Footsteps in Kenya…Postcards from Finch Hattons

After a dusty and exciting safari, you need somewhere luxurious to revel in your experience and engrain it into your mind’s eye. If you are anything like me, you tend to associate places and link them to where you stayed, and most experiences are heightened by the accommodation you choose to stay in, leaving you with a beautiful memory of the destination as a whole.

Finch Hattons is the epitome of luxury. Every little detail has been thought of and taken care of, and my imagination ran wild from the moment I stepped into the lounge with its chic safari décor. I fell in love with the large zebra skin clad chair behind a desk that I immediately perched myself behind, and ogled at the chandeliers made from those coca cola bottles that make the coke in them taste oh so good! I could only imagine what Karen Blixen must have felt like in Out of Africa!

The main lounge at Finch Hattons

Look at that Zebra chair and the Coca Cola Bottle chandelier!

Beautiful tribal decor

Finch is set amidst naturally occurring springs that create ponds around the property, and each of the tents is situated in front of a different pond. The main lounge area faces the biggest pond which is inhabited by huge crocs! You can see their eyes lit up like lamps as they navigate the waters at night, whilst you enjoy being cosy by the large fireplace under the night sky twinkling with stars.

One of the natural ponds – and wine of course!

Part of the main lounge

For those in between safari moments, there is a beautiful pool and pool deck, with sweeping vistas of the plains of the surrounding game park. This area also has a lovely terrace where you can curl up with a good book under the misters that spray cool mist around, a lovely reprise from the African heat. Fancy some quiet time? Then you need to visit the spa pool and its environs, but only after you have experienced the Hamam and cooled down in there with the towels soaked in ice! Finch has thought of all the little details that takes the customer experience to the next level. I must admit that this I have only experienced in Dubai and Bali, and I am so proud to say that seven star experiences exist in Kenya too!

The GORGEOUS pool!

Chatting with Jonathan the Manager at the pool deck

I love exploring a property – it’s the only way I feel truly connected to the place that I call home while setting footsteps in places. And I then end up finding so many “favourite spots” that I can’t choose between them and wish I had weeks to stay and lose myself in all these spots! There are lots of nooks and corners at Finch where you can curl up and lose yourself in a book, or just stare around at all the memorabilia around you and immerse yourself in the history of the place, and imagine what the yesteryears were all about!

Nooks and corners in Finch

The perfect place to curl up with a book…

I LOVED our “room” and could easily have moved in for a month or two! Being a luxury tented camp, the “room” is actually a tent being made entirely of canvas and no detail has been overlooked – you can tell that Finch had the discerning luxury safari traveller in mind! Our tent had a beautiful deck area overlooking a pond with the “bird tree”, where I would sit and spend time connecting with nature – watching the crocs swimming past, turtles soaking up the sun, monkeys swinging from tree to tree and birds chirping away!

Inside the tent we had a large king size bed facing this stunning view. And as if this isn’t enough, there was a beautiful writing desk, a lounge chair and a maxi bar – because the bottles of liquor are not mini, and there’s a tonne of other beverages and snacks in there too. Being a tea fan, I indulged in quite a few cups of the brew accompanied with homemade arrowroot crisps and mini chocolate lava cakes whilst soaking up the view around me!

The bathroom has a large copper tub, yes, a real copper tub which we found filled up for us and promptly jumped in for a soak after a dusty game drives! And for rinsing off, a twin outdoor shower, bathing under the stars. Ah, romance at its best!

Inside our room

Welcome truffles in our maxi bar!

View from our room

I’d be telling fibs if I didn’t say there was more than just the room that I loved.

Here’s some more of my favourite nooks and crannies:

The observation deck
Because from here you see the sweeping expanse of the park and one of the crowning glories – majestic Mt Kilimanjaro when she decides to unveil and share herself with the world.

Majestic Kilimanjaro from the observation deck

The star gazing deck
I can’t think of a more romantic place to spend an evening. Look at it – doesn’t this look just gorgeous? On a clear night, you can see the milky way while indulging in a seven course dinner, and you may just be forgiven for cosying up amongst the cushions and napping through your food coma once you are done!

The GORGEOUS star gazing deck!!

I could go on and on about this property, you know that I can ramble so, but I hope that these postcards from Finch have convinced you that you need to explore this place for yourself and then tell me that I am not biased! My time in the Tsavo has indeed been engrained in my long term memory and this quote from Pat Conroy comes to mind:

“Once you have travelled, the voyage never ends. The mind can never break off from the Journey”…

The smile says it all….