The Collection

Alina brings with her a wealth of knowledge to help develop the brand as Elewana emerges from one of the most difficult periods for the travel industry in a generation. With ten years’ experience as Head of Marketing and Communications at the Tribe Hotels Group, Alina is well placed to work with the team in enhancing the brands value proposition across all media platforms as well as strengthening communication and alliances with our valuable trade partners.

A huge congratulations to Alex Koskei, a guide at Elewana Sand River Masai Mara, who has achieved Silver Level membership with the Kenya Professional Safari Guides Association. The KPSGA are some of the toughest guiding qualifications around and to date just under 90 guides in Kenya can claim to have reached this impressive level. With 11 years of guiding experience, Alex was able to draw on a plethora of knowledge to help him through the examinations, citing the questions on birds to be the most enjoyable.

In The Community

Due to the pandemic, student Juliette Zelleke was unable to return to the University of Trinity Saint David in Wales and so had no access to the University workshop spaces. Shanga kindly hosted Juliette and the team rallied to help make her designs and concepts a reality. There was a great deal of enthusiasm and everyone helped each other with creative ideas.

Juliette worked with the glass blowing department and commented on her experience “Luckily, with the help of Shanga I was able to work with glass and a new technical style that I would have otherwise not been able to work in. The team helped me push my ideas and designs further and think of glass in a new way. Trying things that I had previously no experience with and mixing materials to create new shapes was a challenge that we all enjoyed as well as finding creative solutions to the problems we faced. The team were all very patient and able to help me realise my designs to a very high technical standard. It was an experience that I am very grateful for and I cannot wait to get back and work with the Shanga team again."

Awards

Condè Nast Traveler Readers' Choice Awards 2021 are now open for voting and we are thrilled to share that all 16 Elewana Collection properties have been listed for the awards.

You can help our properties win with a vote and more than one property can be nominated. Every vote counts and is highly appreciated!

Cast your vote here

From Our Conservation Partners

©Honeyguide Foundation

The Honeyguide team recently helped train new community members to scale up crop protection in the Randilen Wildlife Management Area. Led by Honeyguides’ crop protection expert, Lemuta Meng’oru, the team trained 200 individuals from eight-member villages on how to protect crops with the use of the crop protection toolkit. Through this training program, they were able to add 28 additional crop protection teams to the already existing 55 teams that work to protect Randilen community farms.

Lewa Conservancy announced a record rhino birth rate in Q1 2021. The positive news came on the heels of Kenya’s publication of its first zero-poaching record for rhinos in 20 years.

Lewa Conservancy is pleased to share that a record nine rhino births were celebrated in Q1 2021, bringing the conservancy’s total numbers to 118 black rhinos and 108 white rhinos. The population increase in Lewa also helped Kenya reach its annual target number for the black rhino population for the first time. Today, there are 853 black and white rhinos thriving throughout Kenya’s Conservancies and National Parks.

Inside Information From The Team

Executive Chef Mwatamu Masoud of Elewana AfroChic Diani Beach shares his favourite dishes, where he gets inspiration and more in our conversation.

How do you develop new dishes for the menu?

For a new dish, I normally go to my guests and ask them what do you like to eat? That's where I start. AfroChic is a very intimate property which enables me to have the chance to meet with guests upon their arrival and get to know their preferences.

How do you make a guest feel welcome?

It starts with getting to know their tastes. Many of our guests come back again and again so it's important to remember what they like. I have different recipes for different guests. Some like things spicy, and some don’t. Often, I receive emails from guests asking me to make their favourite dishes. Each guest remembers a certain dish fondly, for some it’s crab cakes while others might ask for prawn samosas, each person is different.

What are some of your favourite ingredients?

I enjoy coastal based spices like ginger, garlic, pilau spice masala and I also like fresh herbs like dill, coriander, parsley, basil.

How do you train your staff?

We have a big a la carte menu so our training is continuous. I explain to the chefs the high quality which is expected of each order and monitor the process from start to finish.

During quiet times, I schedule time with all the cooks and review their performance, identifying areas for improvement, new trends, dietary requirements etc. We then set a training schedule based on the needs and set a time frame to master new skills before we embark on our busy working days.

What inspires you? 

My goal is to make the best food ever for every guest that comes to AfroChic. Exceptional dining is a memory that lasts a long time. Food is a big part of the reason people travel especially for our repeat clients. The art of cooking has become a part of my life and I endeavour to make it a legacy and pass it along to future generations.

What do you love about your job?

I enjoy meeting new people and teaching them as well. We have a tradition we like to offer groups of families and friends or couples visiting. We set up a friendly cooking competition known as a Koroga (Swahili word means "mixing") on our garden deck. It's a class-like structure where we teach them to do stir fries and curries and I guide them through the process, but it's also a friendly competition. We have one family who comes every December, and the main thing they want to do is the Koroga. This is the fun part about my job!

News You Can Use

Elewana Tortilis Amboseli has launched a new video highlighting the stunning beauty which surrounds this property.

Download this video

Elewana Loisaba Tented Camp and Elewana The Manor at Ngorongoro will be participating at the upcoming Virtuoso: "Ready, Reset, Go!" trade show April 19 – 22 and the entire Elewana Collection will be participating at the USTOA May Marketplace trade show on May 11. For more information on how to meet with us, please contact our US Sales and Marketing team, Jane Behrend at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..