We have ranked sixty-six hotels since we started keeping score. Number one is a tent in the Kenyan bush, three hours by light aircraft from Nairobi, with no wifi to speak of and lions walking distance from the deck. That is not a knock. It is the reason it is number one.

We stayed two nights at JW Marriott Masai Mara Lodge in early December, the second stop on a longer Kenya trip after a night at JW Nairobi.

How we booked it

We booked on Marriott Bonvoy points, nine months out, the same week we booked the flights. Two nights ran 222,000 points total, zero cash, covering the room and tax. Platinum Elite status did not get us an upgrade so much as it got us straight into the room we actually booked: a Deluxe Suite, one king bed, river view, private patio, whirlpool. We booked the top category directly rather than betting on a day-of upgrade.

Our take: at a lodge this small, a same-day upgrade is a coin flip. Booking the room you actually want on points, rather than hoping Platinum Elite pulls one out at check-in, is the safer play.

The room

A whirlpool tub with a river view and zero interruptions

The suite is a tented structure with a real roof over the canvas, a king bed, a private patio, and a whirlpool tub facing the river. It reads more like a boutique hotel room than a campsite, right up until you hear something moving outside after dark.

Our take: book the room category you want going in. This one is worth the extra points over the standard tent.

Service

They hand you a real camera, not a loaner phone gimbal

The lodge lends guests a proper camera for the game drives, not a phone mount, and pairs it with an on-staff photographer who helps you pick and edit the best shots afterward. Neither of us owns anything close to that kind of gear, and it is the single biggest reason our photos from this trip are usable at all.

Our take: ask for the camera at check-in if it is not offered outright. It changes what you come home with.

Food

One of us is vegetarian; milk and cheese fine, flagged it before arrival, and the kitchen did not miss a step for two nights straight in the middle of cattle-and-game country. Portions ran large across the board. One morning the lodge set up breakfast out in the bush instead of the dining room, table and all, with the plains around it. Mini bar included. Lunch out in the plains. Breakfast and coffee to go. When you come back in for lunch, you have a beautiful view of the river. Then, when you go out for the evening drive, you can take beers or other drinks with you.

Our take: a remote safari lodge is exactly where you expect vegetarian food to be an afterthought. This one proved otherwise.

Game drives

A lioness and her cubs, not a promise on a brochure

We saw the animals people actually come for, including a lioness with her cubs on one drive. Sightings are never guaranteed anywhere, but the guides here know the territory well enough that the odds felt real rather than advertised. We saw hippos, leopards, and hyenas hunt, with dingoes scavenging afterward. Innumerable beautiful birds.

Getting there

This is not a stay you fold into a longer trip on a whim. We flew into Nairobi, spent a night at JW Nairobi (another amazing stay), then took a light aircraft out to the Keekorok airstrip and transferred by lodge vehicle from there. Build a full travel day around each leg, not a connection you're rushing. However, we were taken on a spontaneous bush tour on the way to the hotel from the airstrip.

Our take: the closest thing to a downside here is the trip itself. Budget the travel day on both ends rather than treating this as a quick add-on.

What it actually cost

222,000 Marriott Bonvoy points for two nights, zero dollars out of pocket, room and tax both covered by the redemption. No incidental charges beyond that on this stay.

Book it if: you want the best single stay we have had across many hotels and don't mind that "remote" is not an exaggeration here.

Look elsewhere if: you're trying to fit a safari into a short trip without dedicating real travel days to each leg.

Do what we did: book the top room category on points directly rather than hoping for a day-of upgrade, and ask for the loaner camera the moment you check in.

Planning a stay like this? Our services store can help build out the reservations and rate strategy before you go.

One of our Best Stays Was in a Tent: JW Marriott Masai Mara Lodge