A&K Sanctuary completes its Kenya circuit with a lodge at the foot of Kilimanjaro

Kitirua Plains Lodge opens on a 128-acre private concession in Kenya’s Amboseli – where elephant herds number in the hundreds and Kilimanjaro fills the horizon at dawn.

Kitirua Plains Lodge, A&K Sanctuary’s newest Kenyan address, has opened on a 128-acre private concession bordering Amboseli National Park – more than six decades after Geoffrey Kent led Abercrombie & Kent’s first clients on safari across these same plains.

The property was designed in partnership with Luxury Frontiers, whose brief was to build something that belongs to Amboseli rather than stands in it. Curved walls and fluid rooflines echo the undulating terrain; exterior plaster is blended with soil quarried from the site, allowing the buildings to settle into the landscape. The infinity pool occupies an existing patch of wetland rather than displacing it.

Accommodation

Eleven one-bedroom suites measure 116sqm each, with indoor and outdoor showers, a freestanding bath and a shaded private veranda. Two two-bedroom suites span 242sqm and connect through a shared lounge, suited to families or groups travelling together. The open-fronted bar and dining area commands sweeping views of the savannah; the Explorer’s Lounge offers a more contemplative retreat.

Dining & Spa

Dinners are five-course and à la carte, with seasonal menus drawing on Kenyan smallholder produce and coastal markets. A weekly Boma Braai under the stars is a fixture. All meals, beverages and premium spirits are included in the rate.

The spa was developed with South African wellness house Healing Earth, whose treatments draw on Maasai tradition. The signature Enkai Earth Blessing – a 120-minute treatment named for the Maasai concept of divine life force – combines warm mineral water, crushed wild herbs and rhythmic massage using a traditional African rungu stick. Double treatment rooms, an open-air yoga deck and a gym complete the wellness offering.

Safari

Game drives operate across the private concession, which shares a border with Amboseli National Park and delivers access to the park’s wildlife without the vehicle concentration common inside the park boundary. Amboseli supports one of Africa’s highest elephant densities – herds of up to one hundred have been recorded moving through the wetland below the lodge – alongside lions, leopards, cheetahs, buffalo and more than 400 bird species. Each guest is supplied with Leica binoculars; hot-air balloon flights over Kilimanjaro at dawn are available on request.

The lodge runs entirely on solar power. Construction is underway on the Kitirua Nalepu Pre-School – a community education project designed by Luxury Frontiers in partnership with the surrounding Maasai community.

Kitirua Plains Lodge completes A&K Sanctuary’s Kenyan trio alongside Olonana Lodge in the Maasai Mara and Tambarare Camp in Ol Pejeta Conservancy.

“Kitirua Plains Lodge represents the future of A&K Sanctuary,” said Vaco Baselli, Senior Vice President of A&K Sanctuary Operations. “While many people simply build in beautiful places, we are designing properties that belong to their landscape, that meaningfully invest in their communities, and that hold their own against the very best hotels in the world.”

Nightly rates start from USD $840 per person sharing, inclusive of meals, beverages, premium spirits, game drives, airstrip transfers, emergency medical evacuation and laundry. The property is bookable as part of an A&K Tailor Made Journey or Small Group Journey.

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