I couldn’t have woken up one day in a luxuriously superior room at the five-star Deluxe Ocean Beach Resort and Spa in Malindi. Not at all. Not without a plan. Let’s face it, luxury doesn’t come cheap.
Over the years, I have always wanted to visit Malindi, a seaside town by the Indian Ocean that has been around since the 13th century and has been known as Little Italy since the late 1960s.
Italy is one of the destinations in the world I would die to visit and for a starter, a visit to Little Italy made perfect sense.
So when Jambojet partnered with Magical Kenya in May this year launching a three-month campaign dubbed #NowTravelReady #TembeaKenya to encourage domestic tourism, the adventurous side of me kicked in.
Through the partnership, the airline and hotels across the eight destinations it flies to – Malindi included – teamed up to offer discounted flying and accommodation packages. You might want to check Jambojet’s Jaza Pole Pole payment plan which starts with a minimum deposit of Sh2,670.
That’s how I ended up at Ocean Beach, leaving behind Nairobi’s weather that has been chilly since June.
Humid weather
At least for the three days I was here, despite it raining every 10 or 20 minutes with the sun rays cheering, I did enjoy the coastal warm humid weather, a break from the capital’s punishing chills.
Situated about two kilometres north of Malindi on a beautiful stretch of sand dunes lapped by the Indian Ocean, the resort is wowingly scenic.
At the waiting lounge upon arrival at 8.20pm, I was barely seated when a butler, smiling her heart out and dressed neatly in white shirt tucked in a black skirt, swung into action with a glass of natural mango juice.
“Here, sir. This is for you. Kindly enjoy as we process your accommodation.”
Mmh! Therapeutic, I thought.
I was booked and the gofer at hand carried my suitcase to Room 32, a stand-alone (cottage, if you like) superior room. The cheapest of the rooms go for Sh15,000 a night, with breakfast. That is the pricing for the current low season.
There are 15 other superior rooms, all stand-alone, each measuring 60 square metres, littered all over the expansive neatly manicured garden that is home to hundreds of coconut trees.
Then there are the four super spacious deluxe suites measuring 100 square meters each with a small dining table, a two-person sofa and a coffee table.
If you find the deluxe space too intimidating, you still have options to settle for either a junior suite or a normal suite but if you are a sucker for space, then the premier suite will do you justice. But the prices vary.
All the luxuriously set up rooms are spread around the beautiful garden, creating a private, secluded ambience while overlooking the beach and the sand dunes.
The interior design showcases the early 20th century tropical style with wooden beamed roofs and elegant wooden floors. The bed is king-size and is thoughtfully decorated with handcrafted furnishings and artwork.
As breakfast was served the following morning at the beachfront Finch Hatton Restaurant, I caught up with the resort’s general manager Maureen Awuor.
Adjacent to Finch Hatton is the Victoria Restaurant where a conference was ongoing.
“This is a low season and so conferencing and team building are some of the services we currently offer. We have tailored corporate rates for such activities,” she said.
“We also have an offer for couples. We are trying to serve people who just want to come down to the coast for the weekend and explore Malindi. Sh15,000 per night per couple is very cheap considering that it’s bed and breakfast,” she added, beaming.
Unlike many hotels, Ocean Beach does not offer an all-inclusive package.
“Our intention is to sell an experience to our clients. All-inclusive limits one from exploring Malindi because you will be tied to Ocean Beach and so when you pay half board, you have a chance to go explore the town and get to see the place and other venues,” Awuor explained.
I spent the better part of the midday in town riding in a tuk-tuk, a common means of transport here.
The small town is full of Italian restaurants, mini-supermarkets, delis, pizzerias and gelato shops. Most products here like Parmigiano cheese, Salami ham, wines, pasta, olives, capers, cold meats, cigars are flown from Italy.
The cashiers are elderly Italians with their gofers youthful vibrant local natives. Surprisingly, most of them know Italian. Indeed, Little Italy is the town of lingua franca.
Excellent service
Ocean Beach owner Roberto Marini, an architect, is Italian.
“I designed and built this hotel with my wife, Daniela. We based the concept on our dream of what we wanted to find when going on holiday and we made a dream come true. It’s something special with lots of space, luxury, privacy and excellent service,” he says on his LinkedIn profile.
My only disappointment with the resort was the lack of activities on the beach. I enjoyed everything: the hospitality, the music played by a deejay at the pool, the bar setup by the pool, the amazing seafood, the spa treatments that only use water, but not the beach.
“We don’t have activities at the beach because this is the mouth of the ocean. It’s not safe. There is an inlet and once you go in, the waters will never bring you back to the shores. But it is a private beach where you are assured of the ambience and no disturbance from beach boys,” Awour said upon noticing my disappointment.
This is a place I will surely visit again.
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