It’s hard to find the best hotel in Mombasa. Mombasa is the second largest city in Kenya, a vibrant coastal city bordered by tropical coastline and just an hour from the world famous safari destination of Tsavo National Park. Mombasa is an eclectic mix of Portuguese, Moorish and African architecture and culture, a melting pot of influences in a city that was formed as long ago as 900 AD. The result isn’t a carefully planned city of wide avenues, but a confusing quagmire of winding streets, fume belching traffic and crumbling buildings. Navigating Mombasa can be overwhelming and finding a quiet and safe place to stay is imperative.
Read on to for my city guide to the best hotels in Mombasa and find a quality, well vetted hotel for holiday, business or simply passing through.
Read TripAdvisor reviews hotels and book
Best business hotel in Mombasa – Pride Inn Mombasa City
Pride Inn Hotel Mombasa City is a business hotel in Mombasa situated right in the middle of Mombasa island. The Pride Inn Hotel is surrounded by the city’s shopping and business areas, is close to Mombasa must-do’s Fort Jesus and the winding streets if Mombasa Old Town. This Art déco Mombasa business hotel has 30 rooms, a restaurant, a business centre as well as free Wi-Fi and free parking. It is just 15 minutes away from Moi International Airport
Rooms
30 air-conditioned rooms with memory foam mattresses and premium bedding. Rooms come with air conditioning, safes, coffee /tea maker complimentary bottled water, 21-inch LCD TVs with premium cable channels and complimentary Wi-Fi.
Facilities
- Free self-parking
- 24-hour roundtrip airport shuttle (surcharge)
- Airport shuttle on request
- 1 restaurant
- Room service available
- Dry cleaning and laundry service
- Business centre & meeting rooms
- Outdoors BBQ grill, picnic area and terrace
Business facilities in Mombasa
A maximum of 150 delegates for a theatre set-up, 100 for classroom formation, 80 for U-shape, 50 for boardroom and 120 for fishbone setting style. Other facilities include flip charts, LCD Projectors, LCD Screen, controlled air-conditioned room with high-speed WIFI. It is ideal for large group workshops, conferences, group breakfast/luncheons, executive meetings, indoor weddings, gala dinner and any other customized events.
The best airport hotel in Mombasa – Jambo Village Hotel
Jambo Village Hotel is right next to Moi International Airport, making it my choice for the best hotel in Mombasa with proximity to the airport. This airport hotel in Mombasa should suit a low budget, as prices start at 3000 KSH (30 USD) on TripAdvisor. There are no frills at this basic hotel but it is close, clean and suits as a place to lay your head, with no traffic to worry about before catching your flight.
Rooms
The 98 rooms are basic, functional and clean. All rooms come with air conditioning, work desk, a seating area, bath or shower.
Facilities
- Free parking
- Free High Speed Internet (WiFi)
- Hot tub
- Bar / lounge
- Nightclub / DJ
- Airport transportation
- Meeting rooms
Read a review of Moi International Airport
The best cheap hotel in Mombasa – Hotel Radiance
There are plenty of cheap hotels in Mombasa but if you care to spend a night in them is entirely a different question. Hotel Radiance is a good cheap Mombasa hotel option. Prices start from 5000 bob / $50 a night. Perched on the busy Mombasa Road just 10 minutes away from Moi International Airport, Hotel Radiance is a cheap hotel in Mombasa that looks kind of shabby on the outside but is decent inside. Hotel Radiance has a good central Mombasa location with easy access to the CBD and shopping district and the airport and SGR train station. It has an onsite restaurant and bar, free Wi-Fi and free parking.
Rooms
All rooms at the hotel are fitted with a seating area, a flat-screen TV with satellite channels, air conditioning and a private bathroom with free toiletries and a bidet. An ironing and laundry service are available and an additional charge.
