Leopard Beach Hotel, Ukunda

...spent 8 days at the Leopard Beach Hotel. We had gone there to get married, and we spend our stay (before moving onto safari) in the Honeymoon Suite. The hotel is located on Diani Beach, pristine sandy beach and gorgeous sunshine.

The thing that hits you first when you arrive at the hotel is the easy, attentive and friendly service. You are greeted at reception by a tall gentleman in a white robe and leopard print sash, he tells you ...
.../ Drink

Leopard beach has one main dining room for those guests who are booked in as half board (breakfast and dinner). Breakfast is buffet dining, but there are waiters on hand to provide and top up cups of tea and coffee when needed - and for the most part they are very attentive.
Breakfast was perhaps my favourite meal at this restaurant. Largely because of the huge range of fresh cool fruit on offer, and also because they ... more

IIn November 2006 myself and my now husband spent 8 days at the Leopard Beach Hotel. We had gone there to get married, and we spend our stay (before moving onto safari) in the Honeymoon Suite. The hotel is located on Diani Beach, pristine sandy beach and gorgeous sunshine.

The thing that hits you first when you arrive at the hotel is the easy, attentive and friendly service. You are greeted at reception by a tall gentleman in a white robe and leopard print sash, he tells you not to worry about your baggage, he gives you a wet cool towel to refresh yourself with, offers you a seat (when I say seat, its a lovely pillow fest comfy thing!) and gives you a non alcoholic fruit cocktail - with chunks of fruit in it!

The front of the building is beautiful, carved wooden animals large and small are dotted around, there is a pond either side with fish and beautifully kept plants and flowers around it.

You are moved swiftly to reception where check-in is easy, a couple of minutes to receive the information you need regarding dinner/breakfast, facilities before being taken to your room. We were lucky enough to be in the Honeymoon suite, which opens up at the back overlooking the ocean, up on a rock. It is beautiful.

I will go into specifics regarding facilities/food/location etc below:-

1. Accommodation

Situated in the honeymoon suite - the room was exceptional. Clean, white sheets and towels, bathroom accessories provided such as soap, shampoo and shower gel. The room had a TV/DVD but no DVD's and we had trouble working the player! There was a mini bar fully stocked (fridge) and tea/coffee making facilities, plus x2 free small bottles of water provided daily, a must for brushing teeth and keeping fluid levels up in the very humid heat. The only complaint my husband could make about the bathroom was no flannel! Men! Our cottage opened up onto a garden area overlooking the beach (leopard beach hotel is situated up on the rock overlooking a bay).

It is prudent to note that you must not leave your room door open unattended. There are monkeys wandering around the trees and are always on the look out for food. They are minimally disturbing to guests, as long as you do not feed them. The hotel also has a few cats wandering around the place (efficient pest control - we saw no pests at all!). The cats are friendly but do like to come in and say hello - do not encourage it.

The rooms are cleaned daily, beds are made and towels refreshed if needed. Our house keeper was very sweet and we often came in to find flowers on our bed. Very sweet touch.

There is also a safe in the wardrobe, that can be used for valuables, camera's, jewellery etc, but reception also have safe deposit boxes for use. Both are helpful and should be taken advantage of.

2. Food / Drink

Leopard beach has one main dining room for those guests who are booked in as half board (breakfast and dinner). Breakfast is buffet dining, but there are waiters on hand to provide and top up cups of tea and coffee when needed - and for the most part they are very attentive.
Breakfast was perhaps my favourite meal at this restaurant. Largely because of the huge range of fresh cool fruit on offer, and also because they have one mean call order cook whose omelette's are second to none! Pancakes are also on offer, full fry up menu and cereal for those trying to stay healthy! Buffet dining does get a little wearisome at times, but you are there for the least amount of time in the morning. It is a nice relaxed place to plan your day and to fill up for the day.

Dinner for those guests again on half board, is taken in the same dining room as above. However there are 2 other restaurants that offer evening meals, one being the famous Chui Grill (exceptional food, we had our honeymoon dinner in there). The evening meal is comprised usually of 4-5/6 courses! There is always pasta on the start menu, salad which you can go and get by buffet and main courses usually comprised of meat, but also always a vegetarian option. Dinner is not always in a fixed location, we did have dinner on the beach, and at the barbecue site, which is a nice change from the hall. Though the main hall does have tables outside if you wish to be al fresco! The food itself is usually hot, but the variety is limited. Half the time it is buffet, half the time you are served by your waiter.

The worst thing is the drinks, for which you have to pay for, and waiting for your waiter to come back to you at the end of the meal so you can sign the slip of paper to sign to charge them to your room, is often annoying and can take some time, especially if more than one waiter served you! The drinks (we only ordered soft ones) can also be expensive, and it is easy to forget what you are adding to your bill when all you have to do at the time is sign a bit of paper, keep the receipts and keep an eye on it!

