Rooms / Suites / Villas
Where you stay
Eleven en-suite tented suites in vintage 1920s style: five double tents, four family tents with two en-suite bedrooms and a shared lounge, and two honeymoon tents, Kiboko and Molo.
Photo: Cottar's Safaris
Cottar's Safaris · Maasai Mara
Cottar’s 1920s Camp
Cottar's classic Maasai Mara tented camp on Olderkesi Conservancy: eleven vintage-style suites, dedicated guiding, and plains light, personally curated by Exclusive Villa Collection.
Now in Maasai Mara
From Choose a departure city Approx. flying time, non-stop equivalent
Olderkesi Conservancy, Maasai Mara, Kenya
Cottar’s 1920s Camp
Cottar’s classic tented Maasai Mara camp for travelers who want vintage safari living, dedicated guiding, and conservancy quiet, personally curated by Exclusive Villa Collection.
Prefer a conversation? Plan My Trip
The house
In stills
A first reading of the stay: rooms, light, and the quiet between them. Each still is a note, not a catalogue.
The Experience
How the days feel
Cottar’s 1920s Camp is the classic Maasai Mara tented address from one of East Africa’s founding safari families: eleven privately sited en-suite tents in vintage 1920s style on the Olderkesi Conservancy, with sweeping plains views and a mess tent that still feels like explorer Kenya rather than a resort lobby. Exclusive Villa Collection arranges the stay by hand for travelers who want dedicated guiding, private vehicles on request, and evenings of lamps, first-edition detail, and savannah quiet.
The tent programme is clear: five luxury double tents, four family tents (two en-suite bedrooms with a shared lounge), and two honeymoon tents, including Kiboko with a wood-fired hot tub and Molo with an outdoor bathtub on a private deck. The main mess tent and bar sit at the social heart of camp; the Explorers Tent hosts conservation talks and cultural experiences; a pool pavilion, spa tent, and gym tent offer recovery after game drives. Signature canvas safari baths can be drawn on your veranda when the team can stage them.
Arrival is typically by light aircraft into the Cottar’s / Olderkesi airstrip corridor with a game-drive transfer held as part of the plan. Your advisor sequences air with the tent hold and confirms availability directly with Cottar’s. Categories and pricing are quoted for your dates. Photography on this page is credited to Cottar’s Safaris.
Why EVC loves it
Why we would send you here
- A century of safari bloodline Cottar’s is widely cited among East Africa’s founding safari families: guiding culture and period camp detail that feel lived-in, not theatrical.
- Eleven tents, real privacy Five luxury doubles, four family tents with two en-suite bedrooms, and two honeymoon tents: privately positioned for seclusion.
- Olderkesi Conservancy access Thousands of acres of private conservancy context frame game drives and quieter wildlife days alongside the greater Mara system.
- Mess tent evenings done properly Hilltop mess tent and bar, Explorers Tent talks, pool pavilion, spa and gym tents, and canvas safari baths on request, recovery built into the safari week.
- Arranged as one Mara plan Light-aircraft arrival, tent category, private-vehicle interest, and celebration dining are sequenced together. Exclusive Villa Collection confirms availability personally with Cottar’s for your dates.
Inside the stay
The house, in notes
Where you sleep, what you eat, and how you arrive: the essentials, in brief.
Dining
The table
Hilltop mess tent and bar for camp dining and cocktails; private or celebration setups. Dietary and celebration notes are shared with the lodge ahead of arrival.
Spa & Wellness
Quiet hours
Spa tent and gym tent for recovery after game drives; pool pavilion for midday pause.
Beach / Pool
Water, when it is the point
Camp swimming pool and pavilion against savannah outlooks: safari swimming culture between drives, not a resort deck. Canvas safari baths on tent verandas when the team can draw them.
Who it is best for
Who feels at home here
Travelers seeking a classic Maasai Mara tented safari with conservancy depth; couples in honeymoon tents; families who want linked en-suite bedrooms and dedicated guiding notes; itineraries that arrive by light aircraft and treat the camp as the stay.
Getting there
The arrival is part of the stay
International arrival typically into Nairobi, then light aircraft toward the Cottar’s / Olderkesi airstrip corridor with a game-drive transfer.
Seasonality
When the house is open
July to October is the classic drier / migration window. Green season reshapes grazing and vehicle density. Walking and cultural experiences may be condition-dependent.
Pair it with
A natural companion
A second stay that belongs on the same itinerary.
Kenya
Maasai Mara
Kenya’s Maasai Mara: Olderkesi Conservancy wildlife and Cottar's Safaris stays, curated by Exclusive Villa Collection.
Destination
Kenya
Kenya with Exclusive Villa Collection: Olderkesi conservancy safari in the Maasai Mara with Cottar’s, and Sirai House, a private home on Laikipia’s Borana.
Destination
Botswana
Okavango Delta floodplains, private concessions bordering Moremi, and Exclusive Villa Collection’s Botswana stay through andBeyond Sandibe Okavango Safari Lodge.
Related stays
Other stays we would consider
Houses we would weigh alongside this one.
Olderkesi Conservancy, Maasai Mara, Kenya: private hilltop villa with Mara and Serengeti outlook
Cottar’s Bush Villa
Cottar's exclusive-use Maasai Mara villa: five en-suite bedrooms, 25-metre pool, private chefs and guide, on a hilltop facing the Mara and Serengeti horizon, curated by Exclusive Villa Collection.
Okavango Delta, Botswana: private concession bordering Moremi Game Reserve (Chitabe / Santantadibe Channel corridor)
Sandibe Okavango Safari Lodge
andBeyond’s private-concession Okavango lodge bordering Moremi: suite living above the papyrus, land-based safari, and channel light, personally curated by Exclusive Villa Collection.
Sossusvlei Private Desert Reserve, Namibia: near the NamibRand Nature Reserve / Sossusvlei dune corridor
Sossusvlei Desert Lodge
andBeyond’s private-reserve desert lodge near Sossusvlei: dune light, suite living with plunge pools, and dark-sky nights, personally curated by Exclusive Villa Collection.
Karatu · Northern Tanzania · Seventeen cottages and two farm houses
Gibb’s Farm
A historic farm lodge on the forested outer slopes of the Ngorongoro Crater, above Karatu in northern Tanzania: seventeen cottages, two farm houses, and a coffee plantation since the 1920s.
Also in these collections
The collections that hold this stay
Each collection gathers houses that share a way of traveling. Open one to see its companion stays and shores.
From the Journal
Stories that include this stay
Where this house appears in our writing, beside the places and companions we pair with it.
Journal · 6 min read
Gibb’s Farm: A Working Coffee Farm on the Rim of the Ngorongoro
Seventeen cottages and two farm houses among the gardens of a coffee plantation on the Ngorongoro Crater’s forested slopes: the farm we choose to begin, pause or end a Tanzanian safari.
Read the story
Journal · 6 min read
Safari, Privately: Camps and Lodges in East and Southern Africa
Cottar’s in the Maasai Mara, andBeyond Sandibe in the Okavango Delta and Sossusvlei in the Namib: private camps for a first safari or a fifth, and when to go.
Read the storyPlan My Trip
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Tell us the season, the company, and the feeling you want to keep. We will write back with a considered path, not a link to a search.
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