Facilities
- Free Wi-Fi is available in all areas
- Free secure private parking
- Airport drop off (Additional charge)
- Airport pick up (Additional charge)
- ATM/cash machine on site
- Luggage storage
- Currency exchange
- Cleaning services
Business facilities
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The conference room can accommodate up to 150 delegates makes it ideal for mixing business with pleasure. Flip cards, Wi-Fi and stationery are complimentary, and an overhead projector is available for rental
Best 5 star Hotel in Mombasa – Serena Beach Resort and Spa
BOOK SERENA BEACH RESORT AND SPA
The Serena Beach Resort and Spa is a huge 164 room hotel with a variety of room sizes and styles. Built-in traditional Swahili style, the carved doors and spacious whitewashed areas of the hotel represent the best of Mombasa architecture. Coupled with swaying palms, the iridescent beach and the azure swimming pools it is very Arabian Nights and yet has all the facilities one might require and expect from a 5-star hotel in Mombasa.
The Serena Beach Resort and Spa earns its 5 star Mombasa status with its beachside location and wide choice. There are several restaurants and bars, one being the famous Jahazi Grill which serves fresh seafood and overlooks the beach
The hotel has a well-equipped spa and health club, with saunas, steam rooms, outdoor Jacuzzis and several treatment rooms. You can indulge in soothing massages and Ayurvedic therapies and attend yoga and body, toning classes.
Shanzu beach is located 30 kilometres north of Mombasa, past Nyali and Bamburi Beach. The beach itself is gorgeous, but the coastline is dominated by large hotels and resorts, of which the Serena Beach Resort and Spa is the best. If you want a well-known, big brand, well-equipped 5-star hotel in Mombasa, then this is the one. If you want secret beaches and solitary walks along the beach, then head further north to Kilifi or Watamu.
Rooms
There are 164 air-conditioned en-suite rooms, all of which have a private balcony or terrace. Rooms feature TV, safe, phone, Wi-Fi, minibar, tea and coffee makers, free mineral water and mosquito nets. There is 24-hour electricity and room service.
Facilities
- Spa with saunas, steam rooms, outdoor Jacuzzis and a bar.
- Fitness centre
- Outdoor swimming pool with a swim-up bar
- PADI dive centre.
- 3 dining option: Choose from the formal Fountain Restaurant, the Jahazi Grill or a pizzeria
- Ice cream parlour.
- Terrace bar
- Coffee shop
- Newstand
- Hair salon
- Gift Shop
- Babysitting.
- Activities: Swimming, water sports, scuba diving, beach volleyball, tennis, squash, table tennis, darts, archery and aqua aerobics
Best luxury hotel in Mombasa – The Sarova Whitesands Beach Resort and Spa
BOOK SAROVA WHITESANDS BEACH RESORT AND SPA
The Sarova Whitesands Resort is pretty special, 22 acres of swimming pools (there are 5) whose cobalt waters sparkle between a garden of tropical flowers and towering palms. At this 5-star hotel in Mombasa, you can lie on sunbeds and watch the waves crash out on the Indian Ocean, wander over bridges that cross pools and palms that shade bars or dive into an array of outdoor activities. This 5 star Mombasa hotel is a holiday makers’ paradise with 5 pools, 4 restaurants and 3 bars and an unlimited array of activities, watersports and spa treatments.
The Sarova Whitesands Resort and Spa is on Bamburi beach. Bamburi beach is located 10 km north of Mombasa and south of Shanzu beach, a strip of golden sand backed by palms and large-scale hotels. The coral reef out to shore offers good snorkelling. The beach is narrow here at high tide and beach boys selling their wares are a near-constant (but that is true of any beach near to Mombasa). Bamburi Beach isn’t the most beautiful beach on Kenya’s coast, but it’s a favourite with Mombasa residents.
Rooms
335 rooms on 3 floors across different buildings. All rooms come with a terrace or balcony, air-conditioning, satellite TV, direct dial telephone, complimentary Wi-Fi, tea/coffee-making facilities, safe and hairdryer.
