House in Kenya
Reasons to book
About this house rental
The pool and beach: Kuruwitu Beach is one of the last unspoilt beaches on the Kenyan coast. Despite it being blissfully bare of people and beach boys , it is secure as there are 'askari's' patrolling for the marine conservancy. It is also unusually clean as the conservancy oversee the picking up of the debris that is common along most coastlines. The snorkelling metres off the shore is incredible - coral heads mean an abundance of tropical fish as well as octopus and lobster. There is a glass bottom boat boat for hire. The conservancy also offer guided tours of the reef where there are even more wonderful snorkelling spots.
The infinity pool set in front of the house has a 'baby pool' section. The adjoining pool house is large and comfortable with a bar and drinks fridge as well as a living and dining area, a water feature and sunbeds. The terrace below with overflow pool is not safe for young or unaccompanied children.
The house: The master bedroom has its own sectioned off veranda as well as a nook with a TV with an amazon firestick. Laptops can also be hooked up to play movies and there is a DVD player. The master and 2nd bedroom have 6' beds. The 3rd bedroom has 2 single beds (which can be made into a comfortable double with a good mattress topper) and a bunk bed. All bedrooms have air-conditioning and standing fans in case of preference. All bedrooms are ensuite with large bathrooms with showers.
The house runs on solar with back up on main line electricity as well as a small generator.
There is starlink wifi available in the house with an extension at the pool house.
The sitting/dining area is big and very airy with good security wrought iron all around. It is tastefully furnished in a coastal style with wooden overhead fans and 'lamu beds' as sofa's. There are many novels in the bookshelf that can be borrowed during your stay.
The kitchen is relatively small compared to the rest of the house and is manned by Reuben who is a competent cook specialising in seafood, curries and swahili style cooking, but with a large repertoire of many dishes. Pili is the housekeeper and takes care of the laundry and general cleaning. Karisa is in charge of the pool, garden and general maintenance. If you wish to cook yourself may I suggest that you ask Reuben to equip the small kitchen area at the poolhouse. There is a 4 ring gas cooker there. We do not keep pots and pans there as they degenerate in the sea air, but can easily be brought down if you fancy cooking yourself. There is also a barbeque by the poolhouse.
Shopping can be ordered and delivered from Kilifi or Vipingo if you don't want to go yourself.
Activities: If you can bear to drag yourself away from the fabulous pool and beach - the Vipingo Ridge golf course is less than a 10 minute drive away. Kilifi which has supermarkets and a bustling little town is a 25 minute drive away to the North. Wonderful Dhow trips can be taken up the creek here, particularly good at sunset. There are several lovely restaurants there. Diving is available at the famous Mnarani Club. There is also sailing and water-ski-ing available at the picturesque boatyard. Malindi and Watamu are just over a one hour drive Northwards.
The Bamburi Nature trail is 35 minutes from the house as is Nyali and the City Mall shopping centre. Old town Mombasa (Fort Jesus etc) is approx 45 minutes drive depending on the traffic. At present the road to Nyali is not great as they are building a dual carriageway that seems to be taking forever!
Additional notes: Neem Tree is a laid back house with lovely staff. However, we have taken trouble to furnish it nicely and there are a lot of personal touches which we expect people to respect. Allowing children to spoil games, play on the darts board and sit on furniture in wet costumes will impact the enjoyment for the next guest. We also are very conscious of the environment and do not allow plastic straws in the house and ask guests to minimise use of plastic, electricity etc where possible. Please respect the sea and the beach - never leaving litter behind or picking up shells or destroying marine life.
Reuben is an excellent but not a terribly speedy cook and it is wise to keep your menu plans relatively simple and give him plenty of notice. He is not a cordon bleu chef, so please do not expect 3 courses at every meal unless you are prepared to help him in the kitchen particularly if you are with a large group.
Tipping of staff is expected and guidance on amount is provided in the information given when booked.
Amenities at Second Home: Private beach house with fabulous pool on Marine Conservancy
Map of Kenya
