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How Kenyan Family Turned a Holiday Home Into Booming Business

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The view from Lerruat Log Resort in Kajiado
The view from Lerruat Log Resort in Kajiado
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Lerruat Log Resort is something of an architectural marvel. Located high up in the hills of Kajiado County, some might consider it inaccessible.

With its unparalleled views and unique rustic feel, however, the resort is quickly becoming a preferred get-away destination for many Kenyans, particularly Nairobi residents.

Unknown to many, the resort is actually a family business that started as a holiday home built in 2015.

Diana, the marketing manager and a director at the resort, revealed in an interview on Sunday, November 15 that the building designs were inspired by the famous cabins and cottages in the Alps of Switzerland.

She disclosed that her mother acquired the land on the hill to build a holiday home for herself and her grandchildren.

Rooms at Lerruat Log Resort in Kajiado

Soon after it was built, they observed that family members were reluctant to leave the resort, and wanted to spend as much time there as possible .

Friends who visited were also thoroughly impressed, and started asking to be charged.

Sensing opportunity, the proprietors began putting up more rooms as they were inundated with requests to stay at the holiday home.

From 12 rooms in 2015, the resort begun expanding and now has at least 50 rooms. At the moment, a swimming pool is being constructed at the resort to improve its offering to clients.

Diana revealed that securing adequate finances had been the biggest challenge for the family in growing the business.

“We’ve gotten to 50 rooms within three years…but we got a lot of support from families. It so easy to be discouraged, because you’re constructing on top of a hill people can ask you ‘what are you thinking?’

“The major challenge was finances, but we had partners and banks which came through and supported us,” she stated.

A 90 minute drive from Nairobi, the resort offers more than accommodation.

It has meals, a bar, massages in the bush, indoor games as well as conference and meeting facilities.

Thanks to its unique location, visitors can also enjoy nature walks, picnics and camping sites.

Watch Diana’s interview below:

Written by
MARTIN SIELE -

Martin K.N Siele is the Content Lead at Business Today. He is also a Quartz contributor and a 2021 Baraza Media Lab-Fringe Graph Data Storytelling Fellow. Passionate about digital media, sports and entertainment, Siele also founded Loud.co.ke

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