Hotel Paradise Beach Reviews

We have recently returned from a ASC holiday. A 9 day cruise, Secrets of the Seychells, 5 days at Paradise Beach with a over night 'Red elephant' Safari.

After the bad press earlier in the year reagarding ASC hotels and holidays we were a whisker away from cancelling the trip. However we dicided we would carry on with our booking and go with an open mind. We are so glad we did as we had a fantastic time and wished with hindsight we had a booked a 3 week stay instead of two so we could have enjoyed Kenya more.

The flight out was good, the plane was really roomy, ( we went economy) and the free soft drinks on board was a surprise. The luggage allowance was a problem, especially the 3 kg hand luggage. but we were careful and didn't have to pay any thing on our return. However, there were some fellow travellers who had to pay a fair bit to get their luggage home. They seem surprised, but it was made perfectly clear in the brochure what the allowances are and be warned ASC do stick to it, especially on the return journey, so be prepared and don't splash out on heavy souveniers. The airport has many retail outlets that sell the same type of gifts and at a reasonable price so wait until your luggage as been weighed before buying heavy objects.

The ship, although older and smaller than we had cruised with before, we found very comfortable and the staff very helpfull and friendly. The food was very good, always beautifully prepared and presented. The entertainment was very limited and when we were at sea there wasn't a great deal to do but to be honest we enjoyed just relaxing. We met some really nice people and the size of the ship meant everyone was very friendly and it was a pleasure to sit and chat to the new friends we met.

We went on two organised trips whilst on the ship, the Lokabe Adventure, which was great fun, we paddle along the coast in an canoe followed by a trek in the jungle in Madagscar. Our only regret was we wish we had taken the pens and note books we bought with us from the UK along on the trip to give to the the village children we saw in the local school. Believe me they truly needed our help.

The other trip was the glass bottom boat and snorkling in the Seychells, which to be honest I found a bit disapointing. The island we visited was breathtaking and the trip was worth taking for that alone, but we had snorkled off the beach in Mayotte and swam with the giant turtles and I personnally thought the marine life was more varied there than we saw in the Seychells. A word of warning, however, the snorking from the glass bottom boat was in fairly deep water so if you are inexperienced it can be daunting, you can't put your feet down, and the boats are not easy to get back onto as ours didn't have a ladder.

We sadly left the ship and flew back to Kenya and we were disapointed at first that we had been allocated the Paradise Beach Hotel as most of the gueasts went to the 5 star Flamingo Beach. However once we settled in the Hotel was clean, the grounds and pool area was pristine and the position was to die for. The Flamingo had lots of steps whilst the Paradise was much flatter, better for the less nimble guests. Our suite of rooms over looked the beach and sea and we could watch the dawn breaking over the Indian Ocean.

We personnally had no trouble with the monkeys, although if encouraged they will pinch loose objects and they liked the shiney sugar bowls and the sugar. Likewise, we had no trouble with the beach boys. They stayed their side of the rope and although they did try to sell you something they were always very polite and when we said 'No' they left us alone.

The food I think may have become a bit boring if you stayed the whole fortnight, as they seem to use the same range of food at all the hotels, just change the venue. However, considering the cost and value for money, I really don't think you can grumble. I think we were spoilt by the food on the ship.

We found the staff helpfull and pleasant, but we were in Africa and therefore the things were done at an African pace. We had a problem with an air condition unit in our room which was never mended, but the staff always promised they would get it sorted out for us with a huge smile.

The safari was great. We flew out to the Crocadile camp in Tsavo East, which was amazing. Again the grounds were pristine, the tents and beds extremly comfortable and clean and the food was really good. We saw some great anilmals including a wonderful chetah. Again with hindsight the two day Masi Mara safari would be a better bet, if you could spare the time, as you flew there and back. The journey back along the main highway between Mombasa and Nairobi was the worst road I have ever been on. The roads in the game parks had less pot holes. We were exhausted when we arived back at the hotel. Well worth the experience though.

To sum up we had a great hoiliday. We wished we could of stayed a further few days as we had a busy holiday and it would have been nice to relax, soak up the sun and enjoy the hotel and it's facilities, but alas we had to return to the UK and the frost and rain. The holiday was good value for money and much better than we had been expecting. Naturally there were a few things that were not perfect, but the positive elements far exceeding the downs. If you are going on a ASC cruise and stay in Kenya then go with an open mind and I am sure you will enjoy yourself. We certainly did.

