The Lawford Kenya

Large and nicely decorated rooms. The garden is beautiful with direct access to the long beach. The staff in the restaurant was very friendly and the food excellent. We had grilled lobster and finished our meal with mango ice cream. I will surely come back!

The local staff are excellent at their jobs but the hotel’s management does not cater for local Kenyan tourists’ needs the same as the international guests. The attitude reflects on the service with speaks racism within our own country.

What an awful experience. The manager, Francesca, has absolutely no idea how to work (or speak) to customers. After confirming the breakfast rate with three various staff members, an hour after we had breakfast, they informed us of the new rate and Francesca insisted we pay that rate. She threatened to switch our power off if we didn’t pay the new rate. After not budging, and me telling her she should inform her staff to give the correct rates, she said ‘pay what you want, but don’t come back again’ and waved me off with the show of her hand while turning her back on me and walking away. She couldn’t even come to our table and ask to speak privately, she sent a staff member to say ‘the manager is calling you, you must come to the front desk’. I told her she’s not even giving me a chance to speak, summoning me to the front desk, and I am the customer. Her answer: ‘I can’t speak to you with other people around if there’s a discrepancy and I don’t have time to come to you, I am busy’. What pathetic management. The owner should really consider hiring a manager that’s suited for the hospitality industry and not have someone working for him that’s actually chasing customers away. We stayed for 7 nights in one of the apartments and were willing to pay the ‘new rate’ for the next 6 days, but yes, we were told not to come back by Francesca. With regards to the breakfast, everything is made beforehand (omelettes, scrambled eggs, etc), and absolutely everything was cold - the eggs, sausages, beans, chapati, etc. Cups were dirty. I had to ask for yoghurt. I had to ask for saucers for the cups. No plates were removed from the table. I cleared the table by carrying my own plates to the kitchen to make space. I also had to take my plate to the kitchen (and fetch it myself) to ask them to warm my food in the microwave. There is also a rubbish dump across the street from the entrance of this resort, and the smell is unbearable. I can’t believe Lawford’s does not do something about the dump across the street from them. Avoid this place at all costs. Rather eat at one of the local coffee shops or restaurants e.g. Bar Bar, or one or the other upmarket resorts such as Billionaire’s Resort or Diamonds Resort. This place has so much potential but with management staff like Francesca, it will just keep slipping backwards. For me to give a review like this is totally out of the norm. We’re on holiday and forgive and forget but being treated so disrespectful (and paying for it) is just unacceptable.

Lowfords was one of the best hotels in Malindi years ago. However this time it was a disappointment as over the years it has depreciated and unfortunately there is nothing good to write about it. Rooms are big but in a bad condition furniture is as old as the hotel.Breakfast basic. Staff helpful but inexperienced Hope management will work hard to restore it to its old glory

Spacious . Natural. Quiet . Pleasantly surprised to find the hotel so nice , it’s been several years since our last visit and the current owners seem to be trying hard to revitalise the hotel after the hardships of the pandemic. Large bedroom suite minimalist style with spacious furnished terrace. (2 rooms of the original hotel converted into one) AC in the bedroom area. TV with mainly local channels in sitting area . Mini-bar fridge. Kettle. Choice of 2 lovely swimming pools with sun beds. Beach bar, with views over the rugged sand dunes towards the distant ocean. Friendly staff. Simple á la carte restaurant with personalised service, where they can also serve a set menu breakfast. Stylish gift shop. TV lounge, table tennis. Hair salon with Italian stylist & beauty salon. As most of the hotel is residential apartments for long stay guests there is relaxed calm ambiance. Great location for exploring Malindi , you can walk around town easily during the day.

We stayed here over New Year, after a horrible check in and an even worse experience during the first night diner(Which they have solved by providing 50% discount on the bill) we discovered that money was stolen from our room during the last day of our booking. Since our lock of the suite was broken we are 100% sure the door was closed when we all left for a snorkeling tour. They must have known we left for the day, since not only in our room, but also in the room of our friends money went missing. They did not take all the money but just half of what was in our wallet, in order for us not to notice until it was too late. Management response was absolutely absurd and I have not even heard a single apology. By the way, no safe deposit box in the room, so we kept it hidden in our bags. In other words, they spend time to look through it all. Overall stay was horrible as well, but the theft out of the room made it a very bad stay and bad memory of the city. (From another friend of us her bag got stolen in a restaurant nearby.) I would hope there are better hotels in Malindi, so avoid this one

We ended up here after being scammed by a Stayz booking - felt so lucky to find accommodation at such short notice. Despite some negative reviews, we arrived with an open mind and great expectations. Good things first - the hospitality and domestic staff were delightful. The rooms spacious albeit a bit tired. (note - there are no phones in the rooms to contact front desk and no safes in rooms or safe boxes in office) Pools wonderful, perfect temperature. Beach as described - not appealing and probably not safe for swimming but an interesting view of the local community. But from first introduction at the front desk there was an edginess about the staff. Every request was met with "I have to ask the owner" or "I can't". It appeared they could only communicate with said person by text. So - we had 2 suites for 5 of us. First night, no Air conditioning in our room - we were given a fan after much fuss. Finally fixed. No usable WIFI in our room or anywhere in the hotel - very difficult for overseas guests. THEN, day 3, after a day out our son and his family came home to a fully flooded suite. It was 11pm - I was taken to see 2 alternate rooms for them for that night, neither of which had been cleaned since guests had checked out. Dirty bed linen etc! Finally the "owner " appeared and offered them rooms in a privately owned villa. They camped there for 2 nights while their original room dried out. In summary , we paid $3416USD for 7 nights for rooms only. Our compensation for the above inconvenience? $100USD This could be a fabulous hotel but it seems it is more a residence, with many owner/occasional occupiers. The owner/manager is ill-equipped to deal with her delightful staff and paying customers. I hope it can improve - but "caveat emptor" - the reviews don't lie.