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Alisons Serena

In the last of our My Serena series I asked Alison if she had a favourite Serena Hotel and here’s what she had to say:

I don’t really have a favourite Serena – one should never have favourites …. others might get jealous!  I have enjoyed each and every Serena property I have visited, for a different reason.

Location and experience are always key when it comes to a hotel or a lodge and Serena excels in both.

Mountain Lodge at the foot of Mount Kenya, where we saw an army of ants marching across the forest floor, the unique animals of Samburu, the stunning views of the Mara from the Serena Lodge, cocktails in the pool at Serena Beach and watching elephants interact in Amboseli.  Sundowners in Stone Town, as the dhows sail back after a day’s fishing or watching an elephant come down to drink, while boating on the Rufiji River.  Flying low over the migration in the Serengeti in a light aircraft or hot air balloon or watching a mother cheetah tell off her cubs – so many magical memories.

What makes Serena stand head shoulders above so many other properties is the people.  No matter what the level of staff, they are all keen to make your stay even more memorable.  One of my earliest memories of Serena, was coming back to the lodge after a game drive and the chap weeding the pathway asking if we had enjoyed our safari?  He seemed really interested, it was important to him that we enjoyed our experience.

The back-of-house site inspections are often really fascinating.  Realising how important it is to Serena, that the guests do not have to suffer any hardship, if for some reason the hotel power or water is cut off – every eventuality seems to have been considered, with back-up generators, huge water tanks and plenty of food supplies in the huge cold rooms.  While doing one of these back-of-house tours an elderly man working in the laundry insisted that he would be the one to help us with our washing and to make sure we sent it through to him.

My Serena is overloaded with amazing memories.

Remember if you have any Serena memories you’d like to share with us we would love to hear them.