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Reviews of Julia's River Camp

2.5 out of 5
Julia's River Camp
Masai Mara National Reserve, Maasai Mara

Reviews

9.4

Exceptional

Rating 10 - Excellent. 23 out of 27 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 2 out of 27 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 0 out of 27 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 1 out of 27 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 1 out of 27 reviews" "

9.6/10

Cleanliness

9.8/10

Staff & service

8.8/10

Amenities

9.6/10

Property conditions & facilities

9.4/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

10/10 Excellent

Courtney

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Loved Julia’s. Dennis, our driver, was exceptional.
Stayed 3 nights in Dec 2023

2/10 Terrible

Paul

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
They stated that their CC machine was broken and I need to pay in cash!!! Park Fee—-520 bucks…?… who really got the cash!!… Game rides … can’t put it on your account .. gotta pay cash !!!.. Bar bill —- cash Laundry —-cash And had to go to a town to get mate cash !!.. Just brought Tip monies … of which we were pretty generous… So I asked .. for all this inconvenience.. how bout comp 1 game ride ….100 bucks!… The GM .. Mark Mutua said no… he did t even bother to meet … I said am not paying cash .. so they eventually found a “link to pay them… I feel this place is very very corrupt.. The staff .. were wonderful … of which I feel bad for them that I write this…. But it is disgusting that some guy from Spain that owns it is also inept at running a resort… Do t go there !!!! I will never …. There are 600 other camps to stay at …I just believed there website …. DO NOT go to this camp!!!!!
Stayed 3 nights in Dec 2023
Response from Deo Safari on 28 Dec 2023
Dear Paul,We regret to learn about your disappointing experience with us. Your feedback is crucial, and we sincerely apologize for any shortcomings. We are actively addressing the issues you've raised to ensure a better experience for all our guests. If you're open to it, we would appreciate the opportunity to discuss your concerns further. Please reach out to us at [ reservations@kananga.com]. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.Kind regards,Deo Safari.Sales and Reservations Manager.Julia's River Camp - Maasai Mara National Reserve.

10/10 Excellent

Mahdi

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Amazing!
Incredible experience! The tent was clean and roomy. They are situated in great location inside the park, serene environment by the river, awesome view from the tent. All the staffs are attentive, friendly, and professional, the guards, the chefs, all of them, thank you. Beatrice, our contact staff, was so kind and attentive. She made us feel at home, and totally spoiled us! :-) The safaris were just wonderful! Leo, our guide driver, is an incredible person all around. A Masai native, he knows the Mara like palm of his hand! And he is a great conversationalist. The food is amazing. We are on a vegetarian diet, and here we had some of the healthiest, most delicious food we could find in a restaurant.
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2023

10/10 Excellent

Kerry-Lynn

Stayed 1 night in Dec 2022

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Amazing stay at Julia's. Basic but comfortable camp in the Maasai Mara. Friendly staff, nice food, great location l, we could hear animals all around us every night. Our trip was made by George specifically. The experience he had and his warm smiling face greeting us at mealtimes and when we returned from game drives was the best part of our trip. We hope to see him again at Julia's when we come back next time.
Stayed 4 nights in Aug 2022

10/10 Excellent

Ivan

Travelled with family and small children
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Lovely camp, placed inside Masai Mara Reserve, right on river Talek. Our VIP tent was placed directly on the river so we could see hippos regularly. Camp stuff is great, very king and helpful. Food was excellent, far beyond our expectations. We are vegetarians and we didn't espect such a great food. VIP tent is quite spacious and comfortable, with nice terrace. Hot water was available all the time. WiFi was working in common aeras, but we barely used it. Considering price/quality rate, this camp could be one of the best options in entire Masai Mara. Highly recommended!
Stayed 3 nights in Dec 2021

10/10 Excellent

Jared

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
In the middle of it all...
Bearing in mind it is a camp, Julia's is an excellent stay. Right in the Mara, you don't have to wait for the game drive (which is amazing) to see the wildlife.
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2021

10/10 Excellent

Salma

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
This camp is just lovely. Very clean and very comfortable yet allows you to be in the nature and wild. The staff and their service levels are truly fantastic and many thanks go out to Nick and his full team of staff.
Stayed 3 nights in Oct 2021

10/10 Excellent

Julie

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Masai Mara Safari
Spectacular stay at Julia's River Camp. Excellent location to immediately be immersed in complete Safari experience, friendly and professional team, the most excellent guide! Kios found 2 cheetahs about to hunt and positioned us with masterful ability to witness it. On a second cheetah hunt we were so lucky to observe he expertly maneuvered our vehicle to be the first forward to photograph unimpeded! Truly one of the most amazing experiences. Thank you Julia's River Camp for making our first family Safari utterly magical.
Stayed 2 nights in Oct 2021

