<strong>A century of safari: </strong>Like it's name suggests, Cottar's 1920s Camp has been operating for 100 years in Kenya.
A century of safari: Like it's name suggests, Cottar's 1920s Camp has been operating for 100 years in Kenya.
Cottar's Safaris
<strong>Taste of the past:</strong> The camp's vintage feel harks back to the colonial era of big game hunting in Africa.
Taste of the past: The camp's vintage feel harks back to the colonial era of big game hunting in Africa.
Cottar's Safaris
<strong>Upscale escape: </strong>Cottar's is popular with wealthy guests, including celebrities, looking for a luxury stay while experience Kenya's incredible wildlife.
Upscale escape: Cottar's is popular with wealthy guests, including celebrities, looking for a luxury stay while experience Kenya's incredible wildlife.
Cottar's Safaris
<strong>Luxury under canvas: </strong>There are ornate writing desks and four-poster beds in each bedroom, waiters carry silver trays of gins and tonic out to the pool before lunch, and long mahogany tables are laid for dinner, when guests are encouraged to dress up and mingle.
Luxury under canvas: There are ornate writing desks and four-poster beds in each bedroom, waiters carry silver trays of gins and tonic out to the pool before lunch, and long mahogany tables are laid for dinner, when guests are encouraged to dress up and mingle.
Cottar's Safaris
<strong>Rethinking the safari:</strong> Despite the camp's throwback trappings, owner Calvin Cottar says he's uncomfortable with the way colonial nostalgia sells.
Rethinking the safari: Despite the camp's throwback trappings, owner Calvin Cottar says he's uncomfortable with the way colonial nostalgia sells.
Cottar's Safaris
<strong>Tricky image: </strong>"All this 1920s decor is tricky though because there is still such an appetite for it," says Cottar. "And the guys who work here don't mind -- it's just theater for them -- but urbanite Kenyans are vehemently anti anything colonial-looking, and I get it."
Tricky image: "All this 1920s decor is tricky though because there is still such an appetite for it," says Cottar. "And the guys who work here don't mind -- it's just theater for them -- but urbanite Kenyans are vehemently anti anything colonial-looking, and I get it."
Cottar's Safaris
<strong>Land issues: </strong>Cottar says he has no plans to change the camp's aesthetic because, he says, the bigger problem facing Kenya is that of land ownership. He says he wants to help transform the way high-end hospitality and local tribes interact.
Land issues: Cottar says he has no plans to change the camp's aesthetic because, he says, the bigger problem facing Kenya is that of land ownership. He says he wants to help transform the way high-end hospitality and local tribes interact.
Cottar's Safaris
<strong>Secure future: </strong>Calvin says White-owned safaris need to be renting the land from local Masai tribes rather than own it. This ensures the Masai have a fixed incomes and will no longer need to rely on farming to survive.
Secure future: Calvin says White-owned safaris need to be renting the land from local Masai tribes rather than own it. This ensures the Masai have a fixed incomes and will no longer need to rely on farming to survive.
Cottar's Safaris