We chose Jannat House on the basis of recommendations at Trip Advisor and were not disappointed at all. We stayed for five nights at US$60 per night in late June 2011 and it was hard to leave.

Elizabeth and Johnny were the most friendly and attentive hosts who made our stay a memorable experience. We neglected to tell them how we were arriving (by bus/ferry) and so their staff crossed twice to Manda Airport to meet flights. They also accompanied us to Manda when we left.

Jannat House is architecturally interesting with open-air lounges, courtyards and roof top balconies with views over Lamu Town to the water. The pool was the central focus and was cleaned every morning that we were there. We ate breakfast and several dinners and were delighted with the meals and the staff. Meal prices compared favourably with other menus we saw in Lamu. Our room was spacious, clean and charmingly presented. All of the staff from the cleaners to the owners took an obvious pride in their establishment.

Johnny was a mine of information and advice about Lamu. We shared a trip by dhow with him and another two guests which made a very affordable full day's entertainment.

We also walked to Shela Beach twice. We enjoyed the contrasts of Lamu and Shela and the sights along the way.

Thank you Elizabeth and Johnny .

We reached the Jannat house in August 2011; their personnel came to pick up us at the airport and they brought us at the hotel, carrying our luggage.

The premise is very nice, there are two buildings joined together, with nice plants, a swimming pool and many floors with different relax areas.

In the beginning they assigned us a room at the first floor but as we previously asked to our travel agency to reserve a room in the upper floors (first floor rooms have a shared bathroom while upper floor rooms have private bathroom) and they confirmed they did it, we had to ask to be moved to a better room even if the manager seemed to be not so happy about that.

As soon as we got our room, they showed us the excursion list paper; prices were incredible high and when we said that we were going to the harbor to find a better deal, we were told that their rates where very low. We discussed for at least one our for a boat excursion to Manda Island (beach in front of Shela and Takwa ruins) and we finally agreed 7000ksh for 2 people for the excursion and the lunch. While going to the harbor we discovered that due to fasting of the boat crew (ramadan period) they where not intended to cook any fish on the boat but we were supposed to have a small meal consisting in some fruit and something bought at the shop; this is not what we agreed before so we decided to eat some fruit on the boat and have a free dinner at the Jannat house. We where also told that the trip to Manda was about 90 minutes, but we finally reach the place in around 40 minutes and then we started to feel cheated, because the boat trip was so short and the price too high.

Then we came back to Jannat house and we took a shower (discovering that beside the high price of the room THERE IS NO HOT WATER and finding a dead big beetle in the bathroom).

We had a very good dinner later and after that they also charged us for the starter and the water!!! So basically in the end we paid 8200ksh for the short excursion and the dinner! As there where very few customers in the hotel maybe they tried to ask us as much money as possible.

In the following days the managers where continuously asking us about having lunch and dinner in Jannat house or having some more excursion, but we always preferred to give money to another people. The following day we went to the harbor and we found the same excursion at less than half price!!! (3000ksh).

The breakfast has always been good but you have to deal with hundreds of flies on your dishes.

The staff are extremely friendly and helpful in this swahili styple hotel in the backstreets of Lamu town. We were met at the airport by the assistant manager who escorted us to the hotel. The room was very pretty and very clean, with a big bed and en-suite facilities. Breakfast was good and included fresh fruit. Other meals could also be taken there.

On the downside, it was the wet season so there were a lot of mosquitoes, so it was a battle with them in teh room. Also, there is only cold water in teh shower, so it was slightly chilly. It's probably fine in teh dry season.

In summary, it is a very nice mid-range hotel, with lovely staff, although I think a little over-proced. Try and drive a hard bargain if you decide to stay there!

Very lovely place, not quite the jewel of Lamu that it clearly once was as the owner belives it still to be. Just a little tired in the details (bathroom taps, rattling fans, lamest breakfast ever) but still incredibly friendly, clean and overall charming. Lamu itself is just fantastic.