The Majlis Hotel Lamu, Kenya East, Africa

Welcome to The Majlis Hotel Lamu Hotel Lamu, a small luxury beach hotel in the Lamu archipelago. The Majlis Hotel Lamu occupies a unique location on the exclusive Manda Island facing the world-renowned Lamu on Kenya’s North Coast (East Africa). The privately-owned hotel offers 25 superbly-appointed suites in understated elegance reflecting Lamu’s local tradition and style. With superb seafront views over the Ras Kitau bay and Shela village, guests enjoy an idyllic setting to relax and make the most of the archipelago’s charm and activities. The Majlis Hotel Lamu is only accessible by boat, a short 10- minute ride from Lamu Town, a UNESCO World Heritage site. In Arabic, the name 'Majlis Hotel Lamu' refers to a special place where hosts entertained their most important guests and families in style and comfort. “Karibu”, or welcome, in Swahili. Designed and built to reflect Lamu’s heritage tradition, a subtle fusion of Indian, Swahili, and Arabic influences, the Majlis Hotel Lamu Hotel Lamu combines 25 superbly appointed luxury suites built with Western comforts and local tradition. State-of-the-art facilities include a gourmet restaurant, a bar, two swimming pools and an activity centre, which co-ordinates a wide variety of activities ranging from water sports, as well as snorkeling and dhow sailing. With its tropical climate, unspoiled scenery and wealth of activities on offer, the Majlis Hotel Lamu is the perfect getaway for someone looking for a relaxing and peaceful holiday, facing the spectacular twelve kilometre Shela Beach on the Indian Ocean.

The Majlis Hotel Lamu Hotel Lamu offers elegant and luxurious facilities, in understated design complementing the natural beauty of Lamu and its tropical location.The island hotel is comprises 25 superbly-appointed Superior and Deluxe rooms, Junior and Royal suites divided into 4 villas. Each villa opens onto the white sand beach and boasts a private veranda with panoramic sea views. The rooms are spacious with traditionally high, beamed ceilings, large windows and terraces with spectacular views of the beach, garden, swimming pools and Indian Ocean. Each villa was constructed making use of the archipelago’s natural resources, combining white coral blocks with hand-carved timber. Particular attention was paid to integrating the villas among the indigenous trees and plants, to enhance the preserve the beauty of the local surroundings. Tastefully designed and decorated with tailored fittings, all rooms evoke the East African heritage with doors and furniture hand-carved according to the local Lamu tradition. Suites boast a large bedroom area with a king-size bed draped with highest-quality linen bedding and roll-down netting, a generous en-suite bathroom, a private veranda , electric fans, and a safe. Each room is also fitted with air conditioning to guarantee a peaceful night. Wireless internet access is available. The en-suite bathrooms feature a hot and cold water shower and a classic “baraza” seating area covered in cushions.

The Hotel occupies a unique setting, blending seamlessly with its island surroundings to offer a relaxing and peaceful holiday. The Majlis Hotel Lamu offers the highest-quality services and facilities allowing guests to enjoy the island’s natural beauty and resources. Guests are invited to share in the soothing ease and atmosphere of the Majlis Hotel Lamu: from relaxing in the beautiful beaches or strolling along the long-sweeping beach; to enjoying a cool drink at the ocean-facing bar as the sun sets; to tasting our open-fronted restaurants marriage of local ingredients and international cuisine; to indulging in relaxing ayurvedic treatments at the wellness center.

The Majlis Hotel Lamu Restaurant is a focal point of the hotel due to its unique architecture as well as its excellent cuisine and service. The Restaurant roof reaches 14 meters high and is built in the local tradition of casuarinas and mangrove poles, covered in very long palm leaves ('makuti' in Swahili). The makuti is laid in overlapping patterns, creating a waterproof structure of exceptional beauty and simplicity. The Restaurant combines an open-plan veranda on the ground floor and terrace/bar on the first floor, offering panoramic views over the Ras Kitau bay.The Majlis Hotel Lamu Restaurant offers the finest dining in the Lamu archipelago, featuring the best in local produce and fresh seasonal ingredients. We regularly purchase seafood in the morning from local fisherman returning from the sea on their way to market. The Restaurant's cuisine tastefully combines international dishes with the best local produce. Breakfast is served with the morning sun streaming through the open plan dining area. Guests are offered fresh fruits, home-baked breads and pastries, cereals, eggs as well as a full English breakfast. The Restaurant is open at lunch and features an extensive à la carte menu offering daily-catch seafood, fresh salads, pasta, wood-fired pizzas and a range of international dishes. Dinner service in the evenings offers an ever-changing menu created by the Restaurant’s chefs, sure to satisfy the most discerning palate. The chef's seek to make the most of seasonal produce and fresh seafood, locally sourced. We also offer romantic, candle-lit dining "al fresco" under the stars.