Getting there: Check in was quick and painless despite the baggage handlers' strike, although we did spend an hour on the apron waiting for a tractor to push us off the stand! That said, we had a pleasant flight, with excellent service from the cabin crew. We had upgraded to ";Economy Plus"; at £100 each, for which we got a 33"; seat pitch, choice of dinner menu (chicken or tuna), and free soft drinks, beer and wine as well as a 33Kg baggage allowance - well worth it.
[For those interested the movie (1 only on a night flight) was Master and Commander. On the return leg, we got ";Garfield"; and ";Cheaper by the Dozen";]

We made up most of the lost time during the flight, and arrived some 15 minutes late into Mombasa; baggage retrieval was quick, and as we already had our visas we were out in double quick time and into our priority transfer (part of the deluxe service package we had also paid for - see later under sun beds). I have to say the ";porters"; were a bit OTT in their eagerness to ";help";, but they soon cooled off when I told them I only had UK money for tips (a white lie - I had no small shilling notes).
Transfer was about 40 minutes, as we were the second drop-off.

Arrival: The drive from the airport shows you the level of poverty that exists in Kenya, but the hotel is a world and a half away from that: As you pass the security gate, the lush vegetation of the landscaped gardens is stunning, and the huge reception area gives an impression of opulence. Greeted with a welcome chilled fruit drink, we were directed to reception and then shown to our room by 2 porters. The room was simply furnished, with 3 beds, a dressing table, coffee table and chairs, and a huge built in wardrobe and cupboard. All the furniture was hardwood, and very well made; the balcony was quite large, as we were in a corner room, with table and chairs, and a view out over the pool to the sea. The shower was massive (all 3 of us could have used it at once had we been so inclined!)

Facilities: The Paradise Beach was advertised as part of a 4 hotel complex, but following an extensive fire last year, the site is still undergoing refurbishment. Apparently the Paradise Beach and Shanzu Beach were completed during the summer, but the Palm Beach is currently closed, and parts of the Coral Beach were not in use either during our stay. This meant that, although all 6 pools were still available, there were only 3 restaurants (plus 1 a la carte) and 4 bars available, which still gave us plenty of choice.

Our favourite daytime bar was the swim up pool bar in the Paradise pool (it had an access bridge from the sun terrace as well), although most evenings were spent in the main bar of the Paradise Beach, reached down a flight of steps, and overlooking the private beach - it was lovely and cool at any time, but especially at night.
The beach is accessed by a flight of steps, which lead you onto the hotel's private beach, but you have to go onto the public beach to enter the sea; at this point you will encounter the ";beach boys"; whose sales tactics can be overwhelming at first. We found it best to be firm almost to the point of rudeness, although once we had actually bought something we were more or less left alone.

There is a PADI dive school attached to the hotel for any divers or would be divers out there - the coral reef is about a mile offshore, and is stunning. There are also glass bottomed boats available from the beach which will take you almost to the reef (Ksh1000), but which will also allow you to snorkel inside the reef, and to walk about on the sandbar about 800 yards offshore (knee deep water at this point - my daughter though that was sooooo cool!). This is a good alternative if you don't want to dive.

Meals: We always had breakfast in the Paradise Restaurant, next to the main bar (down those steps); it was a buffet affair, with sausages (English), bacon, pancakes, tomatoes, eggs cooked to order, bread, jam, cold meats and cheese. Extensive but samey after a while.
For lunch, we divided our time between the Paradise restaurant, with its 2 meats, 1 fish, 3 veg, rice and pasta, and the Shanzu restaurant, which had a couple of big BBQs on which they did a couple of selections from beef, chicken, fish, burgers, sausages (German), as well as having other meat, veg, salad and pasta choices available
Mealtime drinks in both restaurants were waiter service.
We also visited the a la carte restaurant (Le Gourmet) on 3 occasions, never spending more than ?70, including wine. The food there was very good, presented in the French manner with some excellent sauces.

Out and about: There are a number of excursions on offer apart from the safaris (see below) of which we only did a few, but I have a full list if anyone's interested.
We did the Mombasa tour (half day) which was a drive around the city, visiting a couple of souvenir outlets (both very good), an Indian temple and the central fruit market, ending up at Fort Jesus, the fortress prison above the harbour, now a museum. Personally, I could have done with more time at the fort and less elsewhere, but that's just my opinion.

