Medina Palms

The best thing that the Kenyan coast has to offer. Beutiful setting and great food.

Lovely hotel in a lovely location. Service and staff wonderful and food and drink top notch. Yes the hotel is a little old now and could do with a little love and attention but overall a very small detail. If you can step outside the hotel and visit some of the lovely local restaurants who offer great value seafood lunches

The good bits - the hotel rooms are spacious, the aircon in the bedroom is great (but quite noisy), and the bed is comfy. The food that we ate (being selective) was really tasty, the eggs station (freshly cooked to order) provides a very tasty part of the breakfast. The average bits - if you want decent wi-fi, you won’t get it here, but hopefully that’s not a holiday breaker for most. The kitchen in the room reminds me of a 1980’s Spanish self catering hotel room, not a supposed luxury hotel. I have no idea why I would need every kitchen gadget known to mankind - it really cheapens the feel of the hotel. The bad bits - the breakfast situation is dire. We stayed on a B&B basis, breakfast is served in the main hotel in a room that is cramped and doesn’t have a relaxing feel to it. There are flies everywhere, and in particular on the cooked meats and cheeses which are left uncovered. Breads and fruits are covered but most often you remove a cover to release the flies from under the cover. The uncovered meats and cheeses I complained about many times, and was even promised that it would be resolved by the next day. No surprises that it wasn’t, they didn’t even think to cover them with cling film. So now we have just avoided them altogether which is a shame as they look delicious. The food situation with the flies isn’t great, but even the environment is poor - there are very nice eating areas within the hotel (2 by the beach and one by the pool) all used for lunch or evening meals. For some reason these are not available to use at breakfast. There are no flies down by the beach! If a relaxing leisurely breakfast is your thing, pick a different hotel. If it’s just a quick breakfast to set you up for the day that you’re after, you should be fine.

We had a memorable 2 nights stay. The 2 bedroomed full-fledged apartment served us so well. The jacuzzi on the upper floor was a delight. We enjoyed the beautiful and clean beach and common pool. We are looking forward to another visit, hopefully within the year.

Very nice rooms, quiet, Clean and very spacious Full equipped kitchen Duplex with big TV screen and Splash pool on the rooftop Had lunch on the beach, perfectly served Dinner next to the pool with best ever service from Vivian , who explains everything into detail, wished I could stay forever

We made the booking ourselves online. Cynthia was prompt and professional in responding to our emails; the hotel shuttle met us at Malindi Airport, and our room (#31) was fab. The menu was impressive and most of the meals we ordered were very good (e.g. the Gazpacho, Prawns pili pili, ice creams) but a fish curry was disappointing - the fish was rather tough. Breakfasts were excellent. Fatima, our waitress, was a joy - efficient, smart, and very helpful. Martin, who was our driver to and from excursions, also deserves as mention - as do Agnietta and Elizabeth on reception. The hotel was well laid out and the vegetation was luxuriant. There are lots of steps so if mobility is an issue ask for a ground level room. All the staff were professional and friendly - except one, the manager. He made me look up the Kiswahili word for 'miserable' (it is 'Huzini'). I never saw him greeting guests or talking to them when they checked out to ask about their stay.

From the moment we were picked up from the airport to taken back from our 5 night stay, we were made to feel so welcome from all of your wonderful staff who were so friendly and always had a smile for us. The food was incredible and wonderful cocktails. The gardens are kept beautifully and the pools were heaven for our children. No complaints at all. Everything was perfect. We certainly will return.

Excellent friendly service in a beautiful setting next to the Indian Ocean. The apartment was very spacious, elegantly decorated, with very quiet efficient air conditioning in the bedrooms. There are several pools and easy access to the beach, with beautiful tropical gardens expertly maintained throughout the property.

We loved the setting of the Medina Palms resort - in beautiful Watamu under a canopy of palm trees giving much needed shade and a sense of cool, especially in early January when we were there. Thankfully our apartment had air-con in both bedrooms (and fans in the lounge), which didn't seem to be interrupted when the grid power was down (they have generator back-up). Terraces and pools lead all the way down from the main reception area past rooms and apartments to the most pristine beach with sand like the whitest powder! The water was clear and warm, and we borrowed the hotel's boogie boards (there was wind surfing on offer free of charge, too). Perfect for families with young children wanting a quiet stretch of beach with safe swimming and wading. I went on a few beach walks in both directions. There were many tourists and locals about, and football being played on the beach. All in all, such a lovely, quiet scene. My husband is in a wheelchair, so there were certain challenges (eg he couldn't get upstairs to the breakfast restaurant, but we were able to enjoy our breakfast in the main courtyard alongside the water fountain); and the apartment had a big step up to the front door and then another small step up into the shower (there were grab rails in the bathrooms, though). There is an access path/road around the side of the hotel down to the beach-front restaurant/bar and sun loungers and umbrellas. There are at least 10 steps down from this area onto the public beach. The apartment itself was comfortable and roomy, with a kitchenette. The kitchen itself as well as the appliances and utensils etc could do with a bit of an upgrade. The beds were comfy but there were only sheets and thin blankets available, no duvets, which we are used to. Perhaps this is to encourage less reliance on the air-cons. Our children made friends with other children at the hotel; and our son enjoyed playing football with some local children on the beach. The hotel felt safe and secure. The food was very good, with plentiful la carte and buffet options available. All the swimming pools were spotless and the service was very good, helpful and friendly. We would most definitely choose to stay here again. Thanks to the team for a wonderful holiday!