Giraffe Manor Nairobi Kenya is an elegant, personally hosted, small and exclusive hotel accommodation, famous for its resident herd of giraffe. The Giraffe Manor Langata Nairobi Kenya offers a rich blend of welcoming accommodation, highly trained and friendly staff, as well as one of Nairobi's finest kitchens. Travellers from all over the world now make The Giraffe Manor part of their Kenya safari holiday, the only place in the world where you can enjoy the breathtaking experience of feeding and photographing the giraffe over the breakfast table and at the front door. The Giraffe Manor Hotel is located in the exclusive suburbs of Nairobi's Karen Langata area; just 30 minutes drive from the City Centre and about 35 km from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).

The Hotel Giraffe Manor offers a uniquely untouched wilderness on the doorstep of one of Africa’s most cosmopolitan cities. It is an elegant and exclusive luxury hotel, on forested land, with superb views of the Ngong Hills. Built in 1932 by David Duncan of the 'Macintosh Toffee' family, The Giraffe Manor is modelled on a Scottish hunting lodge with views of Mt. Kilimanjaro to the south and the Ngong Hills to the west. In 1974, the grandson of a Scots Earl, Jock Leslie Melville and his American wife Betty bought the Giraffe Manor Guest House as their home. The Rothschild giraffe lost much of their natural habitat in western Kenya and faced extinction. In 1974, two highly endangered Rothschild giraffe were moved onto the estate where their future generations have thrived and live today. Jock and Betty founded the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife (AFEW).

The Giraffe Centre (AFEW Kenya) was built on the property so that Kenyan school children could learn conservation/ecology and feed giraffe eyeball to eyeball! Visitors touring Nairobi have a chance to visit and pay an entrance to the Giraffe Centre. Profits go to various projects in Kenya. Betty's son Rick has led AFEW USA and AFEW Kenya since 1983. When Jock died in 1984, and Betty returned to the United States of America she opened her house - now The Giraffe Manor - to visitors. The Giraffe Manor has been run by Rick and his wife Bryony over the years, initially as a fund raiser for AFEW. The Giraffe Manor also offers a uniquely untouched wilderness on the doorstep of one of Africa’s most cosmopolitan cities, the adjoining Jock Leslie-Melville Nature Education Centre, better known as the Giraffe Center. It is a beautiful home but what makes it unique are the rare Rothschild giraffe that live in the garden comes calling in the house, peering in upstairs and downstairs windows and doorways. Guest can feed and photograph the giraffe and the warthogs at the manor and also wander through adjoining primeval forest to view the bushbuck, dik dik and bird species.

Having breakfast with a giraffe probably tops most family and kids’ list of best-ever meals, and while they may not remember what they ate, they will always remember the company and the setting. Giraffe Manor, on the outskirts of Nairobi, offers its guests the chance to live on the grounds of special giraffe sanctuary, and yes, to feed the glorious animals. Guests, who check in to Giraffe Manor Hotel, can open their drapes in the morning and see a parade of beauties. Downstairs in the breakfast room, Lynn or one of the other gregarious giraffes will reach her head right in the window to request her morning pellets. The head houseman serves coffee and eggs to guests while they, in turn, can feed the giraffes (and their companion warthogs). The handsome ivy-covered stone lodge, the kind you would expect to find in Scotland, has the trappings of many colonial estates—fine antiques, family portraits, well-worn books. However, in their love for animals the Leslie-Melvilles, the family who lived here for decades, went beyond collecting sculptures and painting of game. After a tour in 1974 to a Kenyan cattle ranch, Jock and Betty Leslie-Melville brought a baby endangered Rothschild giraffe home with them.

At the time, there were only 120 of the species alive, and the Leslie-Melvilles were the first people known to raise a giraffe, which they called Daisy. Their initial success inspired them to acquire four more babies, which grew into a breeding herd, and eventually the Leslie-Melvilles were able to relocate offspring to reserves in Kenya and Uganda. There are now approximately 500 Rothschild giraffe living in the wild. A number of the descendants of the original Daisy still wander the 140 acres surrounding the Giraffe manor. And with the breakfast ritual in place, sightings are guaranteed. There’s a wonderful ambiance in the house, which still feels like a private home stay, thanks to the family’s memorabilia. (Be sure to look for the book Raising Daisy Rothschild and other titles that Betty wrote documenting her animal adventures in Kenya.)

Guest rooms resemble those that you would find in the house of a grand elderly aunt with floral bedspreads and ceramic tiled bathrooms. Apparently, the Giraffe manor has been sold recently, to the Carr-Hartley family, renowned Kenya safari operator and travel Agents, who will hopefully keep it intact. After all, if the children love feeding the giraffes, for their parents, a stay here affords the chance to step into an era of Africa that feels very distant but treasured. Since many international tourists on safari in Kenya or Tanzania Safaris require accommodation in Nairobi city, this is a charming lodge accommodation that is especially popular with families, honeymooners or business travelers. You will feel that you are a guest in a friend’s grand manor house with Dr. Doolittle worthy breakfast companions. Visitors have included Walter Cronkite, Johnny Carson, Stephen Sondheim, Brooke Shields, and Sir Mick Jagger.

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