Diani Beach Resort And Spa Reviews

We cannot recommend this hotel enough. All the staff were very friendly and couldn't do enough for you, even the pool men were there to move the beds around and wouldn't let you do anything, saying that you are on your holidays and not there to do anything except enjoy yourself. Jambo Jambo all the way.

The food was very good and we didn't have one bad meal during our time there. Plenty of choice, especially on their 'special nights'. It might not be luxurious as a 5 star hotel but is definately good value for money.

The place was spotless, rooms cleaned thoroughly every day, cleaners also very friendly.

On an evening the rooms were sprayed with mossie spray and the nets around the beds were let down, really nice touch.

The special nights were very entertaining and during the day the animators, especially Philip, were good fun for old and young alike. Many thanks to Philip for showing us where Ali Barbours restaurant was. Excellent food, excellent service and excellent value for money (can definately recommend their steaks they were huge!!!). They even organised for us to be picked up and dropped back of at the hotel for no extra cost!!!

Can definately recommend the overnight safari staying at Saltlick Lodges, what an unforgettable experience, saw 4 out of the big 5, many thanks to Nowab (think that is how you spell his name!!) as he made sure that we got some brilliant photos.

Also, go on the Pilli Pipa Dhow Safari, another must do trip. Everyone on the boat really helpful and make sure even the least confident swimmers can go snorkelling whislt they pull them along. They the point out all the wonderfull sights and will take your waterproof cameras down and take pictures for you. The lunch on Wasini Island is excellent and the setting is stunning.

As for the Beach Boys if you decide to barter with them we found it easier to do it in sterling (as long as you have some with you), be firm but polite at all times, after you have done your business talk to them for a while and get to know them, they even offered us to join them on a lunch time.

Please make sure that you tip the bag carriers when you get there in Kenyan shillings as the find it difficult to get sterling changed into notes and please take sock to either barter or leave as tips and pens and pads to give to the local schools. And above all enjoy this wonderful place.

Fantastic holiday, Hotel food a little repetative, but perfectly nice, usually plenty of variety. Animators very entertaining and helpful, waiters friendly, particularly Bernard at the Pool bar and Eric Okuku up in the restaurant. Lenox and Philipe both excellent animators, Security excellent, my only complaint being the beach boys, at all resorts so there is no escaping but security at Diani Sea made sure you were ok and dealt with them if you needed them too. Sea not as clear as I had expected, but pool beautiful and clean, plenty of beds available, even by the sea, without having to touch the main beach.... Excellent value, try Kenpal for Safari, highly recommend, so much cheaper than booking with your rep, and silver service guaranteed. See Peter in the Kenpal hut accross the road turn right, just 1 minute. You also get a choice of lodges and like us can combine your salt lick with tsarvo east and west for half the price, 3 days £200 each, 4 of us went rather than the 6 you get stuck with with the reps, more room, much more fun

We stayed at this hotel for 2 weeks from 23rd Jan 2007 and were very impressed by the warm welcome from all the staff at the resort. Without exception, they are helpful, polite and very friendly. The hotel is in a beautiful setting and all the bungalows are basic but clean.

We enjoyed all the food and didn't feel the need to eat out anywhere else. The drinks do seem to be watered down but that is often the case abroad. The beer took some getting used to but the G and T's tasted fine.
Take a torch for walking back to your rooms as the site is spread out and some areas are poorly lit.
You also definitely need to wear shoes in the sea because there are many prickly sea urchins that lie in the sea bed.If possible bring the shoes with you as the shops do always have all the sizes and tend to overcharge for them.
Most people suffered with diarhoea at some time so stock up with the Imodium before you come as the pharmacy charge in Diani charge £3 for six.

We would recommend doing the Dolphin trip with the hotel reps. We did a cheaper trip with one of the beach boys and had a good day but the safety aspect was missing. Friends we met there who went with their rep on the same day seemed to have a more organised trip with better food and saw dolphins but we didn't!!
Take all your old t.shirts and shoes to leave behind, the people are really grateful for them.

We had a great holiday and want to return, hope you do too.

My mum and i loved Kenya and the Diani Sea Resort so much we booked for the following year and we went November 06. The hotel was just as fantastic and enjoyable as 05 but this time we went to the Masai Mara for the safari. I would only ever go to the Masai now. We were able to go off track and have fantastic footage of following a pride of 23 Lions,Lioness's and their cubs. We saw Lions mating, a Leopard and her cub several times. The only scary part was when David our guide told us we had to walk ON FOOT to see something special. They love not to tell you what they're seen so it's a surprise for you, we walked for a few minutes and came across 3 Rhinos! We were so close and they weren't bothered that we were there at all. They are looked after by old Masai men as there are hardly any Rhinos left. We saw every single animal, from Cheetahs,Leopards, Rhinos, Girraffes, Elephants, Buffalo,ETC.

Again another holiday of a lifetime and we are going back in 2008 with my dad and sister.

