Yeah, for those considering alternate resorts: something I didn't really comprehend fully before visiting the Masai Mara was that no roads in the game reserve are paved; my mental model was US national parks, and this is a lot more open, undeveloped and sparsely visited (which is a good thing for conservation!). They range from reasonably well improved packed gravel (rare - mostly the road to Keekorok Airstrip) to packed dirt (most) or literally two tire tracks in the grass (not unusual). Lots of mud, lots of odd driving techniques to avoid getting stuck in said mud. It's basically a near-guarantee that during your visit, you'll either get stuck or help out another game vehicle that is. I imagine the reserve itself will dry out faster than the camps, but I'd still expect it to be pretty sloppy for the next week or two.

That's part of why the JW Marriott's game drives are so great: the vehicles they use are modified Land Cruisers which are incredibly capable. You'll see a lot of other companies driving around in things wholly unsuited for the environment, like minivans or lesser trucks, and even in the best of conditions folks get stuck all the time. It's super common to ford low streams, etc. as you move around, and many of the best vantage points require more aggressive offroading. Also, the JW's vehicles are great for both viewing and photography: they're wide open and the seating is plush and comfortable, which wasn't universal - other companies pack 6-8 seats into the space the JW has 4.

There are two types of vehicles the JW uses - a three row one that's more open but higher with a fixed roof, and a two row one that's a bit more enclosed but has a convertible roof. We were in the smaller of the two and really liked it for photography because we could pop out the top and balance the camera the roof when needed, but also get down low when the situation called for it.. but neither is a bad option. Apparently, the folks designing the resort had a lot of transportation expertise and really wanted to invest in a highly customized fleet that fixed all their complaints about existing options, and it really shows when you compare to what everyone else is cruising around in.

Part of the magic of game drives in the reserve is being able to explore the whole park to track the wildlife and see interesting things. This system kinda depends on freedom of movement throughout the reserve - if you're limited to part of it due to certain roads becoming impassable, I think you'd potentially have a compromised viewing experience if you want to track down all of the Big 9. You'll definitely stay close to your resort in general - a lot of our game drives were within the radius of the JW or the Talek Gate, and we went further afield less often unless we were doing a full day drive as a result. As you'd expect, there's a lot of diverse wildlife near the river, but certain animals required going further.

I think most of the flooding is in the area around the Talek river. I believe the Talek Gate is flooded, too, which is one of the main land entrances to the park and a headquarters area for the park management, so it isn't just limited to the immediate area around the JW.

More to the point, even if you can get around effectively, there's a collaborative camaraderie between the guides: you'll pick up a little bit of Swahili as you drive around through both vehicle-to-vehicle chats and radio communication, as the guides share cool finds with each other so more guests get to experience them. If a lot of resorts are closed, there will be fewer guides out there - and that sounds like it would be amazing, but it might actually not be as optimal as you might think as there will be fewer eyeballs out there on the landscape for a while.

Also, the JW guides were absolutely exceptional. Because of this system, the better your guide's intuition and the stronger your guide's social network is, the better stuff you see - and the JW guides are experienced and well-connected, making your experience just that much better. When we were seeing the coolest stuff, there were very few other vehicles around and it was often by word of mouth: for example, one day our guide (Fintan - haven't seen any previous shout outs for her here, but she's amazing - highly recommended!) got a radio call from a colleague, and we ended up joining only one other vehicle in seeing a leopard in a tree at dusk. Without that connection, we might not have seen a leopard... it's a big reserve!

In short, I'd love to return to the area, but I think the JW guide team is strong enough that I'd be really hesitant to switch lodges for a return trip. It definitely felt like they recruited the best folks from around the reserve for their guide team when opening the new lodge! I'm sure there are solid guides at other lodges in the area, too, but based on what I saw I'd personally be hesitant to make a split second decision to pick an alternate without asking a lot of questions to get full confirmation the full game reserve will be accessible and that the game drive experience wouldn't be compromised. And if you do look at another lodge, get really specific pictures of the vehicles they use and understand exactly what they're like - you'll be spending almost as much time in them as you spend in your tent!

If the JW is willing to rebook into the future, I'd take that rebooking and audible to something else fun for the immediate future. Nairobi is a regional hub and there's lots of other cool stuff you could parlay an existing booking into. I love QSuites and great luxury redemptions as much as the next person, but the star of this trip was really the wildlife drives, and if it's a once in a lifetime opportunity you want to make sure you get the full experience.