Alama is Swahili for "a mark", and Alama Camp Mara is built to leave one. It is a small boutique camp on a brook, looking out over the plains of the Maasai Mara: ten permanent tented rooms rather than fifty, around a pool, a lounge and bar, and a restaurant over the plains.
Canvas over local stone
The tents are canvas over walls of sedimentary rock collected nearby. The stone does a practical job: it keeps the tents cool through the heat of the day and holds warmth through the cool Mara nights.
A jacuzzi on every deck
Every tent opens onto its own private deck facing the plains, and every deck has a jacuzzi, hot or cold. Binoculars sit on the rail, so the view from the water is part of the game viewing. The tents come set up as doubles, triples or a family arrangement, all with the same deck.
A table that follows the farm
The restaurant looks out over the plains, and its à la carte menus follow what the camp's own farm is growing. The kitchen cooks for any diet — gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan. Between the morning and afternoon game drives there is the pool, with loungers facing the Mara.
Drives, balloons and one on the house
Guides go out in the morning and afternoon, or for a full day with a packed lunch, tracking the big cats. For a different view, hot-air balloons lift off over the herds at sunrise, weather permitting. Bush breakfasts and dinners are arranged on request, and every stay includes one complimentary sundowner — a cocktail of the guest's choice as the light goes.
The people guests write about
What reviewers mention most is the staff. They name the manager, the guides, the chef and the porters, and describe a camp that plans each stay around its guests — the drives, the meals and that sundowner.
