Places to Stay: Lamu House Hotel – Lamu Island, Kenya
Name: Lamu House Hotel
Location: Lamu Town, Lamu Island, KENYA
Description: The hotel is an excellent example of Swahili architecture. It consists of two traditional houses that were restored and adapted to house the hotel. With its wooden shutters for doors and windows, one can catch and regulate the cooling breezes. The rooms are spacious and comfortable, consisting of a bathroom, changing room, bedroom, and outdoor sitting area. The courtyard area, with its inviting pool as a centre point, allows for various intimate sitting areas where one can relax, read, or interact with the other guests. The décor elements include artworks from young, local artists, traditional artifacts, as well as quirky displays of collectables. The result creates a unique style and a relaxed atmosphere.
Surroundings: Lamu House sits on the seafront on the edge of Lamu Town, which is said to be the best preserved Swahili town on the East African coast. There are no cars here, except for the District Commissioner’s Landrover, an ambulance, and a tractor or two, hence no traffic noise. Instead you will hear the braying of donkeys that are used for transport, and human voices. Being a Muslim town, the call to prayer is amplified by a sound system from each individual mosque. In this part of town it is not an intrusion, but rather an atmospheric background sound to remind one of the unique location in the world.
What makes the hotel special: The owners, Marianne and Frank, through their personal interaction with the guests, make one feel welcome, and do everything in their power to make one’s stay special. Staying in a traditional Swahili house, with its open air living spaces, is a special experience.
Food: Moonrise Restaurant, with a view of the seafront and bobbing dhows, serves well-prepared, delicious food throughout the day. Shaded by a flame tree, it is a wonderful place to sit and watch daily life drift by. If you prefer a day on the beach, hop on a dhow and cross the channel to Manda Island and the hotel’s Beach Club where you can gorge yourself on freshly grilled seafood, drink good local beer, swim in the sea, or watch the sun set.
Website: http://lamuhouse.com/
How to get there: Safarilink, Air Kenya, and Fly540 have flights to Lamu Island from Nairobi to Lamu. The landing strip is on Manda Island, and you will be picked up from the airport and transported to the hotel by boat.
Lamu House Hotel
Beach Bar on Manda Island
Moonrise Restaurant
Looks amazing, and so peaceful.
Ah, it is Joan. It is a place I recommend with all my heart.
Okay – a little bit jealous over here. 🙂 Looks really charming and sooo relaxing!
It really is a wonderful place to stay, Lynda. And, yes, it was extremely relaxing.
My parents were born and raised in East Africa – I hope to visit someday! 🙂
Then you will love visiting the area, and Lamu Island is a true gem. It is one of my all time favourite destinations.
Jolandi… you are always finding the most amazing places.. you are always travelling! So so envious and this place is right up my alley… stunning!
It is definitely a place you would love, Jenny. Maybe it is something to put on your bucket list. Have a look at the following site, as it might be something that will tickle your fancy even more: http://www.lamupaintersfestival.org/artist-in-residence/artist-in-residence.php
It looks amazing, you sure can find interesting places to travel to!
I’ve certainly been lucky, Gwen. Thank goodness for the Internet these days. It makes it much easier to find wonderful places, although in this case it was a return visit to Lamu Island, and we knew about this place from our previous time.
Looks/seems wonderfully peaceful. 🙂
It certainly is, Eric. 🙂
This place looks like an oasis ~ a place to refuel, settle in and reflect on the adventure 🙂 Beautiful ~
Schitterende foto’s van een erg mooie plek met de charme van zijn eigenheid