4/10 Poor

celeste

Beware of the management here as they will scam you. I booked on Expedia & for most dates you could book “2 game drives per day”, but there was no option to book them for the dates I wanted. I contacted Expedia & the property to see why I couldn’t book the game drives for my dates & they said I could pay upon arrival. At the camp, the manager told me that I owed double the rate per day shown on Expedia (hundreds of dollars different). I showed him the Expedia app, which clearly said 2 and my conversations with the camp before arriving that said the price included 2 drives. They fought me over WhatsApp for an entire afternoon. I got a hold of Expedia and they contacted the property. The manager eventually agreed to the posted price, but said I owed an additional fee/day, which I had already paid.  Also, another friend came to stay there with me. Other guests in the camp were going to the airstrip when my friend was arriving and they invited me to join, so that I could greet her. The manager told me that I would be charged an airport transfer fee if I went with them. It cost them nothing additional for me to ride out with one group and back with my friend who was additional business that I brought them. After several conversations, the manager hesitantly agreed that I could go for free. But this took about an hour to resolve. I lost an entire day to phone calls and conversations with management.
Stayed 5 nights in Aug 2021
Response from JRC on 13 Sept 2021
Dear Ms Celestine, We are always happy to receive reviews and always open to discuss and improve our service, but your statements are not only untrue but totally unfair and we are so shocked to receive this review considering all the efforts that our staff made to please you. We have the best offer in Masai Mara right now with 50% discount and you had an amazing deal full board ONLY as you did not book the accommodation +game drives package. This was clearly written in the confirmation email that we sent to you plus you had several Whatsup conversations directly with our reservation department. Once you were at the camp you did two game drives exclusively for yourself only as you were alone on this trip. Initially you refused to pay threatening our manager to write bad reviews on social medias and at the end we agreed to give you less then half price of what you were supposed to pay for an exclusive game drive. For your information, the little money you paid covered the fuel only, but we agreed on that just to please you as we always do with our clients. About the airstrip, we never charge our client as it is a complimentary service. You wanted to go on a game drive, and which is very different Finally, we were informed that after staying at our camp, you spent two additional nights in another camp in the Mara and you played the same game threatening the manager to speak badly on social medias about their camp and paradoxically you told them how good was our camp. No words to describe your behaviour.

10/10 Excellent

Leslie

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
We loved Julia’s! The meals provided were delicious three and four course meals, they had a nice selection of beverages to choose from, and the two daily game drives that are included in the stay were amazing. We had an excellent driver, Dennis, the entire time, and the rest of the camp staff were super helpful and pleasant. This place was comfortable and of excellent value. The setting was lovely and we heard hippos and elephants by the river at night. I don’t know why you would stay anywhere else. If we’re back in the Mara we will definitely stay here again.
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2021
Response from JRC on 13 Sept 2021
Dear Leslie, thank you so much for your nice review ! We will pass your comment to Dennis and to all our staff. Karibu Tena ! We hope to see you again !

10/10 Excellent

Carol

Travelled with partner, Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The stay at Julia's River Camp was excellent. The location is near many lion prides, cheetahs and leopards (it is just a bit of a drive to the migration river crossing area). We saw many animals grazing on the other side of the river and hippos in the river from our tent and dining area. Hear all kinds of animals at night when sleeping but always felt safe in the unfenced camp with the security (always walking you to/from your tent after dark). The service was amazing- every staff was attentive and friendly and made sure we felt comfortable. Lastly, the game drives with Denis our guide and driver was truly excellent. We saw so much more than expected and every day there was something new. We will definitely come back to visit!
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2021
Response from JRC on 13 Sept 2021
Dear Carol , Thank you very much for your review and spending time to highlight how good is our service and how much we look after our clients . We are indeed in a privilege area surrounded by lot of games ( but it also depends on the season !) and stunning nature. We hope to welcoming you again soon !

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Unfussy tented camp with great game viewing
Unfussy safari tented camp with excellent food and local guides. Brilliant game viewing. Accommodation was simple but clean and comfortable. No frills, affordable and authentic.
Stayed 6 nights in Aug 2021
Response from JRC on 13 Sept 2021
Dear SD , thank you for describing our camp in this way. We do not pretend to be a super luxury camp with a lot of superflus decorations. We are in touch with nature and we want to keep it simple but offering a great service , exellent food , great game drives and make the client feel at home and looked after. Thank you for staying with us!

10/10 Excellent

Forbe

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Everything We Could Have Hoped For
We had a great time. The staff was very helpful and knowledgeable. The food was good. The lodging was a good, quiet, and dry tent. We would love to come back again.
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2021
Response from JRC on 13 Sept 2021
Thank you Forbe for your time in writing this positive review ! We hope to see you soon!!!

