Giraffe Manor

Giraffe Manor was built in 1932 in the leafy Nairobi suburb of Langata, modelled on a Scottish hunting lodge. Giraffes have walked its lawns since the 1970s, when Jock and Betty Leslie-Melville adopted an orphaned Nubian giraffe called Daisy, the start of the Manor's long role in the conservation of endangered Nubian giraffes. Tanya and Mikey Carr-Hartley bought the house in April 2009, and it is now the flagship of The Safari Collection. The Historic Manor keeps an original Art Deco bathroom, antique furniture and six rooms named for its history, including the Karen Blixen Suite; the Garden Manor, built in 2011 from reclaimed materials of the same era, adds six more, among them the Finch Hatton Suite. The giraffes roam 150 acres of indigenous forest and choose to visit both houses, putting their heads through the windows at breakfast and afternoon tea. Stays include all meals, most drinks, laundry and entry to the neighbouring AFEW Giraffe Centre, and The Retreat next door has a 21-metre infinity pool, a spa and a gym. Children are welcome, with garden games and a swing from which to feed the giraffes. There are 12 rooms, and the house holds three MICHELIN Keys.