Hemingways Watamu: the boutique beach hotel in a UNESCO reserve

All of the rooms at Hemingways Watamu showcase stunning views of the Indian Ocean, which is home to diverse marine life. All you need to do is open your balcony door and you can feel the sea breeze. When our chairman, Richard Evans, opened the hotel in 1988 it was the only five-star resort on the Kenyan coast and it still remains the best. We’re named after the famous author Ernest Hemingway, who is thought to have established a camp in this secluded beach oasis in the 30s.

We’re set right on a reef-protected sandy beach within the Watamu Marine National Park, which is a UNESCO-listed Biosphere Reserve. That means we have incredible wildlife right on our doorstep, including the Marine Big Five: dolphins, whales, sharks, sea turtles and billfish. It’s one of Kenya’s top snorkelling and dive spots, where you can see over 600 species of fish and go on dolphin watching excursions. If you visit between June and early September, I’d highly recommend a whale watching trip to see migrating humpbacks.

Hemingways Watamu has been recently refurbished with a simple yet elegant design, combining a mix of subtle Swahili style with clean, classic lines. We offer a selection of rooms and apartments suitable for both families and couples. There’s a spa with native plant products and treatments, yoga sessions and a quiet pool where adults can relax, away from the kids’ pool. We’re well-known for our exceptional service, which is delivered by our dedicated team, 90 percent of whom are from the Watamu region.

Most of all, guests rave about the ocean views at Hemingways. Our restaurant and bar also face the water, so you can feast on fresh seafood while looking over the ocean. To end the day, enjoy sundowners on a traditional dhow sailboat on Mida Creek, which is just a few minutes from the property. The mangroves here are home to wildlife such as storks and kingfishers. Birdwatchers will also love the nearby Sokoke Forest, which is the only place in the world where you can spot the Clarke’s weaver.

To help keep Watamu beautiful, we organise regular beach clean-ups, which guests can take part in, and we’ve introduced eco-friendly features at the hotel. We have a large solar power farm to produce clean energy and a bio-digester that treats our waste water. To help the community, we also hold annual fundraising events to support projects like the local maternity clinic and we run food drives when people are struggling. For instance, we supported over 500 families with food for four months during Covid in 2020.