Naivasha is a Masai name given to the area where the resort is located, denoting the characteristics of the lake including size and its tendency to roughness when windy.

The history of the area has always been important as it formed the main route of the slave trade from Uganda and the highlands of Kenya, including in 1884, the Scottish explorer Joseph Thompson’s epic journey through Masai land – where he writes in his journals of his time in Naivasha.