Lamu House Hotel

Lamu island is beautiful, and the locals are kind and extremely warm. My experience at Lamu house hotel was very different. I had booked a room weeks in advance, but it was given to someone else, who was white. I’m black, and I was made to spend my first night in a room I didn’t like. They’d reassured me I would get the room I booked. The owner was dismissive when I asked for help. When I asked an innocent question about whether they could charge my card and give me cash to use in town, since we had neither Mpesa nor a Kenyan card, he replied, “this is Kenya, we pay taxes!” and offered no other solution. On our last night, a group of white people were making a huge amount of noise at 2am, like a party. When we told the owner in person the next morning, his apology felt offhand. After I said I was unhappy with how we were being treated, he came over to the pool while I was swimming, stood above me, and harshly told me to go upstairs, get my things, and leave before checkout. He knew our flight had been delayed, which they’d told us about, leaving us to wait for hours at the airport. I’ll be saying more about this on my social media. If you’re not white, understand that you won’t be a priority here.

The toilets wouldn’t flush, and the food was the worst, 2/10. What I ordered and what I got were totally different. It didn’t feel like the coastal experience we expected.

The atmosphere and service were amazing, but the food was disappointing, 2/10. The portions were tiny. The creamy mchicha wasn’t good, and the mukimo wasn’t what you’d expect.

Julian was a fantastic host for our family of seven adults and four children. He was welcoming and thoughtful, and really considered my parents throughout our stay. The staff were kind and helpful too. We had such a nice atmosphere! We also booked the dhow dinner cruise through Lamu House, and it was a very, very nice experience. I’d recommend it 100%. The restaurant could be more efficient. Food took a very long time to arrive, and there were a few mistakes. Still, I’d recommend Lamu House 100%!