Oldoiyo Lengai Resort and Bistro

Oldoiyo Lengai Resort and Bistro is located right at the exit of Karatina town along the Nyeri-Karatina highway. Having grown up in Nyeri town, going there on Sunday afternoons and almost everyday during the holidays was something I looked forward to every weekend. We still frequent the place occasionally even now when we’re older and the place hasn’t changed a bit. On normal weekdays, during the holidays the place is quiet and a great place to just relax by the pool sipping some juice and soaking in the sun. However on weekends, the place gets sooo packed. My favourite part of the resort is their olympic size pool which attracts so many people over the weekends. It has now become the perfect weekend getaway for families in Nairobi trying to escape the hustle and bustle of Nairobi town for a day or two. Swimming charges at Oldoiyo Le Ngai are $2 per person which is quite affordable considering the ambience and size of the pool. The pool is always clean and a life guard always on standby. The great thing about the pool here is that for younger kids, the hotel has a sizeable mini pool for kids under 9 years right next to the big pool. The hotel also has a gym, sauna and a spa that ofgers the best massages ever making it a great choice for that out-of-town date you’ve been planning for! Their food is great and their portions too however, they should improve on their service since most of the times our orders get delayed when we order from the poolside tables after swimming. They instead prioritize the customers who decide to sit inside the hotel which gets a bit annoying. Besides that, it is definitely a place you should try out for a change. Oldoiyo Le Ngai also offers a free, safe and ample parking space with a guard always on standby to ensure order and safety from mini accidents as people drive in and out.

Ol Doiyo is like an oasis along the very lonely highway leading to Embu, a few minutes drive from Karatina Town. The resort is a favourite among residents of Nyeri and Karatina town, as well as people traveling from out of town since it is right on the highway. When you drive into the resort, you get into the parking area where you leave your vehicle. The resort is not built on a large piece of land, so everything is pretty close together. The parking area is a few metres away from their accommodation and restaurant. Most people choose to sit by the pool area while they dine. There is a walkway to the pool, alongside which you will see a swingset and a bouncing castle during weekends. The swimming charges are 200KES per head and they have both an adult and baby pool. Ol Doiyo is perfect for locals to have lunch at or for business-people traveling from out of town to stay at but it did not strike me as the best place to have a holiday or getaway to. For starters, I like resorts to have more space and allow for a little discretion. The kid play area is also very small and kids activities are limited to either swimming or playing on the swingset. The bathrooms on the grounds for non-residents are about 4 in total and poorly maintained. The changing rooms at the pool did not have warm showers and are quite few considering the large number of clientele. The staff also get quite overwhelmed on busy days like holidays where there is an influx of customers and orders may take about an hour to arrive. Their barbecued meat is however, phenomenal.