Facilities
- 4 restaurants; The Pavilions (buffet breakfast and live cooking stations for themed dinners). Minazi Café (24-hour café). Lido Seafood Restaurant (open for lunch and dinner). Cocos Beach Bar (with regular dinner entertainment) and a lounge bar.
- 5 swimming pools (one is an adult-only, quiet pool by the spa). Kids’ pool with slide
- Spa
- Evening entertainment programme and family shows
- Fitness centre.
- Kids’ club (4-13 years) with special kids’ menu, kids’ playground and games room.
- 4 floodlit tennis courts.
- Water sports centre* offering windsurfing, water-skiing and catamaran sailing among other activities. PADI diving centre*.
- Hair and beauty salon
All-Inclusive
The hotel has an all inclusive option available at a supplement and includes buffet breakfast, lunch and themed dinners (some restrictions may apply). Snacks. Selected brands of wine and spirits, cocktails, local beer and soft drinks are available from all bars between 10.00 am-midnight. It also includes the use of snorkel equipment, kayaks, pedal boats and one glass bottom boat ride per stay (marine park fee is payable locally).
Half Board includes: buffet breakfast and themed dinner in the Pavilion Restaurant.
Best Family Hotels in Mombasa – Voyager Beach Resort
BOOK VOYAGER BEACH RESORT MOMBASA
Voyager Beach Resort is one of the most popular family hotels in Mombasa, this is because of its nautical theme which offers the kiddies a piratical paradise of swimming pools equipped with water cannons, water slides, waterfalls, ship-themed entertainment and an excellent kids club.
Voyager Beach Resort is one of the closest resort-style hotels to Mombasa. You can combine your business meeting and holiday leisure time with ease. The Voyager Beach Resort is very popular with families, it has a great kids’ club and it is located right on Nyali beach.
Nyali is Mombasa’s closest beach resort, a picturesque channel of tropical sand filled with shells, shellfish, beach boys and big hotels. Nyali borders Tudor Creek (and Mombasa city) in the south and Bamburi beach in the north, in my opinion, it is more beautiful than Bamburi beach, rocky cliffs tower over white sand and the coral reef out to shore makes for calm waters.
Rooms
236 rooms with garden and sea view options, glass sliding doors and patios. Garden view cabins (2 adults and 1 child). Superior garden view cabins (3 adults and 1 child). Superior sea view cabins (2 adults)
All rooms come with smart key entrance, tea/coffee-making facilities, air conditioning, mosquito nets, hairdryer, television, telephone, safe, mini bar. They offer business rooms with desks and business services and family rooms with interconnecting doors.
Services include laundry, babysitting service and satellite TV
Facilities
- Four bars (one open 24 hours),
- 3 restaurants
- Cybercafé
- Evening entertainment programme and family shows.
- Leisure facilities include a fun pool with whirlpool, waterfall, children’s section and water slide, plus a sports pool and a quiet pool overlooking the beach
- Adventurers’ Club for children
- Games room
- Lawn tennis,
- Table tennis,
- A shopping arcade
- hair salon.
- Water sports include scuba diving, big game fishing, windsurfing, sailing, canoes, aqua cycles, pedal boat and glass-bottom boat rides.
- An 18-hole golf course is available at the nearby Nyali Golf & Country Club.
All-inclusive board basis
The hotel has an all inclusive option available at a supplement, it includes buffet breakfast, lunch and themed dinners (some restrictions may apply). Snacks. Selected brands of wine and spirits, cocktails, local beer and soft drinks are available from all bars between 10.00 am-midnight. It also includes the use of snorkel equipment, kayaks, pedal boats and one glass bottom boat ride per stay (marine park fee is payable locally).
Best Serviced Apartments in Mombasa – Tamarind Village
BOOK TAMARIND VILLAGE SERVICED APARTMENTS MOMBASA
These fabulous serviced apartments in Mombasa host arguably the best restaurant in Mombasa and are perched on the Tudor Creek with views across the water to Mombasa’s old town. Tamarind Village is situated just off the Nyali Bridge . The apartments are a hop and a skip away from Mombasa Island and Nyali beach. If you aren’t bothered about a big resort, then this is where I would stay when visiting Mombasa for business or shopping or just a quick overnight. Tamarind Village offers fully furnished one, two and three-bedroom apartments designed in Swahili style with all the services you expect from a hotel in Mombasa.