The Majlis Hotel Lamu is a child-friendly hotel for families who are looking for a short break or a holiday in the Lamu archipelago. The Majlis Hotel Lamu caters to families with special children's areas, family-friendly room layout, and kid-friendly meals.The hotel offers a dedicated playroom and an outdoor playground area on the beach to keep the kids engaged with various entertainment facilities, toys and coloring materials. This area is supervised by dedicated nannies. Kids can also safely swim in the sea or in either one of the two swimming pools with pool attendants on duty all day long. Our room accommodation offers a wide choice of options for families with kids. We have interconnecting rooms, triple rooms and we can add baby cots and extra beds upon request. The Majlis Hotel Lamu' restaurant chefs are available to meet any special request while cooking nutritious meals that are tasty, attractive and fun for children.The Majlis Hotel Lamu is a very safe place for kids of all ages. The hotel can only be reached by boat as there are no roads nearby the hotel. Our internal security is on duty day and night to keep the hotel safe.

If you are contemplating the romantic idea of a wedding or honeymoon in Kenya with an idyllic beach as the backdrop and the sounds of the Indian Ocean lapping against the shore, then look no further. The Majlis Hotel Lamu is an ideal location for your wedding, honeymoon or renewing your marriage vows. Your ceremony will be one of the greatest occasions throughout your life’s journey and the Majlis Hotel Lamu will ensure that you celebrate in style and make your day truly memorable. We offer a flexible service tailored to your exact requirements, be it for a group of friends and family joining you or just for the two of you. The Majlis Hotel Lamu can arrange intimate weddings on the beach or on the beautiful mangrove pontoon. The ceremony is very simple and is overseen by the Local District Officer. The Majlis Hotel Lamu choir will sing for the bride, groom and guests. We can also organize for a welcome singing and dancing by the 10-15 maasai, a professional photographer, special cake and flower arrangements, and we can accommodate any banqueting requirements. The Majlis Hotel Lamu provides an ideal venue also for meetings and special events. We can host conferences, conventions, seminars, exhibitions, receptions, banquets and retreats. The conference facilities include an LCD projector, a magnetic board with flip chart, television and DVD. With 25 air-conditioned rooms, the Majlis Hotel Lamu can host groups up to 50-60 people at the hotel. The Majlis Hotel Lamu’ facility is ideal for parties who wish to have privacy, luxury accommodation and security. We will also arrange excursions for your group including sunset dhow cruises, Lamu Town cultural visits and beach dinners.

The natural surroundings of Lamu are spectacular and offer a variety of activities to suit all tastes and to keep active all day long.Lamu’s rich history as a former sultanate marrying Arabic and African cultures can be admired though excursions and dhow sailing trips. Visits to Lamu Town or the Takwa ruins offer a glimpse into Lamu’s past.The ocean’s wonders can be admired on diving and snorkeling trips in the Lamu archipelago. Regular trade winds allow visitors to windsurf or kite-surf along the never-ending Shela beach facing the hotel. Action-seeking guests can enjoy water-skiing, wake-boarding or knee-boarding in the calm waters off the central bay.We invite you to plan your next day’s personal adventure in the comfort of the bar with expert advice and a refreshing beverage as the sun sets over Ras Kitau bay

The Majlis Hotel Lamu Hotel Lamu in Kenya offers a full range of water sports and equipment for activity-seeking guests.The calm waters off the Ras Kitau bay are ideal for water-skiing, wake-boarding and doughnut rides. The local trade winds also make Lamu attractive for sailing, whether on a dhow discovering the archipelago or wind-surfing / kite-surfing around the sandbars of Shela’s glorious beach.We ensure that our equipment is well-maintained and up-to-date under the watchful eyes of our activity staff.

