Swahili House Tiwi Beach - Private Oceanfront Boutique Villa Near Diani

Our stay at Swahili House was bittersweet. I agree with other reviews that mention the misleading pictures since there are several different houses for rent. There are three pools but you only get access to one ("your") pool. So forget about the others. The water in the pool was very warm. The pool's cleaning system was off now and then so we had to ask to turn it on. We stayed at Lofty Cottage for 5 nights. The house' Swahili style was very special. The furniture was unique and beautiful although old and worn out. The Lofty Cottage was the nearest to the entrance so everyone passed by it. There were many "jambos" we had to say every day. To other tenants that go by. To their visitors. To the staff. To the builders working on the house while we were trying to be on vacation. We did not have not much peace here. The kitchen was old, small and hot. The fridge was old and dirty. There were no pictures of the bathroom on Hotels.com since it was small for such a house. The faucet was leaking water and there was no shower curtain so it was always wet on the floor. The saddest part was that we never figured out the food situation. There was a cook on site and the cottages had self-catering. There was a menu as an example. We got that part. But we never got any price or at least price suggestion. We asked several times. I believe they had enough with other tenants so there was not much interest in our orders. It was sad, like I said.

Chambre impeccable -80m2 et personnel charmant et toujours à l'écoute

Never been so nervous staying here, the cottage was in the middle of no where, the entrance was not secure and couldn't lock it. Only very hot water for the showers no cold. The staff were friendly but the cottage was not very clean, the view of the ocean was good but very expensive for what we got.

The Penthouse is a blissful experience and if you need anything Gilbert will ensure your get it. We asked if he could get us snapper and vegetables for dinner and he organised for it to be delivered and grilled for us by an onsite chief. It was delicious 10/10 and we could continue our holiday without worrying about food. Swahili house is everything we were looking for, Diani beach experience but more peacful without the crowds. Thanks Gilbert

Really enjoyed our time in this house! The cooks were fantastic, service was great and the overall experience made for a great week of vacation. There were some repairs/upkeep pieces that would be helpful but overall nothing major. The only reason we didn't give it 5 stars is the marketing is a bit misleading. It says that 12 people can fit in what we paid/booked. It shows pictures for ALL the properties on VRBO but you are only renting a portion which is not only unclear but misleading and misrepresenting. We were expecting more rooms, a better pool and overall more space that didn't actually happen because the pictures aren't associated with the specific property we booked. We booked for 12 people and there were only 7 bed spaces. They did accommodate us somewhat by bring in pool loungers for our kids to sleep on and arranged mosquito nets. So while were accommodated, it was a bit disappointing because we were led to believe that we were booking something different than what we received. Overall we would book again with the right knowledge and proper clarification on what is actually included.