Giraffe Manor Nairobi: Is It Worth It and How to Book

By Daisy, founder of Leopard Paw Safaris and a former safari guide.

Giraffe Manor is the most photographed hotel in Kenya. You’ll know the pictures even if you don’t know the name: endangered giraffes poking their long necks through ivy-framed windows to nibble pellets off the breakfast table. It’s magical. It’s also expensive, notoriously hard to book, and widely misunderstood. Here’s what Giraffe Manor in Nairobi actually is, what it costs, how to get a room, whether it’s worth it, and how to meet the same giraffes for a fraction of the price if it isn’t for you.

What Giraffe Manor is

Giraffe Manor is a boutique guesthouse in Karen, a leafy suburb of Nairobi. A resident herd of endangered Rothschild’s giraffes roams the estate and comes up to the house twice a day, at breakfast and again at afternoon tea, to be hand-fed. The giraffes are free to come and go, so the visits are habitual but never forced or guaranteed. There’s a conservation story too. These are one of the rarer giraffe subspecies, and the Manor sits on the land of a giraffe sanctuary.

Set your expectations clearly, though. This is a Nairobi hotel experience, not a safari. There are no game drives, no wilderness and no Big Five outside the window, only the giraffes, the gardens and a very comfortable old manor house. Think of it as one magical night at either end of a safari, not the safari itself. For the wildlife trip, see our best safari lodges in Kenya and the Big Five in Kenya.

What Giraffe Manor costs

Giraffe Manor is one of the most expensive stays in Kenya. Rates start at roughly $1,170 per adult per night and climb well past $2,000 for premium rooms and peak dates. That’s all-inclusive: transfers, all meals, including the famous giraffe breakfast, and premium drinks. Children pay reduced rates. Under-twos stay free, three-to-eleven-year-olds pay a discounted rate, and twelve and over pay the adult rate. Prices rise most years, so treat these as a guide and confirm current rates when you book.

How to book Giraffe Manor

The cost isn’t the biggest obstacle. Getting a room is. There are only twelve rooms, split across two wings:

• The Garden Manor (six rooms) is a replica of the original house, and anyone can book it directly.
• The Historic Manor (six rooms) is the original house. Its rooms are mainly reserved for guests who also book another Safari Collection property, such as Sala’s Camp, Solio or Sasaab, as part of a wider Kenya circuit.

The giraffe experience is the same in either wing. The catch is availability. For high season, roughly July to December, rooms are booked twelve to twenty-four months ahead, and much of the calendar sells out. Cancellations do happen, so watching the availability calendar is often the realistic way to get a date. The Manor also closes for a few weeks from mid-April to mid-May for refurbishment. You can’t pop in for breakfast or tea either, because the experience needs a room booking.

Because the Historic Manor rooms open up when you combine your stay with a Safari Collection safari, booking Giraffe Manor as part of a wider Kenya trip is often the most realistic way to get a room. Your Nairobi giraffe morning then sits at the start or end of a real safari instead of standing alone.

Is Giraffe Manor worth it?

It’s worth it if you’re travelling with children, who are enchanted by it, or you’re a bucket-lister for whom the giraffe at the window is a lifelong dream, or you’re a couple who want one magical night to open or close a trip. For these travellers it offers something nowhere else on earth does, and they leave thrilled.

Skip it if you’re expecting a safari or any sense of wilderness, because it’s a city guesthouse. Skip it too if you’re watching your budget, because the money goes a lot further out in the bush, or if you’d only really be doing it for the photograph.

Giraffe Manor isn’t overrated if you know what it is: a charming, conservation-minded, one-of-a-kind Nairobi experience. It’s overrated only when people expect it to be their safari. Go in with clear eyes and it’s a delight.

The cheaper alternative: the Giraffe Centre

Here’s the money-saver almost nobody leads with. Right next door, on whose land the Manor sits, is the AFEW Giraffe Centre, a sanctuary for the same endangered Rothschild’s giraffes. You feed them by hand from a raised wooden platform, eye to eye, at a fraction of the price. That’s a modest day-entry fee, or a guided half-day tour with hotel transfers for around $135. It’s a real conservation and education centre, and for many visitors a highlight of Nairobi in its own right.

Is it the same as eating breakfast in your dressing gown while a giraffe leans through the window? No. But the animals are identical, the thrill of feeding one is just as real, and if the Manor is out of budget or booked solid, which it usually is, this is how you get your giraffe moment without the four-figure room rate.

Tips if you go

One night is plenty. It’s a stopover built around the two daily giraffe feeds, not a base. Book far ahead or watch the cancellation calendar. Check-in is at noon with no early check-in, so plan your arrival around it. Transfers are included. Wear plain, unpatterned clothes so the giraffe print stands out in your photos. And pair the stay with a Nairobi day out, because the Sheldrick elephant orphanage is close by, before you fly out to your actual safari. (For planning your first trip around it, see our Kenya safari tips for first-timers.)

Frequently asked questions

How much does Giraffe Manor cost? From around $1,170 per adult per night up to $2,000 or more for premium rooms and peak dates. That includes transfers, meals and premium drinks, with discounted rates for children. Confirm current rates when you book.

Can you visit Giraffe Manor without staying? No. There are no day visits or meals without a room booking. The Giraffe Centre next door is open to day visitors and gets you to the same giraffes.

How far in advance do you need to book? Twelve to twenty-four months for high season, when it sells out. Outside peak, and by watching for cancellations, you may find dates closer in.

Is Giraffe Manor worth it? For families and bucket-listers set on the once-in-a-lifetime giraffe experience, yes. If you’re expecting a safari or you’re budget-conscious, the Giraffe Centre gives you the giraffes for a small fraction of the cost.

What kind of giraffes are at Giraffe Manor? Endangered Rothschild’s (Nubian) giraffes, one of the rarer subspecies.

Is Giraffe Manor a safari? No. It’s a Nairobi hotel experience, best enjoyed at either end of a real safari, not as the safari itself.

What’s the cheaper alternative? The AFEW Giraffe Centre next door: the same giraffes, hand-feeding from a platform, for a modest fee.

Booking Giraffe Manor in Nairobi

Giraffe Manor can be one of the loveliest nights of a Kenya trip. The trick is knowing whether it’s right for you and, if it is, getting a room at all. At Leopard Paw Safaris we can help secure a stay, often by building it into a wider safari that opens up availability, or set you up with the Giraffe Centre visit and a proper safari instead. If you’d like help planning it, get in touch. For the trip it should sit alongside, start with our best safari lodges in Kenya.

Daisy is a former safari guide and the founder of Leopard Paw Safaris.