Giraffe Manor

What is Giraffe Manor in Nairobi?

A small private hotel in Lang'ata, run by The Safari Collection, that calls itself "the only hotel in the world where you can eat breakfast with giraffe".

The house is older than the giraffes. Published histories say Sir David Duncan built it in 1932, and in 1974 Jock and Betty Leslie-Melville bought it with 15 of the original 150 acres. They are the couple who founded AFEW Kenya in 1979 to save Rothschild's giraffe, now usually classified as the Nubian giraffe, and who raised the first giraffes, Daisy and Marlon, at their home in Lang'ata.

From 1983 the house ran as a small private hotel, and in March 2009 the Carr-Hartley family bought it. It is now part of The Safari Collection, with Sala's Camp in the Masai Mara and Solio Lodge. The Giraffe Centre shares the land next door, and the giraffes move freely through the forest between the two.

How much is Giraffe Manor per night?

The Safari Collection gives rates on request, by season and room type, and doesn't publish a fixed nightly price. Ask them, or a safari specialist, for your dates.

We don't quote a figure: no official rate is published, and numbers you see online are often years old. The price for your dates depends on the season, the room and how many nights you stay. Ask The Safari Collection directly, or a safari specialist who books Kenya, and ask what the rate covers.

What we can price is the public alternative. The Giraffe Centre next door costs KSh 1,500 per non-resident adult, about US$11 to 12 at the Central Bank of Kenya rate of October 2026, and the Giraffe Centre and Karen Blixen tour puts that fee and the museum's into one price from $99.

The Giraffe Centre and the Out of Africa farmhouse in one afternoon in Karen, with every entrance fee in the price.

★ 4.6 · 4 hours · from $99

Explore the Giraffe Centre and Karen Blixen tour → Tour details

Why is Giraffe Manor so expensive?

Few rooms, one-of-a-kind breakfasts and demand from all over the world. About 12 rooms meet a long waiting list.

• Scale. About 12 rooms, per published guides, some in the original house and some in the Garden Manor next to it. There is very little to go round.
• The giraffes. The Safari Collection sells the breakfast with giraffes as the only one of its kind, and the photos travel. Every shared picture is an advert.
• Lead time. Safari specialists such as Yellow Zebra Safaris advise booking 12 to 18 months ahead. A hotel that fills that far out has no reason to discount.
• The house. A 1932 manor in a private forest, inside the city, with a conservation story attached.

Demand is the honest answer: very few rooms, and a breakfast guests travel across the world for.

What is the best room at Giraffe Manor?

The one free on your dates. With about 12 rooms, availability decides more than taste, so name your dates first and your favourite room second.

Published guides describe a mix of suites and rooms split between the main house and the Garden Manor annex. We have not found an official ranking of the rooms, and the hotel's own pages could not be reached when we checked, so ask The Safari Collection what each room offers when you send your dates.

Two questions worth asking in that first email: which rooms are in the original house, and what the rate includes. The answers shape the choice more than a room name does.

How many nights do you need at Giraffe Manor?

One night is the usual choice; two nights give you a second breakfast with the giraffes and a full day to see the elephants and the national park.

One night covers an evening and a breakfast, which is why many travellers book it at the start or the end of a Kenya safari. The giraffes are free to roam, so a second morning is a sensible insurance policy if the breakfast visit matters to you.

A second night also frees a day for Nairobi itself: the 11am elephant visit at the Sheldrick nursery, a game drive in the national park, the Karen Blixen Museum. Our one-day Nairobi plan shows how those fit together.

Can you visit or eat at Giraffe Manor without staying?

Giraffe Manor is for staying guests. Published guides say non-guests can't just turn up for breakfast or afternoon tea, and The Safari Collection is the only one who can confirm otherwise.

If you are not staying, published guides say the hotel is not set up for walk-in visitors, so don't plan a day around eating there. Old articles about day visits on the estate are years out of date, so ask The Safari Collection directly before you count on anything.

The public option is next door. The Giraffe Centre opens 9am to 5pm every day, feeds the same herd from a raised platform and has a Tea House for refreshments. Our Giraffe Centre tickets guide has the fees, payment and the quiet hours.

Where can you feed the Giraffe Manor giraffes without staying?

At the Giraffe Centre next door, on Nyumbi Road off Duma Road, from 9am to 5pm daily. Entry is KSh 1,500 per non-resident adult, per the centre.

The Giraffe Centre and the Manor share the forest, and the Giraffe Centre's raised feeding platform gives you the same eye-level moment you see in the Manor photos. An educator hands you pellets of corn, wheat, grass and molasses, and the giraffes come to the rail.

Go at 9am on a weekday for the quietest platform. Tours make it simple: the guided feeding tour is just the giraffes, and the shared park, elephants and giraffes day adds a game drive and the baby elephants.

★★★★★

There are plenty of interns around to answer questions, help you feed the giraffes, take your pictures if desired.

Is it worth staying at Giraffe Manor?

If the giraffe breakfast is the moment your trip is built around, and you can book far enough ahead, yes. If you want the encounter and a full day out, the Giraffe Centre does it.

A stay buys you the house, the quiet of the estate after the day visitors have gone, and the breakfast itself. That is a lot, and the people who book it rarely regret it. It needs early planning and a flexible budget.

A visit to the Giraffe Centre buys you the same giraffes at eye level, plus time for the baby elephants and a game drive on the same day. Many travellers do both: a night at the Manor if it is free, and the Giraffe Centre on a tour either way. The elephants and giraffes tour puts both entrance fees in the price.

Baby elephants at their 11am feed, then the giraffes, with a reserved nursery slot and both entrance fees in the price.

★ 4.8 · 4 hours · from $90

Explore the elephants and giraffes tour with fees included → Tour details

Frequently asked questions