Hello Guys! Eiiish! Si I have been lost… Wacha tu…
How have you guys been? What is new? Who got married? Who quit their job? Who got a new baby? Fill me in on what’s happening on your end…

As for me, I have been trying to juggle between work & school and truth be told, it has not been easy.
After days weeks of books,  I decided my mind needed a nice quiet place to go, relax, and just take a load off.
I needed a weekend getaway; and quick!

So after having such an amazing time at Jacaranda’s Hotels Indian Ocean Beach Resort  (<- click here to read all about it), I wanted to try out their other hotel;
Jacaranda Lake Elementaita Lodge.

So finally, on a random warm Friday morning, Silver (my beautiful car) and I hit the road; ready to enjoy a couple of hours of non stop music and beautiful scenery.

Me Starting My Journey

For me, the best part of an out of town trip is the actual journey. I spend more time planning for the journey than the actual the destination (weird I know).

I made sure my iPod was charged, and that it had an updated road-tip-playlist. I packed a small snack, made sure I had enough fuel… and then I was ready to go.

On my way out of town, I made a quick stop at VIEW POINT.
If you ever go out of town, and don’t stop at view point, you don’t know what you are missing.

View Point

Aaah Mehn! I love this place!!!
Whenever I have a super free Sunday, I love to drive up here and just take in all the beauty as the cool breeze caress my face..
I have been to View Point a million billion times, but I still get the same feeling each and every time…
Still Feels Like The First Time.

Mount Longonot

After spending a cool minute at view point, I proceeded with my journey to Elementaita.

Lake Elementaita Lodge

Finally, Silver and I arrived at our destination. As soon as I saw the Lodge, I instantly knew that this was going to be the relaxing weekend I had been looking forward to.

Lake Elementaita Lodge

I slowly continued to drive into the place, and I parked.

Lake Elementaita Lodge Car Park

I stepped out of the car, and stood for a minute taking in the beautiful views. Looking at the hills, and the beautiful lake… it was absolutely perfect.

Lake Elementaita

A Warm Welcome

After I was done with my moment, I found my way to the reception to get myself checked into my room.

Lake Elementaita Lodge Reception

After getting my bags (notice I said bags, I’m sure you can tell that I don’t know how to pack light) to the reception, the porter led me up to my room for the weekend.

Lake Elementaita Lodge Rooms

Accommodation

Entrance of Room at Lake Elementaita Lodge

Finally I got to the room. Just when I thought they couldn’t do anything more to make me feel welcome, I found the most beautiful pot of flowers waiting on my door step…

But wait, there was more….

A Welcome Pot of Flowers

They also gave me a welcome fruit basket (just incase I had no plans of being healthy over the weekend … LOL).

After enough “oohs” and “aahs” I finally settled into my room and took a much needed after noon nap.

Bed at Lake Elementaita Lodge

My nap was AMAZING!
I don’t know if it was the bed or rain but that nap was exactly what I needed.
It was such a great experience (who knew a nap could be an experience LOL).

Anyway, I got up and sat outside my room so that I could catch up on a few pages of my book as I listened to some music :).

A Chair Outside The Room

So there I was enjoying another evening listening to music, reading a great book in an amazing and serene place.

The Ambience

After a couple of hours of ‘me’ time, I decided to go take a walk.
The air was fresh, the sun was setting, and I wanted to scope the place a little.

If I was asked to use one word to describe the environment I was in at the moment, I would say beautiful.
 It is a nature lovers heaven!

It was full of greens, and blues,
and Yellow hues.
Beautiful yellow, pink, & red flowers,
the perfect blend for amazing Sundowners.

(Check out my rhyming skills though… a poetry book is coming soon. Stay tuned!)

Lake Elementaita at Sunset

The Lodge at Dusk

The Morning After 

I woke up super early the next day (by 5am). I wanted to get the most out of the day.
For about 2 hours, I worked on some personal projects until around 7am, and then I left my room.

Lake Elementaita Lodge Rooms

I took a slooooow stroll towards where breakfast was being served.
I was enjoying the sounds of the birds chirping, and feeling of the warm sun on my skin.
The beautiful flowers, and the perfect weather.

 A Quick Tour

So after a hearty breakfast, I planned to go for a walk down to the lake (Lake Elementaita).
I wanted to see all the birds and flamingoes.

I went to the front desk to make arrangements for the walk.
The minute I was told the walk would talk me 1.5 hours to go, and 1.5 hours to come back, the walk was not looking like a plan.
(Why lie… Y’all know I am mad lazy. Let be honest.)

