Jacaranda Beach Resort

Safari from 31/12 to 6/1. We had a beautiful safari starting from Nairobi. We visited the Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru, Amboseli, Taita Hill's, Tzavo West parks. Erick (tel. +254 729 860384) and the driver Joseph accompanied us on this wonderful journey. They were very helpful and made us experience an incredible adventure.

Excellent location right next to the beach. Beautiful palm trees. Lamu style high beds. Clean room. Friendly staff. Dull cyclic menu. Would be nice to have a la carte on offer. (Its always lovely for us to have a variety/choice and be served and consequently pay for it as well...

Excellent location right next to the beach. Beautiful palm trees. Lamu style high beds. Clean room. Friendly staff. Dull cyclic menu. Would be nice to have a la carte on offer. (Its always lovely for us to have a variety/choice and be served and consequently pay for it as well as appreciate the server. Nothing to write home about. Service and facility felt undistinguished for the price paid and the star rating of the establishment. However not regrettable. I would recommend for families and group vacationers.

Amazing. First of all resort is very well designed and its remarkable architecture make it a luxury but at the same time characteristic one, due to the intelligent respect of African and local "genius loci". Room was very spacious and I did appreciate materials and finishing, making it comfortable, but...

Amazing. First of all resort is very well designed and its remarkable architecture make it a luxury but at the same time characteristic one, due to the intelligent respect of African and local "genius loci". Room was very spacious and I did appreciate materials and finishing, making it comfortable, but at the same time rustic, looking very "local" but not in a kitschy way. Luxury resorts are sometimes kitsch, but that doesn't happen at Jacaranda, on the contrary giving the best example of compromise between luxury, comfort and tradition. Cuisine was excellent, with plenty of international, African and Italian choices and a very good Kenyan/Italian fusion experiment. Pastas, fish, meat, fruit, salads, dressings, everything was tasty and safe. Just desserts weren't anything special, I'd suggest to introduce some Italian traditional ice-cream. Staff was prompt and nice, all our requests have been completely satisfied. Place is great, daydream beach and fascinating excursions (never miss the safari!) within a few hours range. Must go!

I had a bad experience at Jacaranda hotel. I booked the hotel from 16th Feb to 19th Feb but on arrival was faced by rude reception and kept waiting for one hour. I had to change hotels as they retained USD 200 from my booking. I would not recommend any...

I had a bad experience at Jacaranda hotel. I booked the hotel from 16th Feb to 19th Feb but on arrival was faced by rude reception and kept waiting for one hour. I had to change hotels as they retained USD 200 from my booking. I would not recommend any stay. Winstone.

Dirty glasses Basic rooms lacking a simple kettle Non-responsive staff Be warned before making your booking. And if you do, don't pay for the full stay as you will not get a refund. Was ready to check out within the first 30 minutes.

The hotel is quite out of civilization in Watamu but therefore the beach is not overcrowded. The staff is very friendly, the restaurant is good, the buffet has a good selection and is tasty! The hotel has a lot of Italian influence as usual in that part of Watamu and...

The hotel is quite out of civilization in Watamu but therefore the beach is not overcrowded. The staff is very friendly, the restaurant is good, the buffet has a good selection and is tasty! The hotel has a lot of Italian influence as usual in that part of Watamu and I like that. The rooms are very good, comfortable and clean! We went at the very end of the season so they’re already starting their improvements/constructions which was a little disturbing sometimes.

The location, views, beach and staff here all deserve 5 stars. The staff was very friendly and welcoming and our room was great both in comfort and its location to the beach. However, the food and all inclusive programs are lacking. We were offered an upgrade to all inclusive at...

The location, views, beach and staff here all deserve 5 stars. The staff was very friendly and welcoming and our room was great both in comfort and its location to the beach. However, the food and all inclusive programs are lacking. We were offered an upgrade to all inclusive at check in which would include alcoholic drinks which we went for at 1000ksh per person per day. What they neglected to tell us was that it only included a few cocktails made using the cheapest of liquor and Tusker beer on tap and only available from the main bar which made it a pain if we were on the beach. Drinks were also only served in small cups of which 5 would have equaled one beer. The food was only ok except for the odd item which was quite good. By far the best item was the grilled beef the first night at the resort. By far the best meals we had were with the guys on the beach we booked our deep sea fishing trip with. They cooked the fish we caught for dinner with us and got up early the next day to get fresh octopus and fish to cook us lunch. The fishing trip was great value as well. If you’re staying here make sure to track down Captain Jimmy, Captain Nandi and Captain Munga on the beach. They were honest guys who treated us well and gave us our best meals while in Watamu. The restaurant they cook at is right across the road from the resort and a bottle of beer is 1/3 the price there as compared to the resort. Transfer from Malindi airport is easy as I know a Tuk Tuk driver in Malindi who picked us up and took us to the resort and brought us back to the airport. Katana is a reliable guy and trustworthy. If you are headed here and want his details let me know. I’d stay at Jacaranda again, but with a room only package. Bring your own beer/liquor to the room and get your meals and bar drinks from the locals outside the resort. You can feel good about supporting the local businesses that way as well.

Me and my wife spent 4 nights in the resort. When we arrived we were offered room just next to the reception very far from the see and with view to backyard of the resort. This room we rejected and after one hour of waiting we were offered another room...

Me and my wife spent 4 nights in the resort. When we arrived we were offered room just next to the reception very far from the see and with view to backyard of the resort. This room we rejected and after one hour of waiting we were offered another room which was quite OK. Be prepared for mostly Italian and Czech tourists enjoying beach and swimming pool holiday. Food was OK especially the fruits. Drinks were strangely restricted even with “all inclusive” option. You can get water to small plastic cup hundred times a day but not filled in your own plastic bottle. This we found not environmental friendly and irrational. I would say that the resort is too expensive for the quality but was full of people. Maybe they got better price than promoted on internet via their travel agency.

Clients mainly Italian and some from Czech republic. Negative: - AC is old and barely working. - Toilet barely working, water just runs straight through it so when you really need it you might not have it. After a couple of talk with reception we gave up and learned some...

Clients mainly Italian and some from Czech republic. Negative: - AC is old and barely working. - Toilet barely working, water just runs straight through it so when you really need it you might not have it. After a couple of talk with reception we gave up and learned some tricks to keep these two working. - Drink list in desperate need of update too, meanwhile other hotels give you imported stuff this have only African alcohol in all-included. And you have to get it by yourself from main bar since there is no waiting for all-inclusive guests. - Beach bar is not a bar you only get KEG beer and water there. They also play Hip Hop for guests mainly above 45. Not even the younger seemed to enjoy of "Move b**ch, get out of way, get out of way"... - Food in the only restaurant varies - some days quite edible some days not. - Some kind of Sommelier in restaurant waiving his arms almost knocking down guests and plates while entertaining the main customers - thinking he's the father in a family restaurant? - Poor logistics in restaurant - bigger holidays guests are gathered to aperitif before dinner so there's a bull run to the food and there's a lots of traffic and noise through dinner time when ever you come - chaos. Not like on regular nights which were bearable. - Animation group noisy and seemed to be everywhere in the resort. On beach they "owned" the speaker while 5-10 people were participating in some of there games and the noise was awful. - Beware of ordering bottle of wine for dinner - you might get it 40-50 degrees Celsius instead of the usual about 16°C for red wine. - White people could fill their water bottles in water stations but was forbidden for African customers. Quite funny. All this is clear and simple bad management and would be easily fixed - but needs a total change in management. Positive: - Staff gets both thumbs up, they do what they can and most of them do it smiling.