Serena Beach Hotel

(Mombasa and South Coast - Kenya)

General Description
Styled to resemble a 13th century Swahili town complete with winding lanes, carved balconies, fountained courts and bustling market squares, the Serena Beach Hotel provides an oasis of tranquillity whilst delivering a unique mix of  water sports, world-class cuisine and vibrant nightlife.

Set back from the sands and waters of the Mombasa National Marine Park, the hotel décor blends the time-honoured intricacy of Swahili carving with the glow of Arabian lanterns, the white-gleaming splendour of a Sultan’s palace and the lotus-cool of a Persian water garden. The extensive coconut-palm cooled grounds offer an exotic mix of tropical trees and bright blossoms, and centre on an idyllic sky-blue swimming pool with a thatched ‘swim-up’ bar and crystal waters that cascade into the tiled coolness of the market square below.

Accommodation
The hotel offers 166 air-conditioned room and suites. The rooms are beautifully presented, boasting carved balconies, winding staircases, coral pillars and wide verandahs. There are a number of village rooms and garden rooms, as well as 8 suites. The rooms all come equipped with satellite TV, hair dryers, mini bars, rooms safes and direct dial telephones.

Dining
There are a number of restaurants and bars serving carefully prepared cuisine.

Facilities
- Swimming pool
- Restaurant and bar
- Lounge
- Gym
- Tennis and squash courts
- Salon

Activities
- Visits to the nearby Ngomongo Cultural village, the Bamburi Nature Trail, or the Crocodile Farm
- Day excursions to the Shimba Hills National Park, Mombasa Old Town and Fort Jesus, the Arabuko Sokoke forest, the Kipepeo Butterfly Farm or the haunted ruins of ancient Gedi town
- Glass-bottom boat trips to the nearby coral reef
- Scuba diving
- Talks by resident naturalist on butterflies, coral, turtles, dolphins and much more
- Windsurfing
- Deep-sea fishing
- Catamaran sailing
- Introductory scuba diving lessons
- Snorkelling
- Volleyball, table tennis, darts and pool

Child Policy
Children are welcome.

Environmental Policy
The hotel cooperates with the Kenya Sea Turtle Conservation Committee on a rescue and conservation project that aims to protect the nesting and feeding sites of seven species of migratory turtles. The programme aims to protect the turtles from poisoning by toxins or plastics, reduce the incidence of their capture by trawlers and fishing nets, curb the exploitation of turtle meat, shells oil and eggs, and to protect the hatching cycle of the baby turtles.

The hotel has also recently set up an ambitious Butterfly Project, which aims to provide breeding areas for over 12 species of endangered forest butterflies. Once sufficient numbers of each species have been reared, selected groups are released into the hotel grounds where they fulfil a much-needed ecological function, pollinating the flowering plants of the ecosystem and acting as an accurate indicator species as to the health of the coastal biosphere.