.
• Ioannis (10/5): A real life experience - This is the place to be for watching the animals all night. Moreover, everything is well organised. Food is good and staff so friendly and helpful. I adored it
• Joan (10/5): Amazing Staff and Animal Encounters - The animal viewing was suburb. All the staff were great but Christine was incredible - I would have to say she was the best staff member I have ever experienced in any hotel across the world. She was so helpful in organiising things, always caring about us, always smiling and engaging with us and even referred to as Auntie by our 5 year old daughter. The location is cold at night but the hot water bottles for the bed was appreciated by my wife.
• Langton (10/5): Exceptional -
• Kaya (10/5): Exceptional -
• Teresa (4/5): Disappointing -
• Kago (5/5): Passable -
• Flashbooings (9/5): Superb - Animals Coziness Closeness to animals to watch behavior Bird feeding time
• Pritam (10/5): Exceptional -
• Francesca (8/5): Very good - The facility is very peculiar and the staff super nice, kind and knowledgeable We booked a king room for higher price but seems all room have same size. So not sure why on booking.com there's the option of choosing queen /king room at higher cost if then they are all the same size.
• Mary&francis (9/5): Enjoyable.staff very friendly.food excellent - Good Shower cubicle too small
• Navyote (9/5): Good experience. Aberdare Country Club was stunning. - Location. Staff were great. Good selection of drinks. There was some loud noise coming from the plumbing which went on during the night.
• Winfred (10/5): Relaxing - The proximity to animals, the friendly staff, the amazing food and the hot water bottle they put in your bed.
• Steven (8/5): Very good - The environment is magnificent, the experience is worthwhile, and the attempt to point people at behaving themselves is a great initiative, be it with room for improvement The procedure at the gate, not only the extra cost but the hassle, took us more than an hour to get into the park. That could be included, to avoid the process and the payment
• Maciej (10/5): Exceptional -
• Maguire (7/5): The place could use some effort. - Good location. Good old school feel without being run-down. Booked and paid for two kings and got two cabins.
• Kago (6/5): Pleasant -
• Teresa (6/5): Beautiful but activities too expensive - The location. The areas to observe the animals. The tea and coffee available almost at all times. The lecture by the manager about this site and the animals was very interesting and the daily bird feeding is also a plus The activities are extremely expensive. There is no price chart anywhere and it seems prices are arbitrarily (and even abusively) set by the person in charge. The car that brought us to the activities was very very old and we had to rush to see the waterfalls as the car could not make it to come back if it rained. When going for a hike the car could not arrive to the parking, thus we hiked for 2 hours more than planed. This would not have been a problem but for the time to come back, we should have been told this prior to palm the departure time. At check in we indicated we are vegetarian. However the first lunch box was not vegetarian. On the departure day they refused to give us a free lunch to compensate for the missing one. All in all one feels they want to take as much money as possible from you.
• Helena (10/5): Loved it! - The Ark is rustic and has character, fitting for the surroundings. All the staff are great. The rooms are small and simple but nice. The atmosphere is authentic. Highlight was the bird feeding. Don't miss that. From what I heard the employer did well by the staff during covid, it shows in the way they work now. A very chill place to stay, and the night time buzzer for game viewing is a nice and helpful quaint unique offering.
• Richard (7/5): Good - Lovely staff, the building could do with a bit of TLC and is slightly claustrophobic. Nevertheless it's potentially a great location to see wildlife but we got unlucky and it was hosing down with rain (it never rains in January) so only a couple of Buffalo, 3 Impalas and some Servals bothered to come to the waterhole that night.
• Sara (8/5): Very good -
• Tangsheng (6/5): If not the bad reception staff will be a paradise experience. - All the staff in the hotel building very much help and warm. Reception desk not friendly to people.mislead guest information . Not admit wrong doing .
• Ashley (9/5): Superb -
• Hugh (10/5): Great stay - We loved every part of our 2 night stay. The food is amazing and the staff looked after us so well. I hardly ever write reviews this place deserves every accolade ! Nothing
• Gee (7/5): The highlight of the stay was the wildlife! - Brilliant location Wonderful experience of wildlife Fantastic staff Unique property - the Arc In need of upgrading ( especially Wc/ bathrooms ) and soundproofing ( could hear conversations through the walls )
• Jiawei (10/5): Our three night stay at the Ark and Christmas celebration at Country Club was great. The captain has put really a lot of -

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