Mombasa, Severin Sea Lodge Hotel

Just come back from 2 weeks staying at the Severin Sea Lodge. Lovely hotel, very clean and staff are really friendly. Would recommend the hotel. The food wasn't bad - breakfasts were great, lunches were usually really good, had the occasional evening meal which left a bit to be desired, but overall there was a good choice. The let down is the beach which you can't really sit on because of the 'beach boys' - they really do your head in. You can't go for a romantic stroll along the beach without a local walking along beside you, trying to sell something and it's really hard not to talk to them, they are really persistent. If you think that you will be left alone once you buy something, you wont, they pester you even more! However, if you keep telling them NO THANK YOU and don't enter into conversation they eventually get the message and walk away. They do tend to home in on new arrivals more, so you get let off the hook a little bit as you begin to tan. Done the 2 day Tsavo East safari, well worth doing, saw lots of wild life. We stayed overnight at Voi Lodge - public areas are nice - the view is to die for, but the room that we stayed in was a throw back from the sixties and needs updating. Bring dollars or dollars travellers cheques - they advertise all trips in dollars as it's a better exchange rate for them. You can't exchange any currency into dollars at the hotel either, you have to go to the bank which is around 1 km from the hotel. However your told not to walk there and back by yourself as it's not safe, so get a taxi. There is extreme poverty in Kenya and you hear some really sad stories from the staff, but it's up to you if you want to help them out, don't feel obliged though. Overall we did enjoy the resort and would recommend it for couples, but not families with young children. We only saw about 10 children in the whole 2 weeks that we were there.

Spent first two weeks of September 2005 at Severin Sea Lodge Hotel, to celebrate our 25th wedding, we could not have chosen any thing better .The trips from the hotel were great ,weather was perfect .We chose an all inclusive deal so glad we did, we ate at all 5 of the resturants on offer and never got bored with the food, The lobster prawns and crabs were the best, they were caught and on to the plate the same day absolutley mouthwatering. Will go back asap. We hope they never change a thing. Good extra point in our opinion very quiet so not suitable for childen, but a great place for honeymooners and adults looking for total relaxation and pampering. See you soon Severin