I think that a 4 star rating is a bit of a push for this Hotel, standard rooms suffice but lack Privacy as they overlook an open Garden interlaced with walkways so sitting on the Balcony is not private.

I don't know what it is but so many Hotels seem to go out of their way to find the hardest Mattress possible so quality of sleep was not great.

Forget about going for romantic walks on the beach, You will not be able to avoid the "Beach Boys" that just pester you from beginning to end and expect money for walking next to you. The Beach boy issue is even worse here than it is in Zanzibar. Fo the week we were there we did one Hotel beach walk which even had 8 "Beach Biys" trailing along trying to sell anything they could. I am surprised I did not have to pay for the air I was breathing. The other thing about the beach is it is just covered all the time with Sea Grass due to High tide. Maybe the Hotel should pay the "Beach Boys" to clean up the beach each day in front of the Hotel and leave the guests alone!

The water in the showers is salt water so that is not great either. We went specifically do go diving at the Marine reserve. We had planned to do about 6-8 dives but ended up not doing more than two, the reef is boring, on one dive we saw one blue spotted Ray and a few small fish. Comparing dive sites Sodwana Bay in South Africa has dive sites 100 times better than this area. Perhaps Mombasa is a better reef but we wanted to get away from the commercialism.

Okay lets not kid around, Kenya is poor...extremely poor. You will not want to travel around outside of the Hotel as there is nothing but a slump. Although making the trip to the restraunt "Old man and the sea" is a definite.

The only saving grace at the Hotel was the exceptional staff and the service they provide. But let's face reality, it makes for a very expensive 7 days sitting around a swimming pool wishing you had rather spent the extra couple of Thousand and gone to the Maldives or to Thailand if you are prepared for the travel.

Lovely hotel, GREAT staff, special thanks to Mangi and Griffin our sweet friends, GREAT food although there is little choice.
We booked a junior suite for 2 weeks and payed about 4500€, airco not working and no light in the bathroom and it took us 5 days to get it fixed, room was crowded with minibugs too...
If You like to swim in the ocean and lay on the beach then DON'T book Malindi because the beachboys will drive you absolutely CRAZY. The entertainment is also WAY TOO PUSHY, waking you up for an activity?
Just book a Safari in Kenya, Tsavo East is breathtaking, but do it in combination with a private beach in Zanzibar if you don't like to get mad on holiday...
If You think you will be able to handle them, think again cause they just keep on following you wherever you walk and when you tell them you have come just to be together and enjoy the ocean they get REALLY rude...
So we payed 50€ a few days for a taxi to take us to a quite beach and also have lunch and drinks over there while we had an all in! Chesale and Papa Remo are beautiful and much more peaceful, so if you have already booked, just go there!
Kenya safari we will be back, Kenya beachboys damn you!

Our stay was pleasant , the rooms are African style no TV , there is a very nice reception/lounge area where you can relax & watch TV there is also free WI-FI ,but the time we were there we were unable to log on. I traveled with 2 young kids and they loved the entertainment provided by the franco rosso team . The beach is not one of the best as the sea has many weeds , but there is a lovely BIG pool overlooking the beach .
I would go back again..

The hotel is well maintained,built in typical African rooftop style. The staff is generally friendly, especially the waiters and cleaning teams. The rooms are tidy, airy, no television. We stayed in one of the garden suites and our package had complimentary laundry service (great when travelling with teenagers) and a filled mini bar. Key for the safe and towels come with a deposit which is returned (or the credit card slip is torn) upon checking out. The private beach is shielded from the beach boys and is continuously cleaned and guarded. Nice but no so big swimming pool. When we were there (end July) the hotel was hardly filled (maybe 25%), which was for us great. Their high season is August so be prepared for some mass tourism...or avoid it all together. There was already the noisy disturbance of the bar and lobby since the garden rooms don't have any real windows. Around the lobby you can connect to the hotel's wifi (I just asked the reception the wepkey). The food is good although somewhat monotone Italian (80% of the visitors are Italian). We also had the feeling that some of the hotel staff (especially the animators) were more interested in selling their own little business than taking care of the well being of their guests. There is a small fitness in the adjoining spa (African Dream). You can go for a jog on the beach. After a while the beach boys know you and they leave you alone.