10/10 Excellent

RICHARD, UK

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Wow, couldn’t have enjoyed our stay more! Delicious three course meals, three times a day cooked by Steve - catering to dietary requirements and requests (delicious Kenyan banquet on the last night). The tents (more like luxury villas) had comfortable beds, hot water showers, WiFi, mosquito nets, and of course incredible views of the river and occasional lion and hippo! The location of the camp is unbelievable, we only had to drive 2 mins and we saw cheetah with 4 cubs, lion tribe, and countless other amazing creatures. The staff looking after us were great too - good fun, accommodating, and did all the could to share their knowledge of the area and keep us safe, special thanks to Mishak! We take with us great memories of campfires, star gazing, Masai traditions, and overall recommended without hesitation!
Stayed 3 nights in Dec 2020
Response from JRC on 13 Sept 2021
Dear Richard, Thank you so much for this positive review . We are so happy that you had a great experience at our camp and we always do our best to please our clients! We hope to see you again !

10/10 Excellent

RICHARD

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Excellent
Beautiful peaceful spot, very comfortable tents, great staff, tasty food. Couldn’t fault it!!
Stayed 3 nights in Feb 2020
Response from Admin on 18 Feb 2020
Thank you very much for your kind words. We are glad you have enjoyed your stay at our camp and hope to see you soon. Best regards, Kananga Team

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Great camp. Location and environment was a must. Meals good be improved a bit, particularly the take away ones.
Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2019
Response from Admin on 25 Sept 2019
Dear Guest, Thank you for your review. We are happy you enjoyed your stay at uor camp and hoping to welcome you back very soon.

10/10 Excellent

Isaac

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Excellent Location and Employees
Julia’s River Camp has the absolutely best employees, so friendly and concerned that we had a good experience. We want to give a special thanks to Lucky (our game driver - the best), Patrick (our waiter), and Meshak (our Masai warrior). All these inidividuals made our stay so memorable...thank you. The location is perfect, tucked along side the Talek River inside the reserve for the best game viewing. The Masai Mara is so beautiful. We’d highly recommend this place for the special employees working there.
Stayed 5 nights in Aug 2019
Response from Julia´s River Camp Team on 4 Sept 2019
Hello Isaac, Thank you so much for your kind words. We are filled with joy that you had such a great experience at our camp. We look forward to welcoming you back in the future and we will pass on your wonderful words to our staff.

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Travelled with family and small children
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Everyone was very nice.The food was okay.The location was good.There were many animals right outside.
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2019
Response from Julia´s River Camp Team on 2 Sept 2019
Hello guest, We are happy you enjoyed your stay at Julia´s River Camp and hope to welcome you back soon. Best regards,

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Very clean. Easy to see animals pass by the tent.
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2019
Response from Admin on 19 Jul 2019
Hello guest, We are glad you have enjoyed your experience at our camp and hope to see you soon.

10/10 Excellent

Philipp

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
We visited Julias River Camp for 5 days and it was a wonderful experience. The staff was very friendly, the food was incredibly well, the game drives with our guide Dennies were beautiful, the tents were big enough and well suited for the stay. We saw the "big five" in less than 2 days! We promised to visit the camp again!
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2022

10/10 Excellent

Louise

Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2021

10/10 Excellent

Samuel

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Prisvärt boende
Bra boende i tältcamp i Masai Mara National reserve. Bra mat, och bekvämt. Något små rum där det saknas avlastningsytor och förvaring för kläder. Saknas eluttag på rummen.
Stayed 3 nights in Oct 2021

10/10 Excellent

Olivier

Travelled with family, Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Experience et lieu fantastiques.
Excellent lodge, endroit paisible, staff accueillant et très serviable. Nous avons fait deux game drives avec notre guide Denis et avons vu tellement d'animaux !
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2021
Response from JRC on 13 Sept 2021
Dear Olivier, Thank you so much for the nice review ! We are delighted that you had a great time in our camp! Merci et à bientôt, nous l'espérons !

10/10 Excellent

Eunice

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Beautiful safari experience
Beautiful and peaceful place. Good food overall and great staff. Very nice location next to a river. Nice tents and overall facilities. Definitely would recommend!
Stayed 3 nights in Aug 2021

10/10 Excellent

Monica

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 4 nights in Aug 2021

10/10 Excellent

Jonas, Brussels

Travelled with family and small children
Liked: Staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Great location, very good comfortable accomodation in Tents. Very friendly, helpful and flexible hosts. Good food. We will definitely return!
Stayed 2 nights in Oct 2020
Response from Sales & Reservations Department on 2 Nov 2020
Thank you very much for your kind words. We are glad you have enjoyed your stay at our camp and hope to see you soon. Best regards, Kananga Team