Kijani Hotel
Kijani Hotel is in the village of Shela, on the island of Lamu.
Lamu Town, Island and Archipelago, all of the same name, lie 2 degrees below the Equator along Kenya’s coast. The Lamu Archipelago is a chain of islands separated from the mainland by a narrow channel bordered with dense mangrove forest and protected from the Indian Ocean by coral reefs and large sand dunes. Kijani Hotel’s 10 rooms are spread throughout a tropical garden into 3 small separate traditional Swahili buildings which formerly were private homes. The rooms are vast and cool, having their own private veranda shaded from sight by arabesque archways and trees. Canopied Swahili beds stand beside antique cupboards and tables coloured with hand-painted Indian tiles and painted glass. Kijani’s rooms and gardens are filled with antiques or handmade replicas of the furniture, lanterns, ornaments, and utensils that graced the stately houses of Lamu’s past. Members of the village even borrow Kijani’s ceremonial chair, crafted from hardwood and wickerwork on the nearby island of Siyu, for weddings and special occasions. Breakfasts offer an exotic selection of fruits, homemade yoghurt and marmalade, all from the Kijani small farm in the middle of Lamu Island. The hotel is located directly at the sea front with two fresh water swimming pools. |
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Off the bustling waterfront of Shela village, dhows sway gently on the incoming tide as merchants and fishermen cross back and forth on the shimmering sand.
