Narasha Guest House

The room basics were a serious problem. Narasha is a little way from the Talek gate of Masai Mara, and with no signs around Talek, we spent over 30-40 minutes trying to find it in the dark. Our room had no WiFi, no toilet flush, and poor bathroom lighting. The staff were the one bright spot and helped us throughout, and the in-house chef made some delicious meals. The bigger disappointment was how Narasha handled our package. We were charged a lot but didn’t get the activities in the agreed itinerary. I won’t go into every detail since everyone has their own plans, but I’d avoid booking a Masai Maara package with Narasha. Make your own arrangements after arriving or use a trusted partner. There was also a major communication gap between Narasha and the driver they hired for game drives and taxis. They seemed not to speak to each other, and the driver kept persuading us to add activities outside the original plan. As first-time visitors, we trusted that Narasha knew about the changes. The revised plan seemed less worthwhile, and we paid extra for activities that were already supposed to be included. We asked for fair compensation, but never got it. Our whole Masai Mara trip was spoiled.

The on-site team was proactive and fixed the arrival-day problems with water in the toilet, lights, and WiFi by the next day. They were the one positive part of our stay at Narasha. The driver and agency didn’t communicate about the changed itinerary, which the driver said was due to time constraints. We asked for fair compensation for activities we didn’t do but had already paid for, and ended up paying anyway. Research the accommodation options around Masai Mara carefully. I wouldn’t pre-book the whole stay, since there’s a chance of this kind of scam. After the long trip from Nakuru, we expected an easy arrival because everything was booked in advance. Instead, finding the homestay took longer than the journey itself. There were no signboards, and it’s hidden away in an isolated spot 5kms from Talek gate. The agent we booked with, Elvis, failed to deliver on what was promised.

Narasha guest house is in a great spot, out in the middle of nowhere, and even giraffes came to visit. The rooms are nicely decorated, and the stay met our expectations. Edward and Brenda made us incredible meals. The packed lunches could use a little improvement, though. After a day on safari, the shower felt a bit lacking in water and temperature. We got the impression that the atmosphere was rather quiet because the owner wasn’t there. Even from a distance she helped with everything we needed, which turned out to be quite a lot. Our safari guide was Alex, and we highly recommend him.

The last three days of our nine-day trip were spent calling the Nairobi agent, Elvis, to discuss problems, but we got nowhere. The agency was “AFRICA THRILLING SAFARIS,” and Elvis was extremely unprofessional. He and his driver, Jimmy, kept changing our plans, and we missed a couple of prepaid game drives without compensation. The services promised for both the stay and safari weren’t delivered. At Narasha guest house, the staff were the only saving grace. They provided basic facilities on our second day, and the chef made us a hot, tasty meal. The place felt more like a horse shed than a guest house, with very little light, no WiFi, and no water to flush the toilet. Everything else had gone well during our nine-day trip until we reached maasai mara.