In March Ethos arranged an educational for 7 UK tour operators to Kenya, courtesy of Serena Hotels and Kenya Airways.
The experience on KQ was very good. The flights (in both directions) were very full, but the crew were efficient and friendly, which made the journey more comfortable.
First stop was Serena Beach Resort, where we had the chance to try out the facilities, including snorkelling and the Maisha Spa and we did some sightseeing.
We visited a local school (part of the Fishermen’s Village). One of the group (Anand) had brought a number of items that he wanted to give to children. The school was incredibly poor, and had probably never had this type of visit before (and probably the first time some of the group had seen this level of poverty, so a positive experience all round.
We then boarded the Mandaraka Express and headed to Tsavo West for a night at Kilaguni Serena and a chance to see some wildlife. The excellent waterhole right in front of the lodge was a hive of activity, which meant people were reluctant to go out on a game drive!
After our safari we boarded the train again, for the last leg of journey to Nairobi and a visit to Nairobi Serena, which is currently undergoing major refurbishment.
As always the Serena service was excellent, and I now have a couple of new stories to add to my sales patter ….
We always have a people on educationals with special dietary needs, but I have never had to deal with the Jain diet before. Serena came up trumps, and produced some very tasty meals that did not include onions, garlic or any root vegetables (plus a number of other Jain no-nos).
On our way to the train station at Mtito Andei, Aaron realised that he had left his jacket in his room. We were already running a bit late, due to leaving Kilaguni Serena a bit late and a delay at the gate, so we couldn’t do anything about it at that stage. When we got to Nairobi, I emailed Gilbert at the lodge, asking if anything could be done.
Gilbert replied that the jacket was at reception at Nairobi Serena!
Mugo Maringa (GM Tanzania) and his wife had been staying at Kilaguni and had left after us, and had offered to bring the jacket to Nairobi Serena. Instead of going straight home they braved the traffic and ended up having dinner at Nairobi Serena!
Aaron was very happy to have his jacket back, as he didn’t have any other warm clothing for the journey home. An excellent example of how Serena often goes that extra mile!
