Breakfast With Elephants and Sleeping Under the Stars at Soroi Larsen’s Camp, Kenya
Tented camps are a dime a dozen on safari, but this one stands out.
Travel writing isn’t a very high-paying job, but it comes with a big perk: getting to see some of the most luxurious, unique, and outdoorsy hotels in the world. I’m usually a budget traveler, so it doesn’t take much to wow me. But when I stay somewhere so fantastic that I just want to hang out at the hotel (and with the hotel staff) all day, that’s a special place. That was the case during my recent stay at Soroi Larsen’s Camp, a boutique tented hotel on the banks of the Ewaso Nyiro River in Kenya’s less-visited Samburu National Reserve.
The original “Larsen’s Camp” opened in the same location in 1987. However, it eventually closed, and the current owners Gabriele Nowak and Dave Choda purchased the then-closed property in 2020. They did a complete renovation from the ground up, constructing everything on platforms to hedge against flooding. The camp reopened in its current iteration in July of 2023.
Tented safari camps in Africa are a dime a dozen — but here’s why Soroi Larsen’s Camp stands out.
It’s named in homage to a famous conservationist
Elephants crossing the river near Soroi Larsen’s Camp. Photo: Suzie Dundas
The camp is named for Danish Explorer Erik Larsen, who camped in Samburu in the exact location of the lodge in the 1950s. He focused on documenting Samburu’s wildlife and was among the first to speak about the Samburu “Big Five:” five native animals you can only see in Samburu. They include the Grevy’s zebra and reticulated giraffe (two sub-species of zebra and giraffe, respectively), the gerenuk, the Somali ostrich, and beisa oryx. He pioneered collective conservation on a large, international scale (obviously, local tribes were already in the area), and the camp’s design incorporates elements from Larsen’s original field notes, including elevated tent platforms and riverfront orientation. All tents at the resort open to the river, with one or more private decks.
The resort experience starts with a surprise safari drive
Views en route to Larsen’s Camp. Photo: Suzie Dundas
Reaching Soroi Larsen’s Camp begins with adventure, as guests have to drive through the reserve itself to reach the hotel. I traveled with Alluring Africa, which booked my flight to the Buffalo Springs airstrip and coordinated a lodge pickup. We were met at the airstrip by George, our fantastic guide for the next three days. On the way, he talked to us about Samburu while we kept an eye on the surroundings to spot dozens of giraffes, elephants, and gerenuks.
Welcome at the camp was unforgettable, and we sipped on fresh juice while we learned about our schedule and plans for the next three days — but in fairness, it was hard to pay attention with the distraction of the sprawling Samburu savanna just a few steps away.
Accommodations are sprawling, luxurious, and private
The porch of the “Desert Rose” tent. Photo: Suzie Dundas
Reader, let me tell you: I was shook — shook — when I walked into my tent (“Desert Rose.”) I was escorted by a camp host, and when she opened the door, I was 100 percent sure she’d led me to the wrong room, and that surely they’d mistaken me for a much more important person.
But it turns out I’d just been upgraded — an added perk of visiting in the slow season just before Christmas holiday travel began. My front porch alone was impressive, with an outdoor bed and space to chill outside. But it opened to reveal a gorgeous four-poster bed with a hand-painted mural behind it, a writing desk, vintage lighting, outdoorsy decor, and a large pouf tossed in the corner.
Photo: Suzie Dundas
But I soon realized that was only half the room. Stepping behind the bed led me to a huge wardrobe and table with coffee, filtered water, and decorative art like woven bowls and framed bird art so pretty I would have pulled it off the wall if I could. Attached to the double sink/vanity area was an indoor shower on on side and the washroom on the other.
Walking past the sinks led me to the front of my room: a sitting area with a card table and a large couch/relaxation area. Another set of sliding doors opened on this end to one of the room’s best features: a huge verandah with a sunbed and private plunge pool, both looking straight out onto the savannas of Samburu. My tent was the furthest-away room on the property, ensuring lots of privacy while relaxing on the deck and watching giraffes wander by.
While my room was one of the higher-end rooms, the interior was similar to most other rooms on the property, save for the plunge pool. All the suites are similar in terms of size, furnishings, and decks, so they all feel quite posh and roomy. But what made my room extra-special was something I’d not experienced before: it came with a private star bed tower, providing a chance to sleep in extreme comfort outdoors above the landscape.