The Bamburi Nature Trail trip, (half day), is excellent, visiting Haller Park, a reclaimed quarry, now an ecological masterpiece, and one of Kenya's major success stories. Here you can see giant tortoises, hippos, buffalo, and hand feed the giraffes, as well as all the flora and birds to be seen here.
The African Night was enjoyable, but a bit pricey at ?25. For that, you get a cruise up Mtwapa creek to see the sunset, a BBQ dinner, and a lot of tribal dancing before being bussed back to your hotel.
We also took a taxi to the Crocodile Farm (10,000 crocs!) which was good fun, and the attached botanical gardens are worth a visit if you're into plants.
Shanzu village itself is worth a visit, but be prepared to be the centre of attention, and be careful of any loose jewellery, handbags, etc. - not that I heard of any problems, but even the locals will tell you to be careful.

Safaris: As you would expect, African Safari Club offer loads of different safaris of various durations to several parks. We had pre-booked our before we went, and although we personally experienced a problem, I would still advise it, as a number of people were disappointed in resort as all safaris on our second week were booked, and they missed out.
We were booked on the Kilimanjaro Camp Safari, a 2 nighter visiting 3 parks; an error in paperwork saw us sent on the wrong safari, which didn't become evident until too late. That said, we had a great time of our safari, driving from Mombasa (5:30 am start) up to Tsavo West national Park, stopping off to visit a Masai village (yes, I know it's all staged for tourists, but it was still very interesting, and worth the Ksh500 each, 200 for under 12s). As we drove through Tsavo West, we saw large amounts of animals, including lions, giraffes, several different species of antelope, hippos, and birds beyond count, and arriving at Leopard Lodge in the Kimana Game Sanctuary about 5 pm. At this point we had a few problems, because we weren't supposed to be there, but the manager was able to sort something out for us, and we settled into our 3 bed chalet before our 5 course dinner.

Up again at 5 next morning for a dawn game drive during which we saw our first zebras and elephants - breathtaking! Another 2 game drives that day saw or elephant tally increase dramatically, including a 2 day old calf, as well as countless zebra, wildebeest and antelopes, as well as more giraffes and hippos, and some crocodiles, hyenas and warthogs as well as loads of beautiful birds.
Back at camp, the manager had been busy, and we were given the alternatives of flying back to Mombasa that evening and sorting things out there, or staying another day and repeating the drives we had already done, then driving back to Mombasa - we chose to fly back, as we had already seen more animals than we expected, and had a wonderful time, and didn't really want to drive back again (12 hours, remember).
On our return to Shanzu, the resort manager came up with an offer of compensation, which we were happy to accept, especially since we had had such a wonderful safari.

Prices: African Safari Club operate a cashless system, whereby each guest has an account card which is used to charge all drinks, purchases etc., to the customer's account, which has a credit limit of ?300. You can pay this in any currency, or by credit card. All prices within the hotel are in Euros, and I will quote them here for ease of reference.
Beer was ?1.70 a pint for Tusker (a 4.2% abv lager), or ?1.80 for Pilsner Ice (a 5% abv pilsner); spirits varied, obviously, with vodka being the cheapest at ?1.20, blended whisky around ?2,50, single malt and brandy ?5, although the Kenyan brandy is very nice, and half the price. All spirits are served in 30ml measures; Coke, Sprite, etc., is ?0.90, as is bottled water. Coffee and tea are free at breakfast, but ?2 any other time.
The minimart/cafeteria in the reception area serves drinks and snacks, although ice lollies seem dear at ?2.50 for a Magnum, for example.
There are a couple of other ASC run souvenir outlets in reception, as well as a non ASC jeweller (excellent quality, if pricey) for that special something.

Plus points: The view from our room, the view from the main bar, the vervet monkeys and red-headed weaver birds which are all over the hotel grounds, the friendly and welcoming staff, the efficient air conditioning, and visiting ordinary Kenyans as their guests.

Minus points: The ";beach boys";, the lack of organisation around excursions/paperwork generally, the roads.

In short: This was the best family holiday we have ever had, to a wonderful place with wonderful people. Any problems we experienced were more than made up for by the holiday as a whole - I have never had an experience like it, and I'm already planning a return visit.

myself wife and daughter had another excellent holiday in kenya.only spoilt on the last evening by some one robbing my room.180£ AND KS 7000 PLUS A PAIR OF TRAINERS.who ever did it had a key.not insured because no break in.african safari club say they are not liable.so be vigilant.

despite this i will be going back kenya is a beautiful country to visit.my family also love the place.paradise beach hotel is part of a group of the african safari resort complex this was our second time there and the staff are great food is varied and there is always something to your liking.one piece of advice try and get out visit the local school and try and go to a church serviceyou will be amazed.dont be afraid of the locals they wont eat you the kenyan people are very friendly and kind.if you can take loads of pens they are much appreciated.your local betting shop is agood source for these just ask the manager for a box or two.