Mombasa, Flamingo Beach Hotel Review

Overall Rating

We went to the Flamingo Beach Hotel for two weeks in October having booked direct with African Safari Club (ASC). This hotel is supposed to be the jewel in their crown and ASC are supposed to be experts in Safaris.

The rooms were damp and dirty, with mould in between the grouting in the bathroom. Our bed sheets had mould on them and my books went wobbly with damp! We have since written to ASC who said that this was caused by the humid conditions - we have been to Mexico in June which is Humid and hadn't had any problems!

The resort staff who worked in the tourist office (ASC reps) were rude and unhelpful. The bottled water is branded ASC and tasted of chemicals so I asked the rep for an alternative source. I was told she would not tell me as she worked for ASC not against them, so much for customer relations!

The transport from the airport to the hotel is in old battered buses with smashed windows. The vehicles on safari were just as bad. ASC blame this on rough terrain, however we took a trip out with a local tour company and the buses were in a perfect condition.

In the brochure, they talk of small fees for sunbeds and safes. Lets just say the fees are not small. In the two weeks we were there they also failed to have the reasonably priced wine available, which forces you to spend more in resort. They also talk in the brochure of enjoying a meal at their shared tables in the restaurant, they don't mention this is forced seating with the same people every night, so don't dream of a romantic meal for two!

We went on their 4 night safari. The range of animals we saw was great, however the lodges were of a very poor standard. At the final camp we had brown water, no mosquito nets and the shower didn't work! They ran out of food at breakfast (including bread) and the dinners were stews of bone and scraps of meat !

Paying the bill at the end of the holiday (and during as they impose a spending limit on you) is a nightmare. You can only pay at the cashiers desk, which is only open for certain hours of the day and has only one or two people working the desk. We spent eight man hours queueing at this desk in our two weeks! You cant even get a copy of your bill printed at reception, so have to queue once to get the bill, then queue again to pay!

Don't do it, book with anyone other than them!

Members' Comments ondawnlouise's Review

• Roger54 on 27th Nov 2006

  Have just returned from a 3 week stay at the Flamingo Beach Hotel in November. Had a fantastic time. Staff couldn't have been more helpful, and it was our pleasure to tip them accordingly. We never felt we had too. Yes, vehicles are tired, but you saw the state of the roads they travel on. Our rooms were clean and adequate. The power went off three times whilst there, so toilets and showers, along with air conditioning didn't work, but hey, we were in Africa. They never claim to be a 5* hotel, but neither do you pay 5* prices. Perhaps if you visit Africa again you should travel with an operator like Kuoni and pay their prices.

• dawnlouise on 28th Nov 2006

  We paid over £1700.00 each.

• dawnlouise on 21st May 2007

  Just in reply to the peoples comments below. While we were there people were paying 1/2 the price we paid for our safari from the beach boys and stayed in lodges, which were the lap of luxury compared to what we endured. We have travelled extensively and have never paid £1700.00 each for 2 weeks holiday, to find ourselves staying in such squaller!
  
  We have friends who paid less with Kuoni and stayed in a much better class of hotel with clean reliable transport.
  
  African Safari Club paid us compensation, to me that says they know there is a problem!