Plaza Beach Hotel Reviews

Legroom on the flight was fine, but i've only got 29ins legs so if yours are longer you may have probs. The welcome meeting was a bit of a waste of time, it seemed to only consist of trying to sell excursions(especially safari's). The meeting was the day after we arrived at 10.30am. Wasting the day we arrived and the next was not on, why could'nt it have been held the afternoon of our arrival? we got to the hotel at around 11am. I was pleasantly surprised by the Plaza, the staff are excellent and the whole hotel is very clean. Cosmos rate this as a 3 star, the hotel calls itself 4 star, i would rate it at 3 and a half.

The rooms have a TV, fridge, air con(struggles to cope with the humidity), safe and mozzie nets. The shower can sometimes be lukewarm or cold, but in Kenya's hot and humid weather, that can be a blessing.Don't worry if you run out of Shillings and Barclays Bank is shut,(the hotel rate is miserly) you can sign any food or drinks to your room, and pay at reception later. The bar by the beach is great, though you do get the odd beach boy handing you a leaflet. Don't be afraid to have a chat about excursions they are quite friendly, and if you book something with them, tend to leave you alone, but don't buy any of the carvings. We heard of a couple getting horribly ripped off for some badly carved elephants, so steer clear.

The food in the Plaza is what is known as 'international', or bland as i like to call it. Not having any Kenyan dishes was very disappoining. Having said that, the choice on offer was good, with breakfast being my particular favourite. A hot food station is provided for toast, cooked eggs and pancakes, the queue can be long, and the wait as well. For lunch i recommend an Italian rstaurant,Il Covo, about 200 yards down the beach(turn right)The pizza here is authentic Italian, oven cooked thin base,pasta is good too, and is popular with the locals. They have introduced tables and chairs on the beach, which is pleasant for an evening drink. The security guard Joseph is a big bloke, so no trouble here. He loves having his photo taken or taking photo's. There is Prem. footie on TV here in the bar(top floor)handy when the hotel plasma gets taken over by egg chasers. The bars are quiet even at night, most people seem to stay in their room???? Coke or Sprite for around 50p a bottle, and a pint of beer(4 strengths, all the same price and taste)for about £1.10 (the same prices for drinks in your room fridge). The plasma TV in the reception area bar shows all the premiership games(even Sat.3pm ones), we watched Saturday games on our own, Sunday we went to Il Covo. There is entertainment provided by the hotel through the day/night, it does seem a bit half-hearted though.
We did 3 excursions and 1 taxi ride to Haller Park;
For 1000 shillings you can get a return taxi ride to Haller Park from the Plaza(entrance 800sh each). This park has hippo's (Owen and Mzee) giraffe's and crocodiles that you can see being fed in the afternoon.(Giraffe's 3pm, Hippo's 4pm Crocodile's 4.30 pm)Get there at lunchtime and have a guided tour while its empty, then go to the cafe for some ostrich or crocodile! and then see the feeding.

Voi safari Lodge was the choice for safari. Saw lots of elephants and giraffes, Zebras and but no cats, unfortunately. Very nice accommodation and cooler than the coast. If you suffer with back problems, it will be made worse by the Nairobi -Mombasa road, no pot holes, just craters the width of the road. There is a new road being constructed,so wait a couple of years for the new road to be completed before you go to Kenya for a safari.
The next excursion was to Mombasa, the 2nd best thing was Fort Jesus. Although the guide was good, he did try it on for his fee(started at 3000 Shillings cheeky sod)I did manage to get him down to 1200 for 2 of us, but i still felt it was a bit overpriced. I enjoyed going through the narrow streets of the old town, the Jain temple was fantastic, although the guard won't let you photo or video the wonderful pictures and decorations inside. Which is a shame, as this was the best attraction (in my opinion) in Mombasa.

Our last excursion was booked with the Peponi divers at their office by the hotel beach bar. We went on a boat out into the lagoon and stopped for snorkelling for those who wanted to. The water was clear and you could plainly see the fish through the glass bottom of the boat. After this we went up the river and stopped for lunch at a restaurant (included in the excursion price - except for drinks). You could try ostrich kebabs, chicken or crocodile with plenty of salad. A nice fruit salad for dessert. After luch we went further upstream and moored up. A short walk up a track led us to a local village where a few of the locals do some traditional dancing for you. Take some pens or paper with you and then visit the local school. They are very grateful for any gifts and the children are a delight. Then it was a cruise back to the hotel arriving back at about 6pm. A great day out.

We would recommend this hotel and Kenya in general to anyone, especially if you can go for around £300 each like we did with Cosmos.(see Cosmos site for availability)

We travelled to this resort for the 4th time bit this time went with friends who had never been to Kenya before.The Plaza hotel was an excellent choice.The hotel is smaller than the others on this stretch of the beach.We were allocated the rooms at the very front of the hotel ,facing the ocean.The rooms are spacious with double bed and a single.There is TV ,airconditioning and safety deposit boxes all supplied free of charge.There is also a mini bar and the drinks are the same price as the bars!
The shower is VERY large and hot water was always available.

The food is very similar to that served in the other hotels we have stayed in in this resort.There is always a choice of pasta ,meat or fish.The soup was fabulous and can be thoroughly recommended.
Entertainment was again similar to that of the other hotels.It is generally a dance show,acrobats or music of some sort.It usually lasts around 30 to 40 minutes.The animation team are very friendly and try to encourage guests to take part in the games they have arranged.We had some good fun with the aquarobicsin the morning and the ";surprise"; games in the afternoon.

There are two ";bedoin"; type tents in the grounds that are very pretty to sit in in the evening.You can enjoy a drink there or in the bar by the pool or the bar by the ocean front.
The staff are very friendly and make you very welcome.
We booked our trips with the beach boys.
I can thoroughly recommend Muny and Anton for sea trips [you will find them by Neptune Hotel}Shone ,Chico and Harrison will help you out from their ";spot"; outside Plaza.These guys just want to do a bit of business and we would certainly encourage you to get to know them ..don't be put off going onto the beach .This really is part of the Kenyan holiday.

We found the experience at the Plaza to be excellent and I am surprised to see the previous review.I can only presume that management has changed as I can asure you that we did not experince any of the negative things on our trip.