From our personal welcome on the Kichwa Tembo airstrip by our guide, Akatch, to entering Kichwa Tembo, it was a magical start to our honeymoon. We stayed in a tent by the lawn and had a great view of the savannah beyond. The bed was comfortable, and while the room itself wasn't necessarily luxurious, it was incredibly clean, comfortable, and reflected great attention to detail. The bathroom was quite impressive for a tented camp as well, with a spa-like stone floor and accessories. The food was quite good, but the BEST aspect of this place is the amazing staff. They loved working for &Beyond, and it came through in their wonderful, personal treatment during our stay. They set up a surprise tent-front dinner for us on our last evening with rows of lanterns, candles, and rose petals - amazing!

The daily tea/coffee/hot chocolate/biscuits with our wake-up call was great! We loved the options to dine inside and out, we loved the bar & fire pit area, as well as the options for evening game drives, bush walks, hot air balloon rides (DEFINITELY do this, it's worth the money), etc. The &Beyond guides we had were personable, knowledgeable, and respectful of the natural environment and amazing settings they inhabit.

We had the opportunity to walk over to the more upscale neighboring camp, Bateleur, which had absolutely beautiful and luxurious rooms and baths. It felt more forested overall, whereas Kichwa Tembo has both forested areas and wide, open areas where we enjoyed watching resident warthogs chase each other. We loved our experience at Kichwa Tembo and are grateful for a wonderful stay. We stayed at &Beyond lodges in 2 out of 4 residences throughout our honeymoon, and the difference in service and overall experience was extremely clear-cut. The only issue we had was with our &Beyond travel planner's picks for the other two places.

We came here for the first part of our honeymoon and it was just idyllic.

We stayed in a luxury tent (number 36) about 10 mins walk away from the main camp, which was so romantic. We were woken each morning at 6.30am by our friendly room steward Renson with tea and biscuits and came back to our room each evening to find notes on our pillow ("Sleep like a lion") and a hot water bottle between the sheets. On the last night they gave us a bottle of champagne and scattered rose petles over the entire tent!

Our game drives with Alice were just wonderful - her smiling face was a pleasure to see each morning! She was so knowledgeable and seemed to have a sixth sense about where the animals would be. We saw all the big five in the first two days. There were never more than six people in our Land Rover and they were all very interesting and a pleasure to get to know on the drives - plus it meant more eyes to help spot the wildlife!

The food was delicious and so plentiful we never went hungry. Breakfast in the camp was lavish and even the packed breakfast on the game drives was plentiful. Lunch in camp was a delicious three courses - yes OK it is served outside with warthog wandering around and therefore there are a few flies, but that is the real safari experience and if it got too bad you could just move inside. Dinner was also great.

Above all what impressed us the most was the contact and support the camp has with the local community. Many of the staff are local Masai and they have evening displays of dancing and singing with locals selling crafts (make sure you negotiate on the price though!). They have supported a lot of local projects financially and employ a huge number of staff (although you only ever see a few) therefore benefiting the local community.

Most of the guests there had stayed before - in some cases for many years, which I think says it all really.

Finally when it came to leave we hugged Alice goodbye and I got a little lump in my throat and shed a tear as I said goodbye to her, she really made the holiday for us and I will never forget her.

Wow! I just returned from 2 nights at Kichwa Tembo and was so sad to leave! It was incredible! As many others have mentioned, the staff were exceptional - very warm and friendly. It was obvious that they pride themselves on top-notch customer service. The morning wake-up calls by my friendly room steward, Franklin, as well as the hot thermos of hot chocolate and cookies, not to mention the hot water bottle between the sheets each night were such thoughtful touches that made this place stand apart from others.

As far as game drives, we had a fantastic guide, Wilson. He was incredibly knowledgeable and he even miraculously found 2 leopards for us! It is rare to even see any and during our 3 days we were lucky enough to see 3! The animals were incredible and I was able to get lots of outstanding pictures of everything; lions, zebras, elephants, hippos, crocodiles, buffalo, giraffes....you name it! We even got to witness one daredevil zebra cross the hippo and crocodile-infested Mara River. The brave soul managed to outswim a hungry hippo and swiftly dodged a crocodile at the river's edge. It was exciting to watch as the rest of his family greeted the zebra with hugs when he safely arrived on the other side!

I had never been on a safari before, but I can't imagine any place else being any better than Kichwa Tembo. It was absolutely beautiful, the tents were spacious and comfortable, the pool/lounge area were very relaxing, the food was great and the staff were excellent. There simply isn't a negative thing to say! If you are deciding where to book your safari, think no more! Book at Kichwa Tembo - you won't regret it! As many others have mentioned, it truly is a magical, warm place that will provide you with memories that will last a lifetime! I highly recommend it!

We stayed in kichwa tembo camp for 3 nights during first week of august 2010.though the camp is outside the olooloo gate, it takes only 20 minutes to reach the Mara river.because of this proximity we could see the river crossing of wildebeest and zebras twice and it was a truly memorable one.The staffs are courteous , warm and friendly. You can see friendly warthogs grazing in from of the tents. The pool faces the savannah and one can get a beautiful view of the wildlife while lazing out in the pool.hot water bags in the bed keeps u warm. I had an infant with me and the staff helped me with a electrical plug point inside the tent for sterilizing bottles etc..good food( not Indian though) . Best place for it's location ....