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Lake Naivasha Sopa Lodge, Lake Naivasha, Kenya

Location:

Lake Naivasha Sopa Lodge is located in front of Lake Naivasha and has direct access to the lake. Due to its proximity to the lake you have the pleasure of seeing giraffes, zebras, waterbucks and other animals from the comforts of your living room when the animals come to graze on the grounds that are surrounded by the large cottages. In the evenings and at night, the hippos also come to the hotel grounds to feed and if you're lucky, you can spot them. The lodge is also located close to the starting point for Lake Naivasha boat rides that can take you to Crescent Island. Seven kilometres in the opposite direction is the entrance to Hell's Gate National Park and approximately a 30-minute car drive to the park gates of Mount Longonot.

Room Comfort:

The accommodation comes in the form of a large hut that is divided into 4 large independent sections; 2 sections are on the upper level and 2 sections are on the lower level. Each section is rented as a room to lodge guests. The sections on the upper level have verandas overlooking the common grounds area, while the sections on the lower level have a table and chairs outside of the rooms. The rooms are large and comfortable and contain a king sized bed and a couch in front of the floor to ceiling window that provides a view to the common grounds area where the wildlife comes to graze. The bathroom is also pretty spacious. The furniture in the rooms is pretty basic but well maintained and nice. TV's and coffee makers are also provided in the room and as part of the daily turn down service, rooms are sprayed against mosquitoes while you are having dinner.

Cleanliness:

The hotel rooms and the hotel grounds are very well maintained and are also very clean. The uniforms that the staff wear are also very nice and professional.

Service:

The service at the lodge is your typical friendly and welcoming African hospitality type. The staff is very welcoming, friendly and will do everything in their power to make your stay memorable. A welcome drink and hot towel are provided upon arrival and turn down service is provided every evening. The staff at the restaurant is also very kind and professional. As an aside, the lodge has 2 nice large pools, tennis courts and a fitness center with a personal trainer on site. A souvenir shop is also located on the property

Food:

The food was very good, even though it is your typical hotel chain food. This lodge did however try to add more local flavour to their meals and provided a good variety of foods and deserts, such as local, international, vegetarian and meat plates to choose from. A can of local beer cost 250 shillings at the hotel which is pretty hefty but expected at this type of hotel. We traveled here on full board so we received breakfast, lunch and dinner. We ate way too much for our own good, so we can confirm that the food was pretty tasty; however, do no expect authentic African food as the food prepared at these chain hotels are catered to tourists and not locals.

Overall Value:

We really enjoyed our time at this lodge and therefore would have to say the overall value was great. We enjoyed walking around the large hotel grounds and the wildlife that visited them. We would highly recommend staying here and would definitely go back again should we find ourselves in Kenya.

Other Notes:

Once the sun goes down, you are prohibited to walk around the hotel grounds without a hotel security guard. You are asked to contact the security guard to walk you to and from the restaurant for dinner. This is due to the hippos visiting the grounds and the potential for danger. There is also a nice paved path on the opposite side of the cottages where you can go on walks (or jogs) where you will see lot of wildlife. I had the pleasure of jogging there one morning with the giraffes, zebras and waterbucks. Unfortunately I was not allowed near the dock at Lake Naivasha because the hotel security guards felt it was unsafe for me to go there.