A small hotel in a highland forest
Luxury accommodation, superb service and acclaimed cuisine, on an 1,800-acre private forest reserve on the eastern wall of the Great Rift Valley.
Six lodges, one forest
Malu is a small country hotel offering luxury accommodation, superb service and acclaimed cuisine, ninety minutes from Nairobi.
Cottages, a family villa, a treehouse and a house beside the Mahindu stream are spread through the reserve, each with its own fire, verandah or garden, and sweeping views of the Great Rift Valley from the hill.
Malu is a getaway in its own right, and a perfect base for excursions to Lake Nakuru National Park, Lake Naivasha and Crescent Island, Hell’s Gate National Park and the Kigio Game Reserve.
An original highland forest
On Malu’s 1,800-acre private reserve you are free to walk and ride through one of East Africa’s original highland forests: the last indigenous cedar forest of the eastern Rift Valley.
Take a gentle stroll or a long hike up to the ridge and down to the streams and rivers; children swing from vines, explore the streams and look for colobus monkeys. Our donkeys and mountain bikes bring you close to an untouched wilderness, rich in plants, birds and butterflies.
Who you may meet
- 01Leopard
- 02Buffalo
- 03Zebra
- 04Bushbuck
- 05Dik-dik
- 06Colobus monkeys
A plunge pool fed by natural hot springs, nestled among fig trees and vines.
Milking time, eggs to collect
Children, and plenty of adults, like to help with the milking of our dairy cows, feed the horses and pet the donkeys. There are chickens and ducks to feed, eggs to collect and rabbits to play with.
We have six horses, Ndume, Lulu, Tess, Glorious, Bella and Safi, and three donkeys: John, Sylvie and their baby, Ben.
Riding and walking
Grown here, cooked here
Vegetables and herbs from our own garden, free-range eggs and milk from the Malu cows go into a set four-course menu, Italian in style, from an Italian-trained chef.
Hand-made pasta, fresh mozzarella and rosemary focaccia straight from the oven; long lunches that stretch into the afternoon, and dinner by a blazing fire.
The restaurant
Find your place in the forest
Tell us when you would like to come and how many of you there are, and we will put your stay together.