Giraffe Manor

Giraffe Manor is famous for one simple reason: its resident giraffes come to breakfast. The house was built in 1932 by Sir David Duncan, a member of the Mackintosh toffee family, and modelled on a Scottish hunting lodge. It stands in Lang'ata near the Mbagathi River, in wooded grounds on the south-western side of Nairobi.

Its giraffe story began in 1974, when Betty and Jock Leslie-Melville bought the manor. The local Rothschild's giraffes were in danger, and the couple took in a young giraffe called Daisy, an experience Betty described in her book Raising Daisy Rothschild. Their work led to the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife, which runs the Giraffe Centre on part of the original land, and the giraffes at the manor and the centre belong to the same conservation breeding programme.

Today the manor is part of The Safari Collection, whose owners, Mikey and Tanya Carr-Hartley, bought it in 2009. There are only twelve rooms, which keeps the atmosphere close to that of a private country house. The giraffes wander the grounds and are fed by guests from the breakfast table, reaching their long necks through the front door and even an upstairs bedroom window. Celebrities from Ellen DeGeneres to Richard Branson have stayed, and the photos guests take here are a large part of its fame.

With so few rooms, Giraffe Manor needs to be booked well in advance, so plan early if a stay here matters to your trip. It is priced at the top of the market and many guests book it as part of a wider Kenyan safari itinerary. Couples, honeymooners and families who want a once-in-a-lifetime experience are the main guests. The manor closes from mid-April to mid-May each year for repairs and maintenance, so avoid those weeks when planning.

The Giraffe Centre is next door, and the Karen Blixen Museum, the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust nursery and Nairobi National Park are all within a short drive. Wilson Airport, used for flights to the safari parks, is also on this side of the city, which makes the manor a convenient first or last night before flying out to the Maasai Mara or another reserve.