We stayed 4 nights. We think we saw it all. Place was not full at the time and I think that was good for the overall athmosphere.
Tents are nice and clean and room steward fantastic.
Yes, you can hear sound of the animals at night, but also the big generator engine untill it shuts down at about 11, where you better be fast asleep for the early morning drive. One night elephants payed a visit to the camp close to our tent at 2 am, -that was noisy but we felt safe at all times.
Our driver, Kentai, was wonderfull and sensed precisely what we would like to see, so game drives were customized for us! Also including all you could wish for wrt. "big five" etc.
The walking safari with Colin is worth doing and not at all (as we had feared) exhausting for the average fitness level.
The gift shop is "theft" as the prices are far from reasonable even for a (only possibility) gift shop. Maybe a 5 is overrated in my opinion, but definately 4 is ok.

My visit to Little Governor's camp was inspired in no small way by the rave reviews it had on this site. Having just arrived back, I can say they were most certainly justified. If you are intending to go to just one safari location in Kenya - see lots of wildlife, and I mean lots - then this location is the one for you, and it's in the middle of the best game reserve to do it. I was here on my own for three nights, always felt welcome and was treated as an honoured guest.
One important point which I don't think has been mentioned is that booking direct with the camp (via their website) from (in my case) England was easy and efficient - which is a benefit as I personally do not like being ripped off by UK - or Kenyan - based safari tour operators who seem to want to charge you the earth and tie you down for 7+ days together with a Mombasa beach visit. I reserved my own flights (excellent Kenya Airways) and they did the rest. Connecting flights, transfers and Nairobi hotels were all reserved and everything went efficiently - this is a big plus for someone who was a little nervous of venturing to Kenya for the first time. For sure, Governor's is not cheap, but then you should get what you pay for - and that, at Governor's, is quite a lot.
Although my main interest was in the birdlife, mammals are everywhere, including the endearing warthog lawn-mowing brigade (day shift) and the heavy duty night shift (hippos - yes, as everyone has mentioned, they chomp outside your tent at night). Game drives can guarantee you lion, buffalo, elephant, giraffe, topi etc. Leopards and cheetahs can be elusive, but you only need a modicum of luck to see them. The drivers generally know where they are likely to be, and if they don't, keep your eyes open for clusters of land cruisers....the ballon trip was memorable, pricey, but where else can you startle a heard of elephants, drink champagne, and end up on your back in the Mara with your legs in the air all before 0800? (You need to have done the trip to understand the last point....) Birds are superb, I loved the mousebirds, and keep your eyes open for the stunning Ross's Turaco.
Other pluses: the food is good, and the tents are definitely de luxe, the beds very comfortable, and for a site that sits on a marsh, very few bugs, even in May.
Just a couple of minuses which wouldn't affect my rating - gifts are pricey, the need to flash to a guard to take you to reception at night is exciting, but a bit wearing if you have to make many trips, and if you have a bad back, the endless bumping on game drives will do it no good whatsoever. And I would say Little Governor's is not suitable for children (though this could perhaps be a plus for some!!) And a final thought - be aware, it seems the Africans will NOT launder briefs or slips - this important point can take you by surprise when your laundry duly disappears except for possibly the most essential items......curiously, (boxer) shorts pose no problem at all! Excellent hosting by Manager George, head at reception Sammy, the crazy ballooning team, to all of whom I say - asante sana and I'll be back.

Well, I'm amazed. I had an unusually long stay at the Little Governor's Camp - six nights - and by the time I left had become a kind of informal information desk for new arrivals. And I'm staggered - no-one seems concerned about being eaten by lions or trampled by elephants, but they're hugely distrustful of the staff! Will they rob our tents? Are we safe with them? (and my personal favorite: where do they put the animals at night?)

So let's clear up a few points here and now:

- the staff are utterly delightful. They're attentive, friendly, utterly trustworthy, efficient and wonderful. I loved their company, and their service was second-to-none.

- the Little Governors Camp itself is an arc of seventeen guest tents (and a bar tent and dining tent) curving around a large marshy area, about four hectares in size. Yes, the marshy area is beautiful (beyond words). No, it doesn't smell. There's a cleared central area where meals are served, at breakfast, lunch and dinner and it's relaxing, clean and comfortable. There's also a gift shop (NO hard selling), but they do have useful things such as sunblock, mosquito repellant, memory sticks for cameras etc. Prices are steep though. There's also a reception area which has power for charging phones, cameras etc, as well as a safe for keeping valuables.

