African Sun Resort

What People are saying

You must visit

TCM222on 26/05/2017 10:28

Stayed here 4 nights in mid May. We had the place to ourselves for the last 3 nights. Its now low season and very competitively priced. The Hotel. Is a 7 bedroom Villa with a fabulous pool. The photographs of the Hotel do not do it justice you have to visit to see the realty and experience the ornate furniture and service . Mombasa does a fair bit, from giving you the umbrella as you arrive( the one day of rain that followed us from Mombasa!) to serving you at the bar and Restaurant, getting taxies, advice on local places, etc. Excellent bedroom with effective air con . We had the Lizard room on the first floor of the main building with a balcony over looking the pool .The balcony in style of the hotel, full of ornate furniture and massive with numerous places to chill. Breakfast service on the balcony overlooking the pool . Food from the restaurant was very good . And of course served by Mombasa! . Taxis or tuk tuc are ordered for a trip in to Malindi and the same person will pick you up, all you need to do is phone. There is a local village bar about 7 minutes away in a Tuc tuc which is worth a visit. There are a number of beach Hotels about a 10 minute walk away. But remember this is this is the low season and some may not be open .The centre on Malindi is worth a visit and has a selection of shops, bars and restaurants . If staying in Malindi, this is the place to be . My only compliant. Beer needs to be colder. And the cat!

Amazing

dedanmuirurion 21/04/2017 05:12

The Gem!
It's a private serene place with only 7 rooms.Attention obviously is an understatement.
Thanks John and the team for making my family evening great and one to remember.
Indeed John, Ndovu is a honeymooner room.
Asante.

Amazing Paradise !

AnnV43on 10/10/2016 10:57

Unique combination of charm, luxury, decadence and intimacy. Decoration is like a museum, garden a paradise on earth ; rooms are very comfortable and clean, and we enjoyed sitting at our own veranda.
John and Mombasa made us feel very welcome and helped us out with reservations for snorkling and an excursion to Marafa.

A hidden jewel! Beyond expectations!

Mommydoeon 03/09/2016 18:47

You begin to wonder what kind of expectations people had when you read reviews that say "better than I thought it could be" or "way nicer than I expected"!

But this place - wow, just wow! I knew that these kind of places existed, but always thought that they were just way beyond my budget... To be honest, when I saw the prices, I thought that this was going to be an average priced, average place. I mean, I have traveled Africa, and stayed in some pretty dingy places, and some absolutely lovely places, sometimes paying more than I thought they should be worth, in both cases! We wanted a relatively nice place to recover from what we knew would be an intense few days in the bush doing humanitarian work, so I thought, why not, let's try it.

We were not disappointed! Our rooms were absolutely opulent, antique furniture and fixtures, kept in immaculate repair (unlike many other places we've tried). Even the mosquito nets (this is malaria country, after all) were beautiful affairs made of embroidered netting and satin weighted edges.

We came with friends, and they gave us the two rooms upstairs. As we checked in, we were told that the entire furnished balcony was at our disposal! I made it my goal to sit and relax on each and every couch, but I think I missed one or two once I found my favorite breezy corner.

The breakfast, included in the very reasonable rate, was absolutely perfectly cooked, served in-room, on the private balcony, or in the dining room, whichever we chose! Dinner could also be served wherever we requested, but how could we resist the beautifully decorated dining room with perfect dinner service? We were thinking we might try somewhere else for dinner on the second night, but decided that there was little possibility that we would come close to the service and food, so stayed in again every evening! Be sure to try the fish skewers with a salad for a light repast, or the pepper steak and grilled veggies for a more filling fare!

We were able to relax and feel pampered, both by the location and the staff. John took our reservations and answered our questions about things to do in the are, Mr. Mombasa (Momba for short) took our food orders and even made sure we had milk in our fridge for early morning coffee before the kitchen opened. (An electric hotpot and instant coffee helped us survive until breakfast!) James made sure the lawn and pool were perfectly groomed and cut and served us coconuts by the pool. Giovanna, the Italian owner, appeared now and then to check on us and offered stories from the decades she has lived here.

The beach is only a nine minute walk (we are brisk walkers), and although the barrier reef does not allow the beach to be swept clear every day with the tide, we still enjoyed our time there, and I came away with a handful of cowrie shells for my collection.

The only negative would be if you don't like cats. There are a few around, and they sometimes came to meow at mealtimes, which could be annoying, if you don't like cats...

Highly recommended, but please, don't make your reservations the week we want to return, okay?

Paradise

i4detailon 14/08/2016 18:42

"The photos don't do this place justice" I said to Giovanna the owner at the bar one night. "Maybe that's good, so people are more impressed when they arrive" was her clever reply. She has thought of everything.

We arrived after a long days travel from Nairobi. Weary and tired our tuc tuc bobbled over the entrance gateway. And boom! Or rather ahhh! It was like stepping in to paradise. Tall palm trees. Lovely lighting. Several cute buildings looking on to the pool. We gushed. Relaxed. Happy.

It's the feeling a place will give you - and African House gives you a feeling of calmness, comfort, with a throw back to an exotic bygone era with huge open spaces lavishly furnished in day-beds, antiques and art.

It's like we stumbled in to our Africans cousins mansion! We stayed in the hippo room. This had two four poster beds- one massive one- both with net curtains. A walk in wardrobe leads to a giant bathroom with plenty of space for drying swimwear.

We swam in the pool morning, noon and night. It's just ever so slightly too cool- which is what you need in the humid malindi air.

We had breakfast on the balcony outside our room most mornings. Fresh fruit, bacon, eggs, toast, and treats like cake and passion fruit tart would set you up for the day- we found ourselves usually eating only one other meal each day after this feast.

The restaurant is good- lots of seafood and Italian options. There's also a bar area where Mr Mombasa will serve you an ice cold tusker.

And now, Mr Mombasa - what a legend- such a hard worker, from dawn to dusk he's running around serving, helping, fixing - and always with a smile. He was clearly born with the hospitality gene and is one of the main contributors to this lovely hotel's success. Thanks for everything Mombasa.

The other staff are great too- we'd less interaction with the guard at the gate, John on reception, and all the brilliant cleaning staff who every day meticulously cleaned our room, our clothes, and Giovanna's tasteful collection of African artefacts.

We're sitting here now on our second last day sipping a rose in the late afternoon sun, the palm trees swishing over our heads in the malindi breeze. Stay here, you will not regret it- at twice the price it would still be a bargain.

Thanks, and well done Giovanna.

Few pointers:
- get tuc tucs everywhere. 100 kes wherever you go.
- the beach is a 10 minute walk. Rosada beach club is nearby and a good place to go. They've nice pizza. And on a Monday night there's a cool beach party where you can dance the night away with the other tourists and trendy locals.
- further south in watuma we went to the papa remo beach club- amazing setting and food. Expect to pay about 3500kes for the 30 minute return trip.
- gedi ruins are an ok thing to do.
- malindi is nice to walk around during the day.
- osteria restaurant was also good.

Hope you have a nice time!