Top 10 Luxury Kenya Beach Resorts & Hotels

Kenya’s Indian Ocean shore is simply superb, and many of the resorts and hotels you find here rank among the best places to stay in Kenya. You’ll have the widest choice around Diani Beach and the southern port city of Mombasa, but there are options, too, in Kenya’s far south. It’s not always about the luxury. But it very often can be. Below are our choices for the best Kenya beach resorts and hotels.

The accommodations below are not ranked in a specific quality order.

143 Kenya Beach Packages

1. Diani Sea Resort (Diani Beach)

Set among palm trees and other tropical greenery, Diani Sea Resort is a wonderful seaside place to stay. Swim in a pool surrounded by flowers, enjoy the bar and restaurant with stirring sunrise views and sunset colors through the palm trees, and sleep well in the bright, attractive rooms. What distinguishes this place from other Kenya beach resorts are the activities you can enjoy here, from a relaxed excursion in a glass-bottomed boat to kitesurfing.

72 Diani Sea Resort Tours

2. Baobab Beach Resort (Diani Beach)

Many Kenya beach resorts claim to be by the sea, but none get closer than Baobab Beach Resort: there’s nothing here between you and the ocean except for a delightful stretch of sand. Baobab has everything a resort should, including multiple bars, restaurants, swimming pools, beautiful grounds with sweeping sunrise views and gorgeous sunset colors, and a spa. The light-filled rooms come with wood furnishings, stunning African statues in some, and tiled floors.

27 Baobab Beach Resort Tours

3. Leopard Beach Resort & Spa (Diani Beach)

When it comes to Kenya beach resorts, this place has something for everyone. Rooms range from standard suites and villas to cottages and even a stunning private residence. As you’d expect, a seaside location, a swimming pool, a restaurant and a number of bars are standard.

Leopard Beach Resort Tours

4. Serena Beach Resort & Spa (Mombasa)

Not far northwest of Mombasa’s old town, and very close to the water’s edge, Serena Beach Resort & Spa is an old-school safari hotel grafted onto the East African coast. Colorful decor and faux Swahili architectural touches fill the large rooms. The hotel has excellent amenities that include a spa, restaurant, bar, swimming pool and fitness center, with a fantastic range of aquatic activities on offer.

Serena Beach Resort Tours

5. Almanara Boutique Hotel (Diani Beach)

You’ll feel like you’ve wandered into a film set of how coastal Kenya hotels are supposed to be when you stay at sustainability-conscious Almanara Boutique Hotel. Rooms are simply gorgeous, combining luxury with a designer’s eye for detail, and everything here is excellent, from the restaurant and bar to the palm-shaded swimming pool, spa and beach.

Almanara Boutique Hotel Tours

6. Msambweni Beach House (Msambweni)

Along Kenya’s stunning southern coast, Msambweni Beach House is a wonderfully exclusive place to stay. Rooms come in different styles and sizes, with both suites and villas, and there’s luxury and a real slice of sophistication at every turn. There’s also a beach, a bar, a restaurant and impeccable service.

7. Elewana AfroChic Diani Beach (Diani Beach)

One of Kenya’s loveliest beach resorts, Elewana AfroChic Diani Beach has an impressive portfolio of individually styled rooms, each true to local Swahili culture, especially in the use of local wood. Staying here, it can feel like you have your own private beach, and everything is beautifully done, from the facilities (swimming pool, bars, restaurants) to the warm welcome from those who’ll look after you during your stay.

8. The Maji Beach Boutique Hotel (Diani Beach)

Consistently ranked among Kenya’s best beach hotels, the Maji has large and luxurious rooms, each with its own charm. Some have West African prints and Persian carpets, while four-poster beds and antique wood furnishings adorn others. All are supremely comfortable, with plenty of natural light. There’s an excellent on-site spa with a range of treatments, as well as bars, restaurants and swimming pools. One of the pools meanders through the property like a castle moat. Best of all, it all happens right by a pretty beach.

The Maji Beach Boutique Tours

9. Waterlovers Beach Resort (Diani Beach)

The four-star Waterlovers Beach Resort has a strong East African sensibility with wooden ceremonial statues and other traditional decor in many of the rooms. There are suites, villas and even a penthouse, and don’t be surprised if a colobus monkey turns up on your balcony. An inviting swimming pool, bar, restaurant and spa, as well as a prime beachfront position and plenty of activities, round out a great package.

Waterlovers Beach Resort Tours

10. Sarova Whitesands Beach Resort & Spa (Bamburi Beach, Mombasa)

Part of the elegant and timeless Sarova chain of hotels, the Sarova Whitesands Beach Resort & Spa has pretty, cream-toned rooms. They’re spread across grounds where palm trees of the deepest green offset the equally deep blues of sky and sea. There’s everything here for the ideal Indian Ocean beach holiday: pools (including one with a waterslide), bars, restaurants and more. It’s in the Bamburi Beach area, north of Mombasa.

Sarova Whitesands Beach Resort Tours

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By Anthony Ham

AU

Anthony is a renowned Africa expert and author of the Lonely Planet guidebook to Kenya.

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