The star bed experience was one of the coolest things I did all year
The star beds roll forward on a track so guests can sleep directly under the stars. Photo: Suzie Dundas
Two rooms at Larsen’s Camp feature private raised star beds, and mine, furthest from camp, had epic views. From my second-floor tower, I watched (and heard) herds of elephants cross the Ewaso Nyiro River daily.
The star bed tower, reached by a staircase beside my tent, had a snug bed wrapped in seamless mosquito netting, plus a table and chairs. Guests can book private lunches (best for views) or dinners (romantic, but dark) up there. I used it to work and take photos during the day.
Star beds are becoming more common in places like Botswana, but they’re fewer and further between in Kenya. Owner Gabby Nowak says it was inspired by Samburu’s reliably impressive skies. “Over 80 percent of all star constellations can be seen in Samburu,” she said. “I have always enjoyed sleeping outdoors and Samburu is perfect for it due to its warm weather patterns.” While they’re not planning to add any more star beds at Samburu, they will add them at Soroi Amboseli Luxury Camp, which they plan to open in early 2026.
Views from the star bed (there are elephants in the distance), and the sky bed table, which can be transformed into a dining area. Photo: Suzie Dundas
I spent three nights at Larsen Camp and slept in the star bed on the last night. The Larsen’s Camp team rolled the bed out for me that afternoon so I had a clear view of the stars, and power sockets and bottles of water meant I didn’t need to climb out once I had settled in. However, the level below the star bed is an open-air shower and toilet, ensuring you don’t have to run back into your tent if nature calls in the middle of the night.
It was my worst sleep in a while, but in the best way possible. Every distant animal noise sent me scrambling out of bed with a flashlight, hoping to spot a lion (spoiler: only baboons). I saw them everywhere, including on my deck, at the pool, and on the star bed stairs. Fortunately, there’s a trapdoor to seal the staircase at night so you don’t wake up to a baboon trying to steal your pillows. Falling asleep under a sky full of stars, with elephants rumbling nearby, beats a perfect night’s sleep any day.
Dining and cocktails
Photo: Suzie Dundas
Meals are an event at Larsen’s Camp. There’s an extensive menu for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and if you’re leaving early on a morning safari drive, you can have coffee and a light snack delivered to your tent via a wooden drop-down flap that lets food in while keeping baboons out. Everything is made fresh on site, and it’s clear the culinary team is passionate about their jobs. During meals, chefs would often come out and ask us what we wanted to try, and tell us about the new recipes they were excited to experiment with.
Menus are a mix of Western, Kenyan, and Indian cuisine, though in reality, the team can probably make you whatever you want. One morning, I requested just a banana for breakfast, and it was brought to me perfectly centered on a plate as if it was a gourmet meal. I also loved that the menu was so vegetarian friendly, with half of the options being meat-free.
Photo: Suzie Dundas
Cocktails, too, are not in short supply, and sundowners on our game drive were a highlight not just of the stay, but of all of 2025. It was a true bucket-list experience to sit in an open-air safari car, chatting with George while he mixed cocktails out of the cooler on the floor of the Jeep. I have a mental picture of watching George shake a G&T while elephants wandered just steps in front of our car. It was a memory I’ll never forget — and felt like one of the most luxurious things I’ve ever done.
Sustainability
Soroi makes biodegradable bathroom products to keep chemicals out of the landscape (so leave your shampoo and conditioner at home). Photo: Suzie Dundas
Soroi Larsen’s Camp is powered entirely by solar, and each room has a large metal bucket in the shower to collect excess water; it’s then used as needed throughout the resort. All the shower products are custom-made biodegradable blends, and all waste goes to Nairobi, where it’s recycled and disposed of properly — or made into compost then used in the kitchen garden. The Soroi team also runs clean-up days in the reserve and surrounding areas.
The development of safari reserves is a complicated subject, especially in finding the balance between traditional landholders, Indigenous tribes, and international tourism. And no one at Larsen’s Camp shied away from discussing the topic.
I learned that Soroi is fairly progressive when it comes to community development. “Conservation cannot exist without the support of community and them benefiting from tourism,” Nowak told me. While many lodges in Kenya employ mostly men, Larsen’s Camp has lots of female employees (including one of the country’s first female general managers), and about 70 percent of its employees are from nearby communities. The resort runs a program where it pays for women from local villages to attend college with a tourism focus, including lodging costs and textbooks. “This creates young professionals in the industry,” says Nowak, “but at the same time, empowers young girls to be independent with employment opportunities in the Soroi Collection or with other properties.”