This holiday didn't make it into the 'holiday of a lifetime' category that I had hoped it would when it was booked. Unfortunately the rainy season, which normally ends in May/June, extended all the way through July and even on our final day (8 Aug) it came down in buckets. Even the rain-free days were fairly cloudy. If you're hoping for blue skies, book a holiday for Dec/Jan! Hotel is pretty good, the food is varied and the staff are very helpful. Water for the swimming pool and showers in the room is treated seawater, so be careful you don't accidentally swallow some! The hotel is german owned and the majority of visitors when we were there were german or Italian. Not a problem but having a few more brits there would have helped in finding out the best places to visit/where the bargains were/the places to avoid etc. (However you're reading this, so now you can find out some)

POINTS TO NOTE
If you're hoping to use the hotel 'sports' facilities you may be disappointed. The 'gym' seems to be a staff dozing area, the only two squash rackets were both broken, and everything is looking very tired. They only had one ball for the table tennis and when that was broken....no more table tennis. (Useful on a rainy day with the kids) The same with the mini-golf .only one ball

The swimming pool is good.the sea looks good but is not quite so good if you're looking for a daily snorkel. The sea can be quite cloudy and not as crystal clear as I had hoped, probably because the sand is very fine and white and is easily churned up by the sea. Do watch out for the sea urchins. There are a LOT of them. Beware if you go wind-surfing that you may fall off and land on them. One of the brits at the hotel ended up with 12 spines in one foot and 10 in the other. Oh..and be aware that there are sea snakes in the sea grass areas in the water. The only thing I saw on my first snorkel was the last 3ft of a big beastie swimming underneath me (I was only about chest deep in the water) When I asked the locals ";Umm.. sea snakes??"; ";Many sea snakes!"; ";Oh...Poisonous??"; ";VERY poisonous but you keep away from them they keep away from you! But you must watch out for the small jellyfish!!";

More fearsome than the animal life in the sea are the 'beach boys'. They prey on unsuspecting holiday makers and try to get you to buy their carvings and visit their 'shop'. Do NOT give them your name as they will make a keyring and next time you wander onto the beach you will be surrounded. They seek out the fresh meat off the plane, as they can con you into buying something that you can get for a tenth of the price if you walk down to the local shopping centre! The hotel security are very good at moving them off if they are starting to bother anyone when you're sat on the hotel wall looking out to sea, but once your feet hit the sand you will be surrounded and you have to be firm with them. Tell them you've been to Kenya before and already have carvings, or you are leaving buying carvings until the last few days. REMEMBER You are there on holiday and not on a humanitarian mission!

The people are generally very poor, but don't go throwing sweets/pencils out to children by the side of the road. They will run out in front of cars and the locals do not like tourists giving out stuff, period, as it encourages their children to skip school and spend the day begging from passing tourists. If you take pencils/pens etc, give them to adults you might get to know, for them to give out. Not quite as satisfying as giving them to kids perhaps, but once you've been told off by your safari driver for throwing some pencils out of the window and see the melee behind and cars skidding to a halt to avoid children you realise it's a bit stupid. We ended giving our t-shirts and pens to our cleaner at the hotel. He was very good and I'm sure is towards the bottom end of the payscale. Do write a short note for him to show to the security when he leaves the hotel, otherwise he won't be able to take it out of the hotel in case he's knicked it!

Don't be overkeen to go on a 'Big Fish' fishing trip. We paid a fortune for a morning out on the boat. 4 hours and not a single bite! Check what fish are 'in season' and when they last caught a 'big one' (the photos they have look pretty old!) as there is the promise of getting fish that are not in the area during July. It ended up as an expensive boat trip along the coast, with some sea sickness thrown in for good measure.

Don't get your travel cheques cashed at the hotel as their rates are terrible. There is a Barclays just a few minutes down the road that also has a cashpoint machine. Get a hotel taxi to take you there AND BACK. Apart from keeping your money safe, it also helps avoid the sellers at the roadside carving shops.

We were there all inclusive. But forget that for at least one night and go to the Ali Barbour restaurant just down the road. They run a shuttle bus so phone up in the morning to book a table. Fantastic setting in a cave that opens up to the sky (on clear nights otherwise there's a roof pulled over to keep the rain off.) It's a MUST and the food is great too!!

Another must is a safari! We booked ours through 'Kenpal' which is less than a minutes walk from the hotel. Very good (speak to Silus he's keen but did a great job) We booked a two day safari to Tsavo East and stayed at the Voi Wildlife Lodge which was fantastic, although take my word for it, if Kenpal can get you into the Voi Lodge (same price) you will be totally gobsmacked. Beautiful surroundings and a tunnel down to a water hole which attract all sorts of animals and you're feet away from them!!. The Kenpal driver we had was excellent and we were constantly amazed that he was pointing out animals as he was driving, ages before we saw anything.

Final tip is about tipping. When you arrive at Kenya airport you will get help with your bags (whether you want it or not!) Do have some cash for them (I didn't!!) A tip of about 200 Ksh is more than enough. Same at the hotel with cases up to your room. Another 200Ksh. After that there is no more tipping you will need to do, you will be pleased to know. Apart from at the end of your holiday and you tip the staff who've looked after you.

Anyway, if you have yet to decide on a holiday in Kenya I would say 'do it'..but choose your moment. We may just have been unlucky with the weather but you'd be advised to avoid the rainy season if at all possible. (On a positive note, 2 weeks and not a single mosquito bite for anyone in our family!)