Finally the guide gave me an option that made more sense; we could drive down to the lake.
Eish! He didn’t have to tell me twice. I ran to get silver from the parking lot so fast; just incase he decided to change his mind.
This girl (me) could not see herself walking to the lake.

Our first stop was on a hill. From that hill, one could see the whole lake. The view was absolutely breath taking.

After I took enough pictures, we finally headed down to the lake.

The lake was WINDY. I swear I almost fell backwards as soon as I got out of the car.
Apart from the lake being windy, it was also magnificent.

If you like bird watching, then here is where you need to be (for real though).

The Food

So now lets get to the food. I know that’s what most of y’all want to know about anyway (let’s be honest).

Truth be told, I don’t think I can forgive a hotel for giving me bad food. Anything else I can forgive, but bad food, I CAN NOT FORGIVE.
There is something about food. The different tastes can unleash all sorts of emotions in you. Food excites the body and gives the body all the energy that it needs.
As in FOOD IS BAE PEOPLE … FOOD IS LIFE!!! (OK, let me whoosah a little bit… I was getting emotional for a moment there).

Jacaranda Lake Elementaita Lodge’s food is…. (I’m trynna find the word)…. homely. What I mean is, it’s simple yet tastes good.
It’s like a home cooked meal but a small notch higher (I don’t know if you are getting the point).
They don’t serve a plate full of decoration with fancy words.

Breakfast

Breakfast was lovely. It was the usual eggs, sausage, toast, baked beans etc…
But what I loved most, were their croissants and their fruits.
Their croissants were freshly baked, nice, and soft.
Most importantly, they were not too sweet (some croissants make you feel the diabetes coming with each bite).
Their fruits were sweet. Even the pineapples (and I hate pineapples).
They didn’t serve those white ones that leave your mouth with enough cuts and bruises; as if your tongue and food were wrestling.

The Soup

Their soup was delicious.
It was a simple bowl of tomato soup but the taste was unforgettable.

And their bread! Ooooh their bread!!! (wipes drool)… their bread is simply amazing.
Their bread is freshly baked each day, so there is no chance of getting stale bread.
It’s the kind of bread that can you can eat plain because it’s not too dry, has a nice sweet and salty taste to it, plus it’s soft and warm.

So with freshly baked bread and a warm, delicious bowl of tasty soup, your 3 course meal is off to a good start.

Main Course

The main course was really nice. Beer battered fish with fries. You see guys, a simple meal yet filling and tasty.
I really appreciated their simplicity (why lie).
Unlike those restaurants that do THE MOST… ati, Pan-roasted pastry rolls, layered with an herbed tomato puree, a creamy blend of artisanal cheeses, and tender bites of aged salami.
When all they are trying to say is it’s a hot pocket (or pizza roll)… Why  they gotta be so extra? (rolls eyes).

Dessert

Now for the dessert. They served a vanilla and chocolate with vanilla and chocolate custard.
It was just the right amount of sweet.

A Chill Afternoon

After such a fun filled morning and a big lunch, my food baby and I went to shed some calories at the pool.
While at the pool side, I made a new friend.

Together we enjoyed the amazing pool, great drinks from the pool side bar, and the fantastic weather.

 I then spent the rest of my day playing pool, and talking stories with my new friend 🙂

Conclusion 

I loved everything about this trip. I loved how friendly the staff are, I loved the nature, I loved the beautiful views and fresh-air.
I loved the feeling of home it gave me – from the food, the interaction with the staff…

They may need to do some work on the rooms (in terms of renovations). They need to upgrade a few things here and there, it still has an old feel to it.
They may need to make it feel a little bit more modern. But if you like places with an old feel, then this will work for you. As for me, what can I say, I’m a city girl.
Other than that, everything else is absolutely perfect. It’s the kind of place ones comes to get away. It’s quiet, cosy, homely and beautiful.
Would I go back there again? Yes for sure.

It was the perfect place for me to go take a load off; because God only knows that I was about to lose my marbles….

Personally, I think this was a trip that both silver and I enjoyed.
We both got to rest and most importantly, we got to see more of our beautiful Kenya.

“Traveling—it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.”

– Ibn Battuta

Until next time…
Chao!

*Click->  HERE  to go to Jacaranda Hotel’s  Website to get more information.

Send any queries in regards to pricing to sales@jacarandahotels.com