The Residences at Karen

The Club House is a long, rambling structure with windows on all sides. Here, guests convene for meals (excellent breakfasts), tea or mingling over drinks. It's a relaxing place during the day; come evenings, though, the mood changes – tables are set with white linens and studded with candlelight. Outside, guests can sit beneath shady umbrellas and enjoy fresh air in their lungs and perfectly trimmed grass beneath their toes. The Imari Wellness Spa adds to the relaxation therapy.

Six two-bedroomed cottages and 12 apartment suites are scattered throughout the grounds, some designed for easy access with a golf cart. The cottages are spacious, with a central lounge and two double bedrooms, and a large patio. Apartments sleep two guests and have terraces from which to keep an eye on the putting green. The deluxe suite is like a full home, with a kitchen, dining room and lounge. All rooms have tea and coffee-making facilities, wi-fi and satellite TV.

If your aim is to retreat from the capital city, you'll find plenty to keep you busy in and around the quiet colonial suburb of Karen. Don't miss the nearby Karen Blixen Museum (the author of Out of Africa, for whom the suburb is named) for a taste of Kenya's past, both romantic and real. And if you're craving a bit of African wildlife, you're just a short drive from both the Giraffe Centre and the Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage, not to mention the Nairobi National Park.