Extraordinary Africa>Kenya>Kenya Coast>Villa MB
Villa MB (formerly Msambweni House) is a stylish barefoot beach lodge, on a quiet stretch of coastline around an hour’s drive south of the bustle of Diani Town.
What’s Villa MB really like?
Villa MB is a chic, peaceful hideaway, with the main house and 3 smaller villas set in 28 acres of tropical grounds beside the Indian Ocean. The Main House is a large Swahili style villa with high thatched roofs and gleaming whitewashed walls. Inside are the three “Master Rooms”- they’re light and bright with double beds and big bath tubs- blissfully romantic for honeymooners or couples- and each has a small verandah to hide yourself away on.
Downstairs you’ll find the infinity pool and the bar, though we’re told that when it comes to sundowner time many people ignore this in favour of perching beside the outdoor fire pit. Food is a mix of Swahili and more international style food, with plenty of local seafood on offer.
Heading out into the gardens you’ll find three private villas in a similar design to the main house. Villas 1 and 2 both have two rooms (the main double is air conditioned, then there’s a twin room with a fan only) and Villa 3 has 2 air conditioned bedrooms. All of the villas have private pools of varying sizes. Lastly, there’s the Ocean Suite- somewhat unusually for a beach hotel this is tented, so the wood and canvas here feels very different to the polished stone and the bright whites of the rest of Villa MB. This only has a shower in the bathroom. In all we’d say this is a peaceful, stylish lodge with a low-key feel- a good bet for those who want to escape the crowds.
What can I do at Villa MB?
Villa MB has a long, pretty stretch of beach, which is a little narrower than some of the beaches further north, but in our opinion, the peace and quiet of being away from town more than makes up for this. There’s is a small hut for massages and if we’re honest, most of our guests don’t do much more than snooze in the sunshine and wander along the beach. However, if you’d like to be a little more active, Villa MB has mountain bikes for exploring the village and surrounding countryside, and a dhow on which you can float gently out to sea. Really though, this is a spot for relaxing, curling up with a book or beside the pool and listening to the birds calling on the tropical breeze.
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