This facility is situated on the Kenya-Tanzania border below Africa’s highest mountain (Mountain Kilimanjaro) on a hill top offering spectacular and magnificent views of the surrounding environment.
The castle was built by Grogan of which it was originally not built as a Castle but an Agricultural College which he had gifted to than colonial government.
There were four teachers’ rooms and one of them from Ewart Grogan himself of which even his original bed is still there! Grogan’s castle was built in the years before World War II by Ewart Grogan, the first man to walk from Cape to Cairo when he was 24, all for the love of a woman.
The Castle was originally a school for Agriculture but the war made an end to that and it has now been restored to its luster and serves as a small hotel.
The castle was described by Edward Paice in ‘’Lost Lion of the Empire’’ as “Part monastery, part Moorish fort and part hacienda.” It is accessible by a road which snakes its way up to the top of the hill, past the airstrip, depositing visitors at the foot of broad steps.
Guests are then led through wrought-iron entrance gates. Guests will then enter into a central courtyard with a fountain and a dazzling frangipani tree in full blossom.
The hotel is a nice place to relax and enjoy the views and the feeling that you are miles and miles away from anywhere in a timeless and peaceful environment on top of a hill.
Tsavo West is just around the corner and the Jipe Gate. Lake Jipe is suitable for fishing, game and bird watching. The hotel has 5 en-suite double bedrooms and a self-catering guest cottage that sleeps 4-6.
The rooms are very large and extra beds can be added. The plunge pool at the hotel offers magnificent views over the snow-capped Mountain Kilimanjaro and Pare mountains.
