Bahari Dhow Beach Villas

It is hard to find anything good to say about Bahari Dhow beach villas but I’ll give it a go: The rooms are spacious. The pools are very large. It is on the beach. It is cheap. In contrast it is easy to find fault: Staff are nonchalant , indifferent or inexperienced. The place is dirty, there was no housekeeping service, food was terrible, ‘restaurant’ was full of wasps, crows and cats. Furniture was falling apart. Frankly the place has seen better days and is in dire need of an overhaul.

Our stay was disappointing from the moment we arrived on Dec 31st. The security at the gate would not allow our Uber to drive into the compound, even after letting them know we were checking in as guests. They asked the driver to drive through a side road, park and use the side entrance. Unbeknownst to us, this was the beach entrance and absolutely did not make sense to use for guest check in. We had to walk through the sand in our travel clothes and shoes to make it through the back entrance. Our only saving grace was a couple of security guards that helped us carry our suitcases after they heard our complaints. The explanation that we got from the Reception was that there may have been confusion as the main gate security guard assumed we were New Year’s party guests and only needed access to the beach but once we clarified that we were indeed guests, the main gate security guard was unapologetic and would not even allow our Uber through the gate a second time to pick us up. We had to walk up a hill and out of the gate to catch our Uber. To make matters worse, on one of the nights, we were dropped off at about 4am, showed the room key to a separate security guard and he let our Uber through the gate, only this time to be followed by a strange man that demanded to see our room key again to confirm we were indeed hotel guests. This whole experience definitely left us feeling targeted and discriminated against. I would never again stay here.

Our family spent five nights here in a return visit because the beach front location is perfect.The staff are polite. However, unlike our previous visit, there were very few organized activities like Zumba, etc. Bahari Dhow has a lot of potential, but the management needs to spruce up the villas, improve the bathrooms, ensure kitchen is well stocked, linens upgraded, broken furniture replaced, etc. The management also needs to prioritize their residents over holidays and weekends. We were unable to use the pool because the hotel allows non-residents to pay and use the pool and it gets too crowded. If the hotel wishes to have public access swimming facilities, they should consider building a separate swimming pool in the grounds by the entrance to ensure that residents can enjoy the facilities throughout their stay.

Amazing pools and nice beach. Excellent design with rooms sharing a big kitchen and livingroom

This is not a place that you want to stay. Monkeys in and out of the apartments constantly. The rooms are not well cleaned and are very basic. The restaurant is TERRIBLE with the service taking hours and the food being disgusting. Worst of all was the entertainment. They had some nice singers but the clients were very disturbing. Lots of elderly white men sitting with young Kenyan children sitting them on their knee and feeding them. This made me very uncomfortable and needs to be investigated further. None of the staff seemed to be bothered by this. As well as this the beach and road are frequented by beggars. I have stayed in many hotels around the world and I have never seen anything like this. Stay anywhere else in Diani if you want an enjoyable holiday. The problem is not with the resort but with this specific hotel.

We were privileged to stay at Bahari Dhow Villas between August 1 and Augus 6, 2023. We were attracted to the serenity of the facility, and the accessibility of the pools next to the villas (villa has three great and well-kept pools), which our children really loved, as well as its location on the beach (allowed us rest and dining at the beach). The highlight of our stay was the tasty food from the restaurant and great customer service from the reception team (Lillian + Jerome) to the workers (Steven), the waiters (Chai + Caxton), and the pool attendant (Daniel). These individuals made our stay enjoyable, and we would like to thank them! The villas are also spacious, with the kitchen having a good oven and fridge (even though the kitchen would do with addition crockery and cutlery). The flip side of our visit was the acceptance into the property of rowdy, party-going travelers that occupied the villa next two ours, two days to our departure. The last two days were characterized by rowdy behavior that included blaring music, from early morning, aimless consumption of alcohol including around the pool to some unwelcome making out in the pool! With a mixed crowd of families with infants and small children, to mature citizens as patrons, we would have hoped that the instructions were clear on the type of activity and behavior permissible in the premises. This was not the case and forced us to complain to the reception on two occasions about the music and general disruption. On the villar itself, we feel that a thorough cleaning is due, especially in the kitchen area (walls and electronics) and the lounge chairs (external and internal ones). Also, our mattress in the master bedroom may do with a change as we kind of sunk into the middle, ruining a good night of rest.

The hotel is run down. The TV didn’t work, no sandals or robes for guests. The first floor smelt of gas. No safe, windows don’t lock nicely, no insecticide to get rid of mosquitos, awful menu. The concept is good but the hotel seems to be grossly mismanaged. The staff is friendly. I would never stay at the hotel again. Over-priced! When you check-in, you are required to pay in full. They also require you to have a band on your wrist like a school nursery school child to show that one is a guest at the hotel. The staff is friendly, but not professional.

We decided to go for lunch together at the beach bar and also thought about looking into staying at the villas. Initial impression was that exterior of the some of the building need painting and fixing. we were shown A11 only to find that there is a lot of moisture in the walls which has been covered up with surface paint only. Door handle falling off the doors. On going back to the restaurant, we ordered a meal and drinks. It took over an hour for the meal to arrive and when being presented with the bill there was additional drinks on the bill that we had not ordered. disappointing indeed for a place with so much potential.