About this hotel
General information
Finch Hattons is a tented camp in Tsavo West National Park, one of Kenya’s largest and oldest, at the foot of the Chyulu Hills, with Kilimanjaro on the skyline on a clear day. The camp covers some 14 hectares of wild country around natural springs: hippos and crocodiles live in the pools right below the decks, and elephants come down to the water to cool off.
Seventeen tented suites under makuti palm-leaf roofs sleep no more than 38 guests, so the mood stays intimate. Beyond the restaurant, bar and evening lounge there is an infinity pool, the Chyulu Spa with its hammam and yoga deck, a viewing tower and a stargazing deck. Stays include all meals and drinks, alcohol among them, two game drives a day, airstrip transfers, one local excursion per stay and laundry. The camp is open all year, and its hot water comes from solar heaters.
Location
The camp lies in Tsavo West below the Chyulu Hills, about 240 km from Nairobi. Daily scheduled Safarilink and Fly ALS flights from Wilson Airport take around 50 minutes to the camp’s own airstrip, a 10-minute drive from the tents; Mombasa Air flies in direct from Mombasa, and charters and helicopters can be arranged. Alternatively, the Madaraka Express train runs from Nairobi or Mombasa to Mtito Andei, from where the transfer takes about two hours and turns into a game drive once inside the park. On selected dates a connecting flight reaches the Masai Mara in just over an hour.
Spa
The Chyulu Spa has two climate-controlled treatment rooms, a hammam, indoor and outdoor showers, a relaxation lounge, an adults-only infinity pool, a gym and an open-air yoga deck looking out to the Chyulu Hills, where classes, private ones included, are taught by graduates of the Africa Yoga Project. Treatments use D’VINE products made from natural oils, butters and botanicals. The signatures are The Chyulu Experience — a full-body scrub and clay wrap, then the hammam and an oringa massage with a Maasai wooden baton — and the Soul of Tsavo massage, with warm pumice and sand poultices from the Chyulu Hills; a short relaxing massage is offered for children.
Sports & leisure
Days revolve around game drives and long excursions into the volcanic country around the camp:
- two guided game drives a day, from dawn to the golden evening hour with stops for sunrise and sunset: Tsavo’s red-dusted elephants, buffalo, giraffe, lion, leopard, cheetah, wildebeest, oryx and hartebeest, and more than 500 bird species; night drives (civets, genets, bush babies), drives into the Chyulu Hills and a private vehicle with guide can be added;
- a complimentary 1.5-hour guided walk around camp covering birds, insects, tracks and medicinal plants, plus longer guided bush walks;
- hikes in the Chyulu Hills: sunrise over the hills with a light breakfast, the cloud forest with its orchids, ferns and mosses, and climbs to the craters of dormant volcanoes such as Chaimu;
- the Shetani lava flow, folded black lava from an eruption about 200 years ago; Mzima Springs, with its hippos and underwater viewing chamber; and Lake Jipe for birdlife including pygmy geese and black egrets;
- the Ngulia Rhino Sanctuary, home to around 80 black rhinos, and an overnight visit watching them from a raised platform with night-vision goggles;
- a visit to the Maasai community of Iltilal — its school, market and traditional homestead;
- bush breakfasts with a glass of bubbly, sundowners out in the bush or up on the viewing tower, and the stargazing deck;
- a gym, private yoga sessions, weddings and other celebrations.
For children
The Young Explorers Club, for children aged six and over, follows no fixed timetable: activities are shaped around each child’s age and interests. They include guided bush walks and wildlife treasure hunts, bush survival classes, mini safaris around camp, storytelling and talks with the camp’s conservation manager and visiting experts, outdoor film nights and game drives alongside their parents. The chefs prepare child-friendly meals and snacks, and at night the camp guides keep a quiet watch over tents where children are sleeping.
Restaurants & bars
The cooking draws on the flavours of the Tsavo region and Kenyan culinary tradition: seasonal fruit and vegetables, grass-fed beef, seafood flown in from the coast, herbs and vegetables from the camp’s organic garden and home-baked bread at every meal, with menus adapted to any dietary need. Meals and drinks are taken in several settings:
- the main dining room and bar — breakfast, lunch and dinner;
- the evening lounge — sunset cocktails and slow evenings;
- the boma — a circular open-air setting for dinners by lantern and firelight;
- the pool — al fresco lunches;
- the viewing tower — dinners for two with sweeping views;
- bush breakfasts out on the Tsavo plains.
Swimming
The main infinity pool is open to all guests and doubles as a setting for al fresco lunches. A second infinity pool, at the Chyulu Spa, is reserved for adults.
Rooms
The 17 tented suites, roofed with makuti palm leaves, stand apart from one another above the natural springs, each with a raised private deck looking over pools where hippos bathe: 14 Luxury Tented Suites, two two-bedroom family suites and a single suite with its own pool.
Every suite has a king bed (or twins on request), a bathroom with a free-standing copper bath and indoor and outdoor showers, a complimentary stocked minibar, tea and coffee facilities, a safe, binoculars, torches, insect repellent, extra blankets, bathrobes and slippers, a hairdryer, bath amenities and Wi-Fi; the tents have no air conditioning.
Luxury Tented Suite
A tented suite with a king bed or twins, a spacious bathroom with a copper bath and a private raised deck over the springs where hippos gather.
Two Bedroom Family Suite
Two bedrooms, each with its own bathroom and a king bed or twins, plus a lounge and an extended deck over the hippo pools; it sits close to the main areas and the pool.
The Finch Hattons Suite
The camp’s most private suite: a master bedroom with a king bed or twins, a guest bathroom, lounge, dining area, small kitchen and a large deck with a heated plunge pool. It comes with its own dedicated team and private chef, and a safari vehicle and guide reserved for its guests.
Photos are for illustrative purposes only. Actual room layout, furnishings, décor, views and amenities may differ from those shown and may vary between rooms of the same category. Hotel and room descriptions are based on information provided by the property and are believed to be accurate at the time of publication, but are not guaranteed. The hotel may renovate or change its rooms, facilities, restaurants and services at any time without notice. The final details of your stay are confirmed at the time of booking. See our Terms of Use.