Officially opened in 2003, this large modern lodge lies immediately outside the Voi Entrance Gate of Tsavo East National Park, though the common areas and rooms all face into the park, where a large waterhole attracts a steady stream of wildlife, including elephant and a rich variety of water birds.
The main building is an immense makuti, wood and stone construction with a reception area, Internet facilities, gift shop, TV and swimming pool immediately outside it. From reception, a passage leads past a leafy fishpond to the 250-seat Tembo Restaurant, which offers great views across to the waterhole.
Self-service buffets are the order of the day here, but they are unusually vegetarian-friendly and have a strong Indian flavor. To the right of the restaurant, there is a very good gym—not something you often encounter in safari lodges—and a spa offering various treatments and massages.
From here, a wooden walkway leads to the superb Sundowner Bar, which stands on tall stilts almost on top of the waterhole, offering great wildlife viewing at dusk.
The lodge is a good base for drives into Tsavo East, a relatively under-touristed national park that is now well recovered from the poaching crisis that threatened its very existence in the early 1990s. This is a great area for elephant, as well as dry country antelope such as fringe-eared oryx and gerenuk, and it is the only place in the world where the highly endangered Hunter's hartebeest or hirola is likely to be seen in the wild.
The best game viewing is along the road circuits between Voi Entrance Gate and Aruba Dam, the latter a good spot for lion and cheetah as well as colorful dry-country birds such as golden pipit and golden-breasted starling.
Other goals for day trips include Mudanda Rick and the Galana River below Lugard Falls. For those on a lengthy safari, the substantial town of Voi, 10 minutes drive from the lodge, offers a rare opportunity to shop outside of overpriced hotel boutiques.
Accommodations are in double-story blocks of eight-10 rooms, which are strung along the perimeter fence in such a way that all rooms have balconies offering views into the national park and waterhole.
The somewhat functional rooms are very specious and have a screte floor and high ceiling. They are furnished with two four-poster beds apiece, all with walk-in mosquito nets, as well as writing desk, table and chairs, and fridge.
The tiled baths are also very spacious. A few rooms specifically designed to cater for disabled guests are close to the reception
This is a very well-managed, sensibly priced and likeable lodge, one that transcends the somewhat monolithic feel of most other similarly sized lodges in Kenya. True, it isn't as strong on the bush atmosphere, but the constant wildlife action at the waterhole compensates. And the facilities are among the best facilities of any lodge in the country.