- the food is amazing. Bacon, eggs, sausages, omlettes, toast, croissants, fresh fruit, jams etc for breakfast. Pastas, salads, grills for lunch and an a la carte dinner. The desserts are delicious. The wine list is good (more Aussie wines though please!) and the prices are fine.

- the service to tents is fantastic. Laundry is complimentary (except underwear, which you can wash by hand and hang on a rack on your balcony) and my shirts and jeans came back better washed and pressed that I could ever do myself. The tents are immaculately maintained, beds warm and comfortable, hot water bottles at night when sheets are turned back. The lamps in your tents are lit for you at sundown every night, and at sunrise, you get a gentle "Jambo!" at your tent door, and your attendant brings you a flask of tea, coffee of chocolate (whatever you requested at dinner the night before) and some ginger snaps.

- there is excellent mobile reception at the camp, and indeed, the whole Masai Mara (depending on your provider I guess), which was just lovely (I spent a fortune on "Guess where I am?" phone calls), but currently no GPRS for BlackBerrys. So I could call and SMS, but not send or receive emails. If you're desperate, reception has a laptop which is online most of the day.

- water to the tents' showers is hot, and pressure good.

- the game drives are amazing; the drivers are all good and knowledgeable, even when mechanical breakdowns occur. Their knowledge of the animals and their habitats is astounding. I saw everything!!! Take a digital camera, a pair of binoculars and some warm clothing (for the morning drives only, when it can be chilly)

- take an extra day or so to just allow yourself some time to relax and hang around the camp. It's truly wonderful.

- listen to the advice they give you when you arrive. You can't just wander around the camp at night, there ARE wild animals that come through (I had two hippos outside my tent one night, and an elephant another) and you should exercise caution. It's their turf after all. But it won't interfere with your enjoyment, it'll really enhance it.

- relax and enjoy. It's an amazing experience, which shouldn't be dulled by fears and apprehesions. You'll love it, it really is paradise. I'm sending my 70-something parents next year (I'm the reconnaisance mission) and aside from my mother's dodgy hip which might not enjoy the bumpy four-wheel drive excursions, they'll be thrilled with it.

Just go there. Seriously.

Happy to answer email questions if you have any...

My husband and I stayed on the 2 nights/3 days option from 19-21st March which we booked from the UK with MICS. This package cost £550 per person which we initially thought was very expensive but when you
take into account the transfer from the hotel to the air strip, the 2 hr flight, 2 nights accommodation in the fabulous tents (as described very accurately in all the other reviews), 2 breakfasts, 3 lunches, 2 dinners (all meals included mineral water and tea/coffee + mineral water in the tents and on the game drives) and 6 game drives in very robust jeeps (just 4 people in ours) with really experienced game drivers (ours was Japhet and although he was fantastic and got us to just about everything we wanted to see, his passion was for birds over big game!) it really was worth it. The food was excellent considering where you are - most of it is cooked on a big hot plate/BBQ and there is plenty of choice - the amount of deserts at lunch is embarrassing, because there were so many..!

I completely agree with all the other reviews, Governors is amazing, I have no other safari experience to compare it with but I know that this experience was something very special. I am so pleased we choose
to go to the Masaai Mara over Tsavo East/West which was closer to our hotel in Mombassa (Diani Reef hotel - separate review - very good) and much cheaper because everyone we spoke to confirmed that in Kenya the Masaai Mara is THE place to go and Governors is THE place to stay! We didn't see all of the big 5, we saw Lion, Elephant
and Buffalo and then amongst many others, Giraffe, Zebra, Hippo's, Crocs, Impala, Topi, Gazelle, Waterbuck, Ostrich, Warthogs, Baboons, Cheaters, Hyena - the list goes on and on. On camp we saw the many Dwarf Mongoose (a pair lived right outside of our tent - we reserved no 26 in advance as recommended by Bruce and the views out over the Mara river were stunning, however, I don't think any of the tents have bad views - they all have there own individual wonderful surroundings), Impala, Hippos (daytime and then night time coming out of the water near the bar terrace and then roaming through the camp in the early hours of the morning brushing up to the side of the tent!), Croc's, Baboons, Monkeys (at breakfast stealing bananas off the tables!) and then finally a baby elephant to say goodbye just as we were getting ready to leave at lunch on the last day!

P.S Early morning (5:45am) wake up calls with tea/coffee/cocoa and biscuits was fab!

Thoroughly recommend to anyone!