Communial dining can also become a little wearisome but the hotel does offer 24 hour room service.

During the day, there is a pool bar, offering drinks and snacks, such as burgers, toasted sandwiches, chips etc. Good food, freshly cooked and served to you either in the bar or around the pool if you are afraid of missing a few rays of sunshine! Everything is charged to your room number, so carrying cash is not necessary, which is nice. There is also a pasta restaurant, but the food isn't the best and it can take some time to be served. Pizza's are not bad and the location is right on the beach so there is a nice bit of shade and cool air to be had.

3 Facilities

The leopard beach hotel facilities are very good and include:-

24 hour room service
24 hour reception service
Pressing / Ironing and laundry service
Diving and Adventure Centre
Pool with attendants who provide loungers/cushions and towels
Games area, darts/pool afternoon tea, tabletennis and music
Gift shop - with some lovely little souvenirs to bring home, price is not as expensive as you may think.
Internet Café - for those who cannot leave their email alone
Post box for sending post cards
Currency Exchange Service (rates not brilliant) - worth walking 10 minutes down the road to Barclays Bank!
Safe deposit boxes behind reception
Extensive gardens, with water features, and 4 poster covered beds so you can sit and enjoy them.
Spa - This is a new-ish addition to Leopard Beach, and fabulous - see review below

4. Staff

The staff at Leopard Beach are exceptionally nice, from the gardeners who are always working on the beautiful grounds, they always say hello (Jambo in Swahili) to the catering manager who wanders around at dinner to see if everything is ok. They are always helpful and nothing is usually a problem (Hakuna Matata - Swahili for no worries!).

The staff are present, but not usually intrusive, they keep a respectable distance, but usually are attentive when you indicate you need something, such as drinks at the pool, or towels etc.

The hotel has a Holiday Rep area, and they can give you the times and relay messages to your rep if necessary.

5. Spa

Newly built at the hotel is their SPA facility. Myself and my husband spent a morning there before our wedding being pampered. Each treatment room is fully air conditioned, the staff are kind and offer a range of treatments from sauna's, massages, facials, manicures, pedicures, hair, make up, steam room. It is expensive, but this is an exclusive resort and well worth giving yourself a treat.

For a morning pamper for both of us it was about £90 each, we had a foot massage, bathed in oils and moisturiser, fruit cocktails and a consultation with the 2 therapists looking after us. We then had an all over exfoliating treatment to help our skin, (in a double suite, air conditioned so we could be together), followed by a double shower to wash it off and then 20 minutes in a double Jacuzzi bath with coconut milk and petals, much fun!!! We then had a African wood massage which nearly put me to sleep - I was so relaxed by the end of it - great since I was going to be married 3 hours later!

I was also lucky enough to have booked their hair dresser who came to do my hair before the wedding, she was exceptional and it cost about £30 and she did a fabulous job, with flowers and I was stunned when she had finished.

6. Drawbacks

If there are any drawbacks it is perhaps the fact that the journey from Mombasa airport to Diani Beach takes about an hour and a half, over sometimes hectic and dusty roads. But it is little price to pay for what greets you at Leopard Beach. Everything you need is within arms length. The beach is safe, there are patrols though for the safety of the tourists along it, there are multiple 5 star resorts lined up next to each other. There are excursion touts and locals selling things along the beach and they will follow you right up until you are in the water, however, for the most part they are harmless and will leave you be if you are on hotel property.

If you venture out onto the main road, outside of the hotel, and walk the 10 minute walk down to the little shopping centre, and Barclays Bank (good exchange rate!!!) you will be persistently talked to by more locals offering excursions, safari's and carved wooden items.

This hotel is very much a cocoon and does not always prepare you for what you encounter when you walk out.

7. Excursions

Diani beach is well situated and your rep can give you extensive information on excursions, which include a day Dolphin Watching (well worth it), trips out at night to the Jesus Fort on a boat with good food, music and alcohol! There are also visits to the Colobus Monkey Trust (well worth it also) and safari's and trips to the game parks of different duration. They do cost money, but it does get you out of the hotel and is nice to see some of the local wildlife and projects

7. Price

For a 5 star resort Leopard Beach definitely gives value for money, but beware of the cost of drinks and extras around the hotel. We travelled with Kuoni - and considering we went half board (dinner and breakfast included) and had a safari added on, we did 8 nights honeymoon suite and safari (1st class) for less than £3500 for the both of us.

Kenya is beautiful, a good alternative to the commercialisation of South Africa and you will not be disappointed
 

...less