Surrounding communities benefit from having Larsen’s Camp nearby, I learned, via dental and medical clinics sponsored by the resort, food and solar energy donations, and a resort-sponsored program in which recycled plastic gets exchanged for textbooks and resources for local schools.
On-site amenities
Camp is eco-chic, with a huge outdoor dining deck and fire pit by the river. Photo: Suzie Dundas
The resort is luxurious, even though it looks like a natural bush camp. There’s a large communal dining deck with a recessed fire pit, a covered outdoor lounge area plus a fully tented separate indoor lounge area, and lots of swinging bucket chairs and lounges scattered in pretty areas around the property. Though only two rooms have private pools, there’s a big communal pool and deck that looks out on the savanna, so you can scan the horizon for the “Samburu Five” while you lounge by the pool.
Like many lodges, there’s a small gift shop. But it has a notable twist: it sells items made by craftspeople in local villages, and the prices aren’t any more expensive than you’d pay if you bought it from them. One of the beading artists (Juwana) actually crafts part-time in the shop, so guests can ask questions and watch her work. She’s in training to become Samburu’s first female wildlife guide.
Look at his cute little toes. Photo: Suzie Dundas
Like most resorts I’ve visited in safari destinations, the resort is mostly outdoors, with plenty of places to wander. On property, I saw a creature I’ve never seen in the wild before: a chameleon. In fact, it took me a minute of wondering “what the heck is this lizard” before I noticed it was changing patterns and put two and two together.
There’s also an on-site photo hide: an underground room where photographers can hide at roughly eye-level with a manmade watering hole. Animals at the watering hole can’t see the photographers, but it means you can take amazing photos even with a basic iPhone. Unfortunately, I was there during the rainy season and not too many animals visited the watering hole, as there was water available nearly everywhere in the reserve. But it’s a super unique, fun feature totally free to guests.
Add-on activities
Photo: Suzie Dundas
Travelers can opt for just the room and meals, or book the full safari package. You can book rooms directly, or book through a safari operator like Alluring Africa, which comes with some complimentary perks, like a private bush breakfast. You’ll depart at 5:30 AM for a sunrise safari drive, then head to a secluded clearing where the Larsen’s Camp team transforms the bush into a gourmet dining spot.
I thought the lavish setup, with linen-draped tables, floral centerpieces, and full buffet, was for another group until we got closer and I recognized the chefs. Out of pocket, the experience is about $100 per person and includes fresh pastries, a made-to-order omelette station, fruit platters, champagne mimosas, and surprises like the chef’s inventive “Kenyan breakfast pizza” (spiced eggs and cheese on a flaky pastry base, delicious).
The team hauls everything into the wild, including a coffee press and cozy blankets, making it feel both luxe and adventurous. Watching elephants wander nearby while sipping bubbly? Priceless.
Other add-on activities include guided bush walks, visits to villages with which the resort partners, or visits to a local community-owned elephant sanctuary, where there’s only one fence — and it’s to keep humans in, not elephants. I thought pricing was fairly reasonable for a luxury resort, with bush walks starting around $55 an hour. Some activities are free, like guided birdwatching, as long as one of the camp avian experts is available.
Visitors can tour a community-owned elephant rehabilitation center, or visit the all-women village of Umoja. Photo: Suzie Dundas
Rates and Inclusions
There’s no doubt Larsen’s Camp is expensive: rooms start at $900 for full board (all meals) with two to a room, or $1,300 for the full package, including twice-daily game drives, airstrip pickups, and perks like sunset sundowners in the bush. For most people, it’s a bucket-list trip you’d save up for to take the safari trip you’ve always dreamed of.
An experience should be absolutely fantastic on all fronts at that price, and fortunately, it is. It’s also clear where your money is going when you book a stay: it goes to hiring knowledgable and friendly staff (who I wish could have stayed with us for the rest of the trip), to decadent and locally sourced meals, to luxurious rooms that make you feel like a celebrity on vacation, and to local communities and causes near Samburu Reserve.
If you’re going to splurge on travel, you should splurge on travel that gives back to local communities. For me, that definitely helps justify the costs — as does the over-the-top experience. I only hope I’m lucky enough for my travels to one day bring me back to Samburu, and there’s no question about where I’d stay. 
