Kenya- Acacia House
From the moment we arrived at the landing strip (those little airplanes were so much fun and a big hit with the kids!) we LOVED the Acacia House. The Maasai Guide was there to warmly greet us and we had a great safari ride back to the house, about a 30 minute ride (complete with a flat tire!).
Fred, our guide, was PHENOMENAL! He was so good! He was interesting, funny, very knowledgable, etc. He was good with the kids and spoke great English. He really helped to make our 4 days at the Acacia house outstanding. The rest of the staff was great as well. Very friendly, helpful, etc. And, again, great with the kids. What a great team of people they have working there.
This house is PERFECT for families. It is so cozy and just a great set up for families with kids, of all ages. The waterhole right out the back door was just amazing. It really added a touch of something special. It was great.
The food was good/great, but not excellent. We would love to go back!
Tanzania- Serengeti Bushtops
Getting there was a pain in the butt. Not sure how to avoid that as we had to stop and get our Tanzania visas, but if there is anyway to get them ahead of time, I would highly encourage people to do so and then fly into a small airstrip, just minutes from the Bushtops. The 5 hour ride from Kenya to the Bushtops was rough.
As for the Bushtops, again, great first impression. Very friendly, accommodating staff. Our 24 hour bulter, named Fadhili, was WONDERFUL! He was so nice and (again) really good with the kids. We all loved the atmosphere here. The tents are really well thought out and very comforable. The view over the Serengeti was great. Now, that being said, I think that it is important to let your clients know that this area of the Serengeti is NOT the area of the Serengeti that is an "endless plain" as it is famed to be. This area is hilly, rocky and green. It is beautiful, but not the "typical Serengeti". For somebody who wants to go see the Serengeti as you see it in magazines or on tv, this is not it.
The food was excellent. Sometimes we ate as a family, sometimes the kids ate first then went back to the tent with the butler so we could have an adult dinner, sometiems we ate a picnic in the bush and sometimes we ate in the tent! So they were very flexible in terms of dining and that was great for us.
They had a campfire everynight and we all enjoyed that.
The hot tub on the deck was a big hit with the boys.
We had zebras grazing RIGHT outside our tent...it was super cool!
We fell in love with this place and would love to go back. There were tears when we left, from both adults and kids.
Tanzania- Farmhouse
This place was great. The atmosphere at the Farmhouse is really neat and has great views. The people were very nice and the food really good. Great gift shop too!
Zanzibar-baraza
LOVED it! We would love to go back! Our only complaint is that the ocean was filled with grass-like seaweed so at times it was hard to play in the water. The sand is great and so much fun to play in. The pool was wonderful and the pluge pool at our villa was SO much fun for the kids- it was great! Great staff! Great, wide range of activities for everyone. Great kids club. Great spa. Loved it!