Rooms
58 serviced apartments with 1, 2 or 3 bedrooms ranging over 5 floors. Apartments do vary, so be sure to ask for a recently renovated room. All apartments include air conditioning, satellite television, full bathroom, equipped kitchen and private veranda.
The top floors are quieter with the best views.
Facilities
- 2 swimming pools
- Jacuzzi
- squash court
- therapy room
- fitness centre,
- Preferred reservation status at the internationally acclaimed Tamarind Restaurant
Best beach hotels in Mombasa
The beaches in Mombasa are fabulous by most standards, but pale into insignificance compared to the beaches in Diani and Watamu. Both destinations are 2 hours south and north respectively (Diani can be done in 90 minutes, but you have the traffic filled nightmare of the Likoni ferry to cope with.) If you are coming to Mombasa and want a day or two at the beach, then jump in a cab and head north or south to the literal, tropical paradises of either Diani or Watamu.
Below are my favourite in each location
The Best Diani Beach Hotel
Read all about the infinite gloriousness of Diani Beach here. Diani Beach has been awarded the title of top 10 beach in the world several times and is a honeymoon destination of some repute. Accolades aside, Diani beach is the most incredible swathe of dazzling white sand so gunpowder soft that you will sink to your ankles during your strolls along the water. My blog detailing the best hotels in Diani Beach is here.
My No.1 suggestion for the best hotel in Diani Beach is Sands at Nomads. Sands is intimate. It has one of the best locations on Diani Beach. It has an amazing beachfront restaurant, and it’s not prohibitively expensive. Sands at Nomads is not your all singing, all dancing resort… it’s small, personal, rustic and serves killer cocktails on an implausibly good looking beach. The full blog on Sands at Nomads is here.
Further Reading
27 Inspiring Things To Do In Diani Beach
21 Incredible Family Friendly Resorts in Kenya
Ali Barbour Cave Restaurant Diani
6 Unbelievable Resort Style Hotels in Diani Beach
Kenyaways Diani Beach-a kitesurfing & Beach Hotel
The Best Watamu Beach Hotel
Two hours north of the best hotels in Mombasa is Watamu. My Kenyan beach holiday spot of choice. There are fewer large hotels and resorts here. The coastal town hides palatial villas along its palm-fringed beach and Creekside forest, but there are a couple of good boutique hotels for the discerning traveller.
Read my guide on where to stay in Watamu beach here, which details hotels and villas.
My top pick is Kobe Suite Resort which is situated just off the stunning Garoda beach and right in Watamu Marine Park. Garoda is what beaches in Kenya are all about, with sand bars dotted about the bay where you can wade far out into the turquoise waters. Watamu has a coral reef crowded with tropical fish, and a marine park that is home to turtles, whales, shark and dolphin. Take a dhow cruise up the creek for the most heavenly sundowners of your life.
Watamu is quiet, calm, and unspeakably beautiful. Kobe Suite Resort echoes this with a is a series of Swahili styles suites sitting in tropical gardens with views across Watamu bay. There are two swimming pools, an onsite spa, a great Italian restaurant and a cocktail bar. It’s not the best place for kids, rather head to Turtle Bay Beach Resort, but it’s perfect for a dreamy, romantic escape to one of the best beaches in Kenya.
BOOK KOBE SUITE RESORT WATAMU BEACH
Further Reading
A beach holiday in Watamu Kenya
16 Incredible Watamu Hotels and Villas : Places to Stay in Watamu
All you need to know about Turtle Bay Watamu
Watamu Beach Kenya: The Insiders Guide to Paradise
Discover Gecko Resort Watamu – Hotel Review
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- Visitors Coverage
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