Neem House was architecturally designed and built in the traditional Arab/Swahili design. The house is constructed of coral/limestone blocks, surrounded by numerous, large Neem trees and situated on a coral outcrop catching the ocean breeze. All rooms are large and spacious, and feature Arabesque archways and antique carved doors sourced from Lamu and Zanzibar. Ceilings, supported by traditional ‘
Boriti’ poles made from Mangrove wood, are in excess of three meters. The floors are tiled with cool Galana stone, sourced from the Galana river to the north of Malindi. There are four bedrooms, three of which are ensuite. These rooms all have overhead ceiling fans and large walk in mosquito nets. The main bedroom has a large veranda containing three single ‘day’ beds – ideal for families with small children. There are two cots with linen and nets for babies. The fourth bedroom, containing four single beds is a classic ‘Zanzibar style’ room with a traditional makuti roof and waist high perimeter walls perched high in the tree tops. Neem House sleeps a maximum of twelve people – there are three double rooms – the remaining six beds are singles. Two of the double rooms can be converted to twins if required. All of the large exterior windows are enclosed with ornate wrought iron and the interior ‘windows’ are fitted with cane blinds or teak shutters. This creates a very open and cool living space. The traditional flat roof covers an area of over 100sq meters and sits amongst the treetops. The views are breathtaking, particularly at sunset when the dhows are in full sail, heading home after a days' fishing. All of the furniture is teak, designed for comfort on the coast. The 3.6m dining room table comfortably seats twelve. There are teak loungers and large traditional day beds around the pool and on the numerous verandas. A quality sound system and a WIFI modem are also in provided. The classically designed, Lotus shaped, plunge pool is located in a very private courtyard and is 2.5m deep. There is an outdoor shower adjacent to the pool and also a large stainless steel barbecue. There are five full time staff at Neem House -
Charo, an experienced chef, produces classic Swahili dishes and sources only the freshest ingredients from the market. Vivienne and Jackie are responsible for all housekeeping and laundry duties. Sammy, the groundsman, is in charge of the one acre gardens and pool and Tukuyu, the night watchman is on duty from 6pm to 6am. Neem House also has a monitored security system. Neem House is approx 350m from the beach. Access to the beach can be either via the Driftwood Beach Club, a private resort, situated on the waters’ edge or down Coconut Lane. The Driftwood offers daily or weekly membership, which entitles you to use all of the facilities. The Driftwood has a wonderful holiday atmosphere and an excellent restaurant. For groceries and supplies you can either pop into town in a Tuk Tuk (three supermarkets to choose from) or email the supermarket a shopping list (free delivery). The fisherman, Abu, comes to the door daily with his catch of fish, the selection is variable and dependant on the weather. Local fruit and vegetables are excellent quality and good value. Kenyan beer is very good, and wine and spirits are readily available. Water is mains supply although we do filter it for drinking. The kitchen has a six burner gas/electric cooker and an electric oven. There are two fridges with freezers in the kitchen and a smaller drinks fridge on the landing upstairs. Neem House is available for rental on a daily, weekly or monthly basis and there are direct flights into Malindi via Nairobi on Kenya Airways, Air Kenya or Fly 540. Malindi airport is ten minutes from Neem House and our driver will collect you with our compliments. Karin Duthie and Mark Henningsen
www.neemhousekenya.com
[email protected]
+267 71301083