One of the most pleasurable ways to discover the beauties of the Lamu archipelago is aboard one of the Majlis Hotel Lamu’ dhows. Gently following the sea breeze, guests are likely to spot dolphins and marine turtles darting through the waters, and even possibly whales and whale sharks during certain seasons. The surrounding areas present clear-blue waters, undisturbed stretches of white sand beaches, rolling sand dunes, and impressive mangroves boarding river waterways.Boat trips to the nearby, deserted Kiniyka and Manda Toto Islands are highly recommended, and can be combined with snorkeling and picnics for a full day of adventure and discovery. Other trips include: - Shela village - Excursion around Manda IIsland - Takwa ruins - Excursion To Kiwayu Island - Excursion around Lamu Island - Excursion to Matondoni Village in Lamu Island

Takwa Ruins- The Takwa settlement is situated on the south side of Manda Island, in the Lamu District. It was founded around year 1500, and probably abandoned around 1700. Mr Kirkman, who found the ruins in 1952, thought that it was perhaps a place were holy men or religious people retreated. The Great Mosque at Takwa is relatively well preserved. The other structure remaining of importance is the Pillar Tomb, which has an inscription with the date of 1681-1682. It is reported that when Takwa was abandoned, its inhabitants settled just across the bay at Shela on Lamu Island.

New to Lamu and to the Majlis Hotel Lamu?The spirit of the Majlis Hotel Lamu begins with a warm welcome from a guest services representative the moment you disembark the plane at the Manda airstrip, Lamu’s airport. You’ll be escorted to our speedboat for a gentle 15-minute cruise ride arriving onto the beach of the Majlis Hotel Lamu hotel located in the Ras Kitau bay, in front of the Shela Village. We’ve thought of every detail to make your arrival at this island paradise as simple and straightforward as possible, as well as plan a holiday to suit your tastes.

The Manda airstrip is a small regional airport which handles domestic flights and private travel. The airport does not handle international flights which need to clear through customs either in Nairobi ( Jomo Kenyatta), Mombasa, or Malindi before flying into Lamu as a domestic flight. The Manda airstrip is a class III airport with operating hours between 6am and 6pm. The main runway, 16/34, is 1 kilometer long and 15 meters wide with bitumen surface and has an overrun of 600 meters compact murram. This runway is PCN 8 and the largest aircrafts it can accommodate are ATR 42, Dash 7 & 8, SAAB 340, CITATION, Challenger II, L410, Twin Otter, and King Air.

Kenya Visa In Kenya, immigration services allow foreign nationals of some countries to enter for a period of up to three months without making a visa application. Countries benefiting from this waiver include a selection of Commonwealth countries, and various African nations. However, for most foreign nationals including citizens of the UK, the USA, Canada and Australia, applying for a Kenyan visa is an essential requirement to visit or immigrate to Kenya for any length of time. The easiest way to obtain a Kenya visa is to get one after arrival at the airport (or any other entry point in Kenya) – for exemptions, see again below. There will be a waiting queue before the visa office at the airport, but generally it doesn’t take too long. You also need a passport that's valid at least 3 months beyond the day of entering Kenya, and one blank page in it. Kenya Telephones and Internet The telephone system is generally good and continually improving. Mobile services are excellent and local SIM cards can be purchased from the airport and at many locations. Internet services can also be found and the staff at The Majlis Hotel Lamu can arrange internet key connections for guests' laptops. The international dial-in code for Kenya is +254. The dial-out code for international calls is 000. Kenya Time Zone Kenya is three hours ahead of GMT and has a single time zone. Kenya Electricity Kenya operates a 220/240V service. Plugs are three point square plugs as used in the United Kingdom. Kenya Currency The currency is the Kenyan Shilling (KES) divided into 100 cents. Notes are denominated in 50, 200, 500 and 1,000 shillings. Coinsare denominated in 5, 10 and 20 shillings. We recommend only changing currency at an official bureau de change, local banks or authorized hotels. The best currency to bring is UK pounds, US dollars or Euros but other currencies will generally be exchanged. There is no restriction on the amount of currency that can be brought into Kenya. However, the limit for taking out Kenyan Shillings is 500,000 unless written authorization is obtained. Kenya Banking - Banks are open Monday to Friday from 9am – 3pm and from 9am – 11am on the first and last Saturday of the month. Banks at the international airports are generally open 24 hours. ATMs are common in the main cities and generally work well. Credit cards are widely accepted. Kenya Business Hours Business hours are generally 9am – 5pm and lunch is from 1 - 2pm from Monday to Friday. Banks are open from 9am – 3pm from Monday to Friday and some banks are open on Saturday morning from 9 - 11am. Banks at Jomo Kenyatta airport are open 24 hours.

