Watamu Beach Club Review

Overall Rating

We had a lovely holiday in Watamu. The beach was beautiful, the accomodation was very clean, and all the staff were really helpful.

The food was a bit boring but it was very safe in the village and you could eat out.

Jambo - We have just returned home from a fantastic 3 week trip to Watamu. I intend to write to African Safari Club shortly to thank them for such a good holiday.

We had opted to upgrade our flights to Economy Plus for very little extra (£50) which was well worthwhile - this gave you choice of menus on the plane, free wine, beer and soft drinks, extra legroom but most importantly an additional 10kg of luggage allowance - which was very needed!

On arrival at Mombassa Airport after the African Safari desk we were "greeted" by a couple of Kenyan porters - who having moved the cases approximately 100 yards requested £10 for doing so! A 100 shilling note is fine however if you choose to tip, which is not compulsory - and they disappear if the police are nearby.

The transfer on a fairly grotty coach took about 2 hours as suggested in the brochure - but early in the morning it seems a lot longer.

On arrival at the hotel we were pleasantly surprised with the hotel and location as it is beautiful. Up until this point of the journey all that we had seen was either an agricultural countryside or Kenyan villages neither of which suggested luxury as might be expected.

On arrival we were pleasantly surprised to learn that we had been upgraded to suites. The suites had a lounge, dressing room, balcony, bedroom, large bathroom and mini-bar (same price soft drinks and rest of the bars). The main benefit of the suites was the close proximity to the glorious beach.

The food was fine but after a week or so did become a little monotonous. Breakfast was a buffet croissants, pancakes, fruit, cereals and eggs with tea, coffee fruit juices or hot chocolate (need to ask). Lunch was a buffet of salads, a couple of hot dishes and fruits. Dinner was a set menu with a couple of choices of starter and main course. Wine and Beer is included for adults only, soft drinks were included for children - although not widely published.

You do have to pay for drinks between meals, the cost of soft drinks is 0.9 euros and a beer was 1.1 euros I think. We spent approximately 15 Euros per day for a family on 4 for these other drinks.

The hotel grounds are immaculately kept and the beach is raked twice a day to remove seaweed - the quantity of which seemed to vary on the tides - from a fair bit to almost none. Beach boys are not a problem as they are kept away by the hotels security guards, although you can go and see them if you wish to at the end of the beach.

We were hoping to go snorkelling in the bay on which the hotel is located unfortunately the visibility is not particularly good and there are very few fish. A 10 minute boat ride up the coast on one of the organised trip (cost £10/adult - £5/child) did take us to the Watamu Marine Park where the snorkelling was excellent - mask and snorkels included but not fins. The boat captain does tend to feed the fish with bread to show the number of fish - this can make the water "boil" with fish but can be a little unpleasant to climb into to swim. We asked the captain to stop and he did.

The hotel offers a number of trip some free, some a minimal charge and some fairly expensive. The trip to the Club Hotel Sea Horse at Kilifi is free, this is a very quiet but picturesque hotel and worth a trip for the change of scene. The hotel also offer a "Bush Tour" which is a 2-3 hour walking tour of the surrounding area which is a real eye-opener and well worthwhile.

For a safari we went on the Crocodile Camp/Kimana trip - we saw many animals but I think that due to the journeys involved between the camps that safaris elsewhere may be less demanding.

After the first week we started to venture into the village in search of restaurants - we were recommended to try the Come Back Club which was fantastic approx £4 per head for a pizza and plenty of beer.

Watamu is a very quiet hotel, the nightlife is very limited which for us was perfect, however there are discos in the village which are safe to visit even at night. The hotel's evening entertainment is limited to tribal dances etc and a very informative snake show by Bio Ken.

At the leaving meeting it was suggested that if we wished to leave a present to the room boy or waiter we should write a small declaration to state that we had done so - I trust that this eliminated theft within the hotel. Such items as old T-Shirts, Caps, Books and part used toiletries are very very much appreciated by the staff - if going again (or when) I would take items specifically for this purpose.

To buy presents for bringing home we enjoyed the Malindi Woodcraft Cooperative as the items are good value for money, are of good quality and are at a fixed price so there is no bargaining involved. There are 500 woodworkers here. Of the ticket price 50% goes to the woodworker who made the item, 40% goes to the other woodworkers and 10% to the cooperative.

The people of Kenya we found to be very friendly and in no way resentful of our privileges in their country.

A very big part of our enjoyment of this trip has been the people we have met and become friends with from the Kenyan Captain of the Snorkel Boat - Captain "Bob the Builder" to our new friends from Scotland known as "Helga McTavish" and her family.

I am never keen to return to the same place for a holiday but in this instance I am very tempted indeed!