In October 2011 i booked through African Journeys for a safari in Kenya.
Their customer service had its high and low points.
For one thing, we never received our itinerary until we asked for it days before departure.
(we booked in May for October departure)
For another, we had no choice but to be bumped a week before departure for an extra day in Nairobi, Kenya. This was how we learned that we had not yet received our itinerary. (?!?)

They did come through on re-booking my flight from Stateside to my next destination.
And we were supposed to feel consolation in the bumping and staying an extra day in Nairobi with a half day excursion to an elephant orphanage.

While the elephant orphanage was fine and the group agreed to lunch at Carnivore, a renowned restaurant (no zebra offered), somehow i got hijacked into going to places that were not discussed in the morning before departure.
Apparently there was a discussion held without my being present and while i was enjoying the elephant orphans.

Had i known that this would be an all day excursion versus a half-day excursion, i would have opted out and hung out in Nairobi doing things i enjoy doing, like exploring the city (their library looked very interesting in the CBD, but then the whole CBD was fascinating to me). Listening to some of the residents describe the American Embassy bombing as well as supporting some demonstrators who were let go from their jobs without any warning (not too unlike the demonstrations of our 99%), ...

that said, and this was supposed to be a review on the Simba Lodge in one of Kenya's National Parks, be very careful taking a shower because the tile floor is extremely slippery when wet. A DEFINITE FALL HAZARD THAT WOULD HURT IF NOT SERIOUSLY INJURE.
i put one of their towels on the shower floor to help prevent my slipping.

the food at the lodge was plentiful, tasty, and varied.
it was so plentiful, tasty and varied that i had a case of gluttony, which impacted almost two days of my safari meal plan (of course, the vomiting that followed the nausea came at the same time as a lioness was passing inches away from my door/window :o) it was all good).

thankfully, all i needed to do was make it from the bed to the safari vehicle.
needless to say, with gluttony, one day's meals were not able to be enjoyed.

this lodge feeds the crocodiles and the mongooses there.
one small primate jumped onto our table and took a companion's biscuit, a few inches from where i was eating. this was interesting in that it happened so suddenly there was nothing but surprise from us at the table.

if you wanted wild, this was it.

unfortunately, Tarzan was not spotted.

but this will always remain as one of my best trips in my lifetime.

This is by far the best lodge of our safari. Located just outside the Mara gate. I was a bit apprehensive as it was outside, but frankly it doesn't matter. There is a small river by the lodge, which you can view from bar and restaurant area. Saw few hippos and crocodile in that river.
The rooms are very charming, spacious and cozy. Although it is just outside Mara, there are no other lodges close-by.
Food was excellent, very tasty and spread was quite a bit. We got to see plenty of bird variety in lodge campus, spotted at least 25 different species of birds, plenty of mongoose and monitor lizard right from our room. The Mara reserve is few hundred meters from lodge gate and we always saw vultures and tawny very close by when going to Mara.

This was our fifth visit to Kenya; the holiday was arranged by REAL AFRICA an excellent company full marks to them for organising such a fantastic holiday. The local agent this company use are Albatross they like wise were brilliant, especially our driver Francis.

We flew from Wilson airport to the Mara; we have previously travelled by road, if it is your first visit this mode of travel gives you a very good insight to the country & culture however it does take at least 5hrs so this time we decided on a speedier journey. From Wilson airport it is about a 40 mins flight and then approximate a 30 min drive from the airstrip. On the drive to the lodge, you'll get to do a mini game drive; we saw warthogs, wildebeest, vultures
and various antelopes/gazelles.

Mara Simba lodge is just wonderful, a fabulous location right on the Talek riverbank with hippos and crocs in the river. During the evening this area is floodlit and makes wonderful viewing as animals come down to drink, in the daylight the weaver birds were busy making their nests which just captivated you.
The room was nice and clean, free toiletries include shampoo, lotion and shower gel were supplied. Each day the room was cleaned and after our afternoon game drive the bed sheets were turned down and lights on to welcome you back. We had a room on the top floor I don’t think it makes any difference if you are on the lower floor as views are restricted due to the trees and foliage.


The food was excellent, buffets for all meals although soup was always served to you. I have to say the soup was the most fantastic I have ever tasted. Afternoon tea and early morning tea, coffee and cake were available as well. Our waiter for our stay called Tom was excellent, he treated us like royalty; chairs were pulled out for us to sit down on, our napkins were placed on our laps by him and when our drinks came he poured those for us too.

The lodge treat its waste water before reusing it in landscaping and solar power helps for hot water and lights. To conserve power lights are turned off in the middle of the night, so be prepared for absolute darkness with a torch (they provide one for each room) but I would take your own to be sure. The swimming pool area was well designed and very private.

The game drives were fabulous and we saw every type of animal you would hope to see. We had a full day safari and the picnic lunch provided was fantastic. On another note we were tempted to do a balloon ride but asking other guests there was a mixed response so we gave it a miss, you can book at the hotel it costs $450 dollars I think this is cheaper than pre booking but of course you can not guarantee that there will be space.

Comments have been made in other reports about the front desk staff being unhelpful but our experience found them helpful and very polite. All of the staff were just brilliant and we thank you all for making our stay so wonderful.

On our return to Nairobi we had a meal at the Carnivore Restaurant big mistake as it was dreadful the meat so under cook blood dripped on your plate! I understand there are better & cheaper restaurants.

To conclude a wonderful country, wonderful people and wonderful animals, truly stunning, do not let the troubles in the North put you off, security both at the hotel and in Nairobi was very visible and very reassuring.

My mother, husband and I stayed at the Lodge earlier this year and had a fantastic time. Maybe it was the wonderful staff, or our amazingly knowledgable and sweet safari guide Danson, or the fact that there is a resident crocodile, wild dik diks and gazelle who wander around the camp, and two baby hippos in the hippo pool - I can't pinpoint it. We had a really great time, and I'd recommend it to anyone in the area.