Hemingways Hospitality, a family-owned travel and hospitality group, has acquired Richard’s River Camp, a luxury tented safari camp in the Masai Mara, marking a second back-to-back acquisition in months, as it seeks to expand its presence in the niche market segment.
Richard’s River Camp is an exclusive 18-bed safari lodge located in the Mara North Conservancy. It was founded by conservationists Richard Roberts and Liz Fusco.
“The Mara is utterly unique and precious and is sadly coming under increasing pressure and challenges. In taking custody of this wonderful camp, we commit to continuing the positive impact on wildlife, biodiversity conservation and sustainable community development,” Ross Evans, chief executive officer of Hemingways Hospitality Group, said without disclosing the value of the transaction.
The acquisition follows Hemingways’ expansion into Rwanda just two months ago, through the purchase of the American company Heaven Holdings, which owns and manages luxury hotels in the country.
The US firm, which is registered in Rwanda, ran a chain of businesses, including The Retreat Hotel, Fusion Restaurant, Heaven Restaurant, Heaven Boutique Hotel, as well as Heaven Experiences — the company’s tour operating arm.
Demand for hospitality services continues to grow in East Africa, propelled by tourism and business conferences.
Currently, 26 hotels with a combined 4,344 rooms are in the development pipeline in Kenya this year, compared to 25 hotels with 4,268 rooms in 2024, according to the Hotel Chain Development Pipeline in Africa 2025 report published by Lagos-based advisory W Hospitality Group.
The W Hospitality Group collects data based on private disclosures by 50 leading hotel chains operating in Africa regarding deals made for the construction of hotels, either planned or ongoing, in any of continent’s 54 countries.
