The JW Marriott Masai Mara opened last year and by all reports this game lodge been a special place. It’s certainly been popular with points travelers, despite the high cost which I will get to.
Unfortunately guests this week experienced a different sort of adventure than the one they had planned – a life-threatening one. Although the area has experienced floods as recently as 2019 and 2020, like other properties in the area the resort doesn’t appear to have been built to withstand them.
The JW Marriott Masai Mara Lodge is now open, and it marks Marriott’s entry into the safari segment in Africa. pic.twitter.com/wBIc1pDJtT
— Adam Maina ™ (@AdamMaina_) July 9, 2023
Experience the epitome of a luxury African safari at JW Marriott Masai Mara Lodge. Book an unforgettable adventure pic.twitter.com/Yrhhvf3LK5
— Royal Concept Travel (@RoyalCTravel) April 26, 2024
Guest rooms were flooded, and guests nearly washed away. Without the quick action of hotel staff, many lives would have been lost.
One frequent traveler on property shares that water reached the height of their deck, and to the top step of the entrance to their room and they had to wade through deep water to get out. They lost power and phone service. They were “within a minute or two” from being flooded out of their room and swept down a raging river. They yelled for help.
I’ve never been so scared in my life, I actually had the moment that people say about your life flashing before your eyes. There was no safety briefing at check-in, no siren, no one came for us (some others got rescued) not even a flashlight in room.
We screamed as loud as we could for help but I fell in the water and cut my knee up in water that has who knows what in it. Thankfully one of the staff got to us…
Here’s the bridge across river to hotel the morning before things flooded, after the previous night’s rain.
Here’s more video of the water.
I’m told “the staff literally risked their lives to help us.” All guests were accounted for, and moved to a staff building that had power but no water. “The furthest tent guests (#21) had to be rescued in the AM as they got stranded.”
Guest Huddled In Staff Quarters
At least one of the rooms (tents) on property washed away, but it was unoccupied. Both bridges which access the resort were washed away. Other resorts in the area fared worse.
The hotel had to arrange two helicopters to air strip, and then charter two planes to fly guests to Nairobi. Unconfirmed reports are that staff at other resorts abandoned their properties and stranded guests.
According to a Marriott spokesperson,
Our team acted quickly to get all our guests to safety, looking after them in very challenging circumstances. We arranged for evacuation flights away from the rising waters and have found alternative accommodation to make them as comfortable as possible.
Like all impacted properties in the area, we will have to assess the damage by these unusually heavy rains, and will reopen for business as soon as we are able.
Three thoughts on the hotel and Marriott from a guest who is now safely in Nairobi:
- “I would’ve said this was the nicest Marriott I’ve ever stayed at (of course on points, which I’m sure you know is a great deal!), the safari was insane, we witnessed an entire pride of lions take down a buffalo last night at dusk, was probably the best trip we’ve ever taken.”
- “[C]razy as it sounds, this entire ordeal further cemented our loyalty to Marriott.”
Jemma Wade is the GM (one of two I believe), she was an absolute rockstar and actually flew with us to Nairobi….they’re going to reach out to us at some point (no one paid their bill), have no idea if/what they’re going to offer as compensation…on the one hand they managed to get us out within a few hours…on the other, they literally came within a couple minutes of getting us killed. No safety briefing, we were the only tent where no one came to help us, not even a flashlight [in the room].
- “All the guests were unanimous that the property is a walking death trap and would never set foot there again if Marriott paid us”
We’ll learn the extent to which mistakes were made along the way, given construction in an area that appears to have flooded in 2019 and 2020, and second hand via resort staff a failure to execute safety and evacuation protocols. However staff at this hotel appear to have been diligent and caring under the circumstances, especially considering unconfirmed reports that guests other nearby resorts may not so well assisted.
For those of you interested in the property, availability seems to open in waves and I’ve seen it between 106,000 and 150,000 points per night – an increase over last year’s pricing. In-season rates start over $2,200 per night and off-season of $1,500. They do not appear to be taking reservations until June 2.
Apparently an insurance inspector has already visited the hotel. They don’t want to miss their summer migration season. I do think, though, that there are safety and structural issues that need to be revisited before I’d go.
“Availability seems to open in waves.” I would agree with that.
Given it’s seemingly the middle of no-where in Africa, we can assume the building codes are nonexistent. Still, I can’t imagine a Western hotel chain building a tent-based hotel in a flood plain. Even if there were no local rules or regulations you would think an insurance company or corporate construction manager would have immediately noticed the risk of building in a food plain.
I was there in March. It was a very well planned out resort. The guide we had mentioned rains was heavier this year then normal. I think this was was a Katrina like event for them. You know where a certain “Western” city with all the building codes was underwater for an extended period …
” FNT Delta Diamond” “Tent Based” hotels are common in safari country I submit you view Wilderness Safaris’ one of the best safari companies in Africa. The reputable camps are indeed inspected from time to time with Wilderness a well trained staff which we saw on our three safaris’ differing camps throughout Africa. I would be concerned about staying there for some time as it appears there could be structural damage as well.
