Luxury Hotels Atlas / Places / Kenya / Olderkesi Conservancy / Cottar's 1920s Safari Camp
Cottar's 1920s Safari Camp
Olderkesi Conservancy, Kenya · Cottar's · High Luxury
Africa's oldest family-run safari company put its vintage camp in the private Olderkesi Conservancy in 1998, a fifth-generation tribute to Charles Cottar, who left Oklahoma for East Africa and, with his sons, founded Cottar's Safari Services in 1919 as the continent's first motorcar outfitter. Eleven 1920s-style tents sit on some 7,600 acres at the Maasai Mara and Serengeti edge, with mess-tent lamps from Kenya's Lunatic Line.
- 11 rooms
- Opened 1998
- Neighborhood: Main Gate
About Cottar's 1920s Safari Camp
- Cottar's Safari Services, founded in 1919 by Charles Cottar and his sons, is Africa's oldest family-run safari company and the first outfitter on the continent to use motorcars.
- Calvin and Louise Cottar opened this camp in 1998 inside the private Olderkesi Conservancy; the 1920s in the name is the style, not the opening year.
- Eleven vintage tents (five double, four family, two honeymoon) on about 7,600 acres, with a maximum of around 30 guests.
- Mess-tent evenings use lamps from Kenya's 1920s Lunatic Line, plus gramophones and first-edition safari books.
- Travel + Leisure ranked the camp No. 77 on its World's Best Hotels list in 2026.
History
Cottar's Safari Services, founded in 1919 by Oklahoma-born Charles Cottar and his sons, is Africa's oldest family-run safari company and was the first outfitter on the continent to use motorcars. Fifth-generation Calvin Cottar and CEO Louise Cottar established Cottar's 1920s Camp in 1998 in the private Olderkesi Conservancy on the Maasai Mara's edge, a vintage-tent tribute to early safari rather than a 1920 opening. The camp has eleven 1920s-style tents on roughly 7,600 acres.
Amenities
- Cottar's Safaris Travel Concierge
- Bespoke Experiences
- Experiences & Activities
Awards
- Travel + Leisure World's Best Hotels (2026)
- Condé Nast Traveller Readers' Choice Awards (2025)
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