The Lamu Archipelago is a small group of islands situated on Kenya's northern coast line. It is made up of Lamu, Manda, Pate and Kiwayu Islands. Lamu Town is the headquarters of Lamu District, one of the six districts of Kenya's Coastal Province, which borders the Indian Ocean to the east, the Tana River District to the south-west and the Garissa District to the north. Lamu Town is the oldest living Swahili town in Kenya, comparable to Zanzibar in Tanzania. The town dates back to the 12th century. Due to its unique location along Arabic, Indian and African trade routes, Lamu flourished as a maritime hub whose main population, the Swahili, engaged in international trade, fishing and farming. The architecture of Lamu is uniquely Swahili, with its narrow streets, storied buildings, intricately carved wooden doors and numerous mosques. Tightly built along narrow streets bordering the seafront, Lamu's architecture and rich Swahili influences make it among the most charming spots in East Africa. The 'Old Town' is recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site for its cultural significance. Lamu Old Town's museums and fort are maintained and managed by the National Museums of Kenya. These include the Lamu Museum, known for its exquisite Swahili ethnography exhibits; the Swahili House Museum, a restored 18th century house, reflecting the life of privileged Lamu Swahilis; the Lamu Fort, built in 1814 by Bwana Zeid Ngumi, the last Sultan of Lamu; and the German Post Office Museum, showing the post office when it was operational in the late 19-20th century. The surreal landing at the airstrip on Manda Island and brief journey across the channel in a dhow set the stage for an area which lives on the warm waters. Donkeys, the town's sole means of transport, are sure to fascinate children and adults alike.

2010 RATES Valid from 1st December 2009 to 30th November 2010 All rates are in Euros and are per double room per night including VAT, Catering Levy & Service Charges ROOM TYPE RATES INCLUDED EXCLUDED Superior Room € 480 - Full board accommodation - Children under 2 years stay free of charge - Manda Airport airstrip transfers - Kayaking, laser & windsurfing - Bottled water - Soft drinks and alcoholic beverages - Laundry service - Activities & excursions not specified under 'Included' - Shuttle service to Shela - Internet service - Baby sitting service - Gratuities - Medical, travel & cancellation insurance- Festive season supplement of €65 per person per day (24-26 Dec & 31 Dec - 1 Jan 2010) - Deluxe Room € 580 - Junior Suite € 680 - Family Room * € 1,044 - Royal Suite € 1,400 - Extra Bed € 140

EASTER SPECIAL OFFER Stay 6, pay 4 for stays between 28th March until 7th April 2010 Welcome@TheMajlis Hotel LamuResorts.com SUMMER SPECIAL OFFER Stay 5, pay 3 for stays between 8th April until 30th June 2010 Welcome@TheMajlis Hotel LamuResorts.com HONEYMOON OFFER Pay 5, stay 7 and honeymoon couples will also receive a complimentary private sunset dhow cruise, a romantic voyage around the bay watching the sun drop into the ocean with a cocktail in hand. Valid for bookings made before 30th April 2010 and for stays up to 15th December 2010 (excluding 23rd December 2009 – 2nd January 2010). Welcome@TheMajlis Hotel LamuResorts.com

Lamu can be reached by air from Kenya’s main airports, namely: Nairobi, Mombasa and Malindi. All flights land on Manda Island, just across the channel from Lamu. The Majlis Hotel Lamu can also organize a tailor-made pick-up from Kenya’s main airports for those guests wishing to save time or avoid having to fly to Lamu with local commercial airplanes. Daily flight trips can also be pre-booked to exclusive destinations in Kenya along the coast or in game parks. Scenic flights are highly recommended as small planes can fly over beautiful stretches of undisturbed beaches, thick mangrove forests, remote islands, or the bush where wildlife can be spotted.