JW Marriott Masai Mara Lodge

Wildlife Immersion: Wildlife sightings from the property itself, such as monkeys, baboons, and hippos near the river, added to the immersive experience. The lodge's location provided easy access to game drives and stunning views of the Masai Mara landscape.

We do not have enough great things to say about this stay. The entire experience was incredible. We even had a tough time saying goodbye to all the staff who got to know during our time. We would recommend the JW Marriott Masai mara to anyone.

As avid Marriott people and first-time safari goers, this hotel seemed like a dream come true, and let me tell you…it is. The all-in-one service the JW Maasai Mara provides is definitely the way to go. You get to stay at a pristine lodge in a beautiful setting, with all-inclusive drinks/food, your game drives included, and use of their Canon cameras. And the included daily laundry service really puts it over the top. From airport pick-up to departure, you don’t have to plan a thing. The JW property was amazing, as were the tents, and we enjoyed the nice touches such as warm water bottles in the bed each night for our feet. October seemed like the perfect time to visit the Mara. It was less busy, there were baby animals everywhere, and the weather was great. While it got slightly hot in the tent during the daytime (when we were even there) and chilly in the early hours of the morning, we didn’t mind and it kind of added to the experience. We made use of the hot tub and outdoor shower and enjoyed watching different animals across the river from our room. The pool was great to have as well, and they’ll bring you whatever you want. The staff at the lodge, as pretty much every review has said, are just amazing. Truly the kindest, most welcoming people. We could feel their love for the Mara, their jobs, and the family atmosphere they had for each other. They worked as a team almost flawlessly. Josiah was our butler and took great care of us for early morning coffees to-go and all our meals. He’d go out of his way to take care of things for us and was such a warm and nice person. The absolute star of our stay was our game driver, Jackson. I’m sure all the drivers are great, but we felt like we hit the lottery having Jackson. First, Jackson is Maasai, and you could see the deep-rooted understanding of the land and the animals that come from growing up there. His intuition and knowledge of how the animals behave led us to so many amazing experiences while also being respectful of the animals - witnessing a cheetah hunt, multiple lioness hunts, and the craziest river crossing with crocs, hippos, zebras, and lions where we felt like we were in a Nat Geo documentary. Anything Jackson said about the animals and what they would do next was exactly what happened. Because of that, he’d be able to position us for the best view. It was seriously like he was the Maasai Dr. Doolittle and could talk to the animals. In addition to seeing the big five, plus all the other animals, we also had several special moments alone with animals because of his instincts - having morning coffee next to a pride of cuddling lionesses, spending time alone with a sleeping male lion next to our vehicle while we ate our breakfast to go, lunch in the bush with a pack of zebras nearby, etc. Jackson was also a very competent driver, which you don’t realize is important until you see other vehicles get stuck. Also, he does photography as well, so he has an amazing eye for setting us up f