It’s a same to see this happen to tourist but it is Africa and the bush which is why you sign a lot of wavers before you go!!
As for pricing their pricing whether it’s points or cash is within the range for upper end safari camps.
I was there earlier this spring, and the property was built right on the edge of the river. In fact there was construction being done below the decks at that time (though unlikely to help at all considering the amount of water).
Kenya is experiencing record flooding at the moment, so i’m not sure if they’ve considered outlier events like this when they built it.
Agree w/ the comments about staff – they were simply amazing. Good to hear guests and staff are at least safe. Hopefully the property can re-open soon, as I can’t wait to be there again.
Jemma Wade is a rockstar for sure. I’m glad to hear she took good care of the guests in this situation. The staff there for the most part are a bit clueless at times. Friendly, but not well educated in hospitality. Jemma took great care of us even tho we were without hot water for several nights because of an electrical fault. She came through with modest compensation. But our troubles were small potatoes compared to this, of course. I am glad we went in December when it was mostly dry. We had a wonderful time overall, but I have no desire to ever set foot in Kenya again.
Sounds like it was worth it, if only for having a wild story to tell for years and years.
I hope the staff are well rewarded for their bravery.
My wife and I stayed here last September and it was by far the best trip of our lives, and we travel the world.
It’s so sad to see this happen but feel fortunate that the staff acted quickly and everyone at the JW Masai Mara was safe and rescued, sounds like others were not.
I don’t think it’s fair to call that incredible place a “walking death trap” it’s certainly more safe, and it sounds like better equipped, to handle emergencies than the vast majority of the safari camps. You’re in Africa and this sounds like a 1 in 500 year flood event, not really fair to blame the ultra high end resort for Mother Natures fury.
Also, when do you ever check into a hotel and receive safety training? We actually did at this hotel with respect to nearby hippos and how to get trained escorts to safely walk us to and from our tents at night. That statement is also not fair. It sounds like the staff had safety training and knew who was in the resort, how many there were, where to go in an emergency, and how to coordinate help. Count yourself very lucky. Many thousands of people in our Western cities are not afforded that level of care in extreme emergency situations.
Well done JW Masai Mara staff. I look forward to visiting again once you’re back on your feet. Keep your head up!
Well done by the staff – and well taken care of with the post flood evacuation
Too bad on the flood it was a promising place
We were due to check in a week from tomorrow and leaving Monday, $10k in non-refundable flights, with no urgency or willingness from Marriott to help us. We’re in a panic and would love any recommendations from others that have been in a similar situation?
We are in Nairobi and were supposed to be there 5/5-5/10. The beauty of points and miles let me (sadly) change plans and head to Sardinia. I’m just glad we weren’t on the safari already, as these poor people were!
I’m sure it was traumatic for the guests but I couldn’t disagree more with calling the camp a “walking death trap.” We were there months ago and felt very safe. In fact, safety was prioritized at every turn by the staff.
Even though it’s next to the river, there is a good 30-40 feet of height between the tents and the riverbank. Additionally the structures are very secure, as evidenced by the fact that most if not all of them are still standing. This sounds like a freak accident more than anything.
The staff are to be commended for putting other peoples lives ahead of their own.
I encourage those who have non refundable flights to consider still making the journey to Kenya. It’s a special place. There are numerous other wildlife reserves and experiences near Nairobi. I also believe another JW Marriott opened in Nairobi and has great reviews.
It’s not this hotel, but unless you are trying to see the Wildebeests crossing the river with crocodiles and a million people, then I say skip Kenya and just go to Tanzania. There is much more variety there. It is so large that you could possibly stay in two different parts. And all of the Wildebeests don’t migrate at the same time. We saw large heards in October. You also save money not flying across borders and sanity not dealing with that Kenya visa.
This is such devastating news..!! We were there early April and absolutely loved it. Never ever felt unsafe during our stay. Jemma and Wilson were amazing !! Each and every member of their staff treated us like family and took excellent care of us; which is probably why I am not surprised to read that the JW staff risked their lives to ensure the safety of their guests. I just hope that the damages are not extensive and they are able to open soon. We cannot wait to go back!! If any of the JW Masai Mara staff is reading this, please know that we are thinking about you and hoping that you will be back up and running real soon..!!
Tent-like structures on platform is what is allowed as it is located in the National Park. The vast majority of safari accommodation in the Mara are similar. Location by the river is desirable, but fraught with danger as flooding through Kenya and Tanzania is not uncommon.
I’ve seen similar flooding in South Africa where you can see residual debris 25 feet up in trees along the river from floods 8-10 years ago. Sadly, they will likely be closed for months/years to rebuild.
I have a stay Aug 22-25 and was just told they will re-open July 15. I am a bit incredulous and wonder if they might open prematurely before the lodge is “back to normal”. If anyone has any thoughts/insights, i would love to hear them.
I just got off the phone with Marriot and I was told they are re-opening end of November.