bushwoman2002

I have a limited time and wonder if anyone has any suggestions for great accommodation in Karen--it's near the Sheldrik Elephant Sanctuary. I don't want to spend a fortune, so the Ngong House, while gorgeous, is out of my price range.

I also would like to know of some great places to shop in Karen--for Kenya arts and crafts. I had written a couple of places down that stood out, but can't find that info.

Please help. Thanks

Patty

I haven't stayed there but you may want to look into Macushla House. For shopping in the area, try Utamaduni and Kazuri.

KathBC

Have stayed at Macushla House and highly recommend it!

The property is intimate with just a few rooms and books up quickly so check soon for availability. It's sort of just around the corner from the Giraffe Centre.

Food is delicious and the absolute best coffee!

Utamaduni is great for crafts & Kazuri for beaded jewellry. There's also shops selling crafts on the road by the Galleria Mall. Can't recall the name of the road tho.

Leely2

I also recommend Macushla House! Great place to relax, very nice staff.

sandi

Macushla is charming and where many single travelers, especially women prefer to stay. However, of late some have mentioned that Macushla looks somewhat 'worn.' Not having been here in awhile, can't atest to just 'how worn' but if this is only for a day or two, can't imagine it's all that terrible. Comments can vary from one guest to another depending on their expectations, so would suggest you check reviews on Trip Advisor, those posted in the past year.

As I receive info am glad sharing with others so there are no surprises, as I'm certain you'll have clean linens, the grounds are lovely and the food is fine.

bushwoman2002

Thanks to all of you; I've been reading mixed reviews on Trip Advisor about Machushia so that's why I put it out there for some suggestions on places to stay. I am a little suspicious that all of the responses thus far recommend Macushia....Hmmmm. I appreciate the suggestions for shopping .

Have a great weekend.

bushwoman2002

Oops, I misspoke; I read mixed reviews for Margarita House. Sorry about that. The weird thing is I cannot find a website/email address for Machushia--it seems you have to go through a 3rd party to get rates and such. And, I emailed 2 different 3rd party websites and haven't heard back. If anyone has a website or a reliable way to contact Macushia, please let me know. Thanks so much.

Leely2

I stayed at Macushla in 2010 and 2012. You need to email them. Their email is on their website.

http://www.macushla.biz/

Have some photos from my first stay at Macushla here:

http://www.pbase.com/leelygoes/rwand...herlands_accom

I never got a gallery of accommos together for my last trip, unfortunately. I am way behind!

bushwoman2002

Thanks Leely2; your right, the website is listed, but when I emailed them, I got the email sent back to me. Crazy....

tockoloshe

Utamaduni is good for wide selectoon of crafts and also nice cafe/restaurant. Only thing I would add is that I had my credit card cloned in Kenya (subsequently fraudulently used in 3 shops in Nairobi) and the only 2 places I used it was Nakumatt supermarket and Utamaduni - I am certainly not making accusations, it could have been cloned anywhere in the world and only by coincidence used in Nairobi after I had been there. I prefer to use cash and only resorted to the card when I ran out of money at the end of the trip.

You won't fail to enjoy Sheldrick's!

travelHTT

There is a new hotel along Magadi road that would cater for your needs, I am yet to check it out but its worth a try: Longview Suites is a 32 room all-suite boutique hotel located along Magadi Road in the serene area of Karen, Nairobi. The ultra-modern property overlooks the Nairobi National Park and guarantees a personalized service to both business travelers and holidaymakers.

crosscheck

Another vote for Macushla - wish we could have stayed longer. We got a great rate on their 2-bedroom giant cottage by booking through Gamewatchers.

twaffle

Just returned from Macushla (my 6th or 7th stay over many years). They have started upgrading some rooms, one I stayed in had a new bathroom and mattress but the stay on the way out had a different room with the old saggy mattress that I remember from a previous visit. The shower didn't work well but the bath was fine.

Don't expect 5* accommodations or decorations but that isn't what Macushla is about. It is an old fashioned, gentle place with friendly and welcoming staff. It is safe and quiet and I've always felt comfortable staying there on my own. My husband and I were given a couple of free bottles of champagne as a thank you for staying there so often … quite unexpected!

For the price, hard to go past.

twaffle

Meant to add, I buy my gifts if I want something special, from Matt Bronze which is just around the corner from the Giraffe Centre. Many taxi drivers don't know where it is, but it is worth the trip. You can watch the bronzes being created and there are many choices in differing price ranges. For when you're tired of the cheap souvenirs being touted around the place. Also love Kazuri.

KathBC

Thanks for the update on Macushla twaffle.