The Mount Kenya safari clubs, with their combination of romance, history and scenery, have become a Kenyan tradition. Built right on the equator on a ridge facing Mount Kenya, the site is truly magnificent, well worth visiting for the view alone. The grand main building gleams white against the green of the surrounding gardens and there are spectacular views of the foothill forest rising to the peaks of Mount Kenya.
The original building was designed as a dream home by Rhoda Prudhomme for her husband. As a wealthy 50-year-old New York matron, Rhoda fell in love with the young French aviator who took her big game on her Kenyan safari. She left everything to marry and live with him in Njoro, among the 1930s Happy Valley set. The land had been owned by a Mrs. Wheelers who she agreed to sell it to him because “only lovers would live there”. The Prudhommes named the house they built Mawingu, Swahili for the clouds that cover the slopes of Mount Kenya.
The houses with their many guest rooms were converted into an inn in 1948 when it was acquired by Abraham block. In 1959, William Holden and two friends stayed there on a shooting safari. They fell in love with the place, bought it and turned it into one of the most unusual and exclusive clubs in the world, the Mt Kenya Safari Club. Sir Winston Churchill was a founding member, as were Lord Louis Mountbatten, Robert Ruark, President of the United States, Lyndon Johnson, Conrad Hilton, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby and more. Over the last 40 years, the club’s guestbook has been signed by many world famous people. It is now a “world leading hotel”
The sense of history remains strong in the main building and in the original William Holden cottages. There is a strange mix of colonial Kenya and the glitz and glamor of the Hollywood stage. In the Trophy Room there are large leather seats and the walls are lined with horns and mounted heads – the room oozes “hunting” and “knight”. these rooms were filled with movies and celebrities of yesteryear.
Today the Mount Kenya Safari Club is a large and complex organization. Grounds of over one hundred acres contain a wide and diverse range of accommodation. a host of sporting options are available and there are conference facilities, shops and galleries, hotel vehicles are even required to transport you from your cottage or villa to the main hotel. The finesse and popularity of the club has meant expanding accommodation and services to cope with the influx of tourists who visit it.
The hotel maintains a tradition of exclusive elegance. There is a dress code for dinner, there is live music for dancing, and children must eat separately. The well-kept gardens invite you to take quiet walks. There’s a sense of formality that harkens back to an earlier time, a touch of snobbery and pretense. The Mount Kenya Safaris Club operates as a club and hotel. Although anyone can stay here, there are also paid club members who receive special attention.
It is the setting for the Mt Kenya safari club, which is also special, so memorable. the view is spectacular. You look across wide fields of grass beyond the idyllic pool to the dark evergreens of the forests below the foothills and further up to the clouds and peaks of Mount Kenya. Moving back and forth across the lawn is an incredible parade of huge birds: marabou birds, peacocks, and cranes.
There is a diverse selection of things to do here. You can browse through the excellent art gallery, go horseback riding in the woods, relax by the pool, get a massage, play a round of golf, browse the boutiques, buy books or curios, and stroll through the aviary. The list is endless.
Accommodation at the Mt Kenya safari club covers a wide range of styles, locations and prices. you can have quite a different experience here depending on which room you get. For example, you can socialize and feel immersed in history by staying in one of the rooms or suites in the main building. On the other hand, if you want a more private experience, you can opt for one of the newer, luxuriously appointed cabins tucked away by the river. You can be in a fairly functional room with small windows, or you can luxuriate in front of a massive stone fireplace in a grand cabin with stunning mountain views. The options are very varied and confusing.