Mount Kenya Safari Club

"The up country Mount Kenya Safari Club has been a Kenyan tradition since American movie star William Holden fell in love with its blend of romance, history, and extraordinary scenery and bought it with friends in 1959. ... Its casual elegance harks back to earlier days as a private club, when its roster of celebrity members..." -- 1000 Places To See Before You Die by Patricia Schultz


Ever since Himself stayed here during one of his military trips (yeah... rough life, eh?), I've wanted to see the Mt Kenya Safari Club. So when planning our trip 2006 Kenya trip I looked into staying there.

OUCH! That idea ended up being more spendy than I was willing to do; tho in hindsight I realize I should have done it. Seriously... what was I thinking? But I digress...

Second best option was to book lunch.

In "the old days" one "dressed" to dine at the Mount Kenya Safari Club and according to my guide books the tradition continued. So we brought jackets and nice slacks outfits to wear for our meal.

I wonder how old the info in those books was? Or was there just an invasion of Huns that day? But let it be said, we were almost overdressed. That is sad. THE reason to come to the Club is the elegance. If you're not going to partake in the atmosphere... book somewhere else!

However, the experience provided by the staff was wonderful. The level of service had not been backed down a bit. The food was delicious and beautifully presented. The dining room was lovely.



And the view was impressive. That's Mt. Kenya - the highest peak in Kenya at 17,057" (the second highest in Africa). In 1998 Himself climbed it to the summit of Pt. Lenana at 16,355".


After dinner we walked around a bit. This is the back of the main lodge of the MKSC.





Back inside, this is one of the sitting rooms. They were very elegant.


Back in '98 Himself was allowed to play their piano and they allowed him to do so again while we were there.




At the "equator". I don't think that is really where it is but it makes a photo op for the lodge. (According to Google Earth, it's about 2' south of the equator).