This is a just amazing. Sonja has created a magical place with each suite individually designed with its own relaxtion areas, both internal and exteranl. This is supplemented by many other shaded areas where you can loose yourself in your book and thoughts betweeen some of the best food we came across in Africa ( thank you Charlotte). Sonja makes sure that there are only a few guests catered for at a time. Our family were the only guests when we went and so it was like having a huge seaside villa with its own staff and activities! Sonja got the balance perfectly between being an engaging and attentive host and allowing us to spend our time on our own as a family. Perfect balance is the theme of the place. Luxury and simplicity are interwoven effortlessly. The cove is beautiful. There are plenty of activities but as noted this is currently the best place we have been to decompress. Relative to all the other places we stayed in Kenya this is great value. Note drinks are not included but are great value ( Charles the great barman makes a range of super cocktails for less than $5!). Steve is a "legend" and Ben looked after all our acquatic needs brilliantly. If you are looking for a really individual, authentic but well run beach experience...look no further.
ManFriday's is an amazing place to get away from it all. Located away from the crowds, it has beachfront access to lovely white sand that is rarely visited by tourists. The suite-style accomodations are really lovely, open to the tradewinds and wonderfully appointed - ours had a direct view of the ocean and private seating areas where we enjoyed our full breakfast delivered each day. Sonja and Papu provide fun hospitality, starting off with a ceremonial just picked coconut drink, arranging activities for us including snorkeling out to the Coral Gardens reef, a boat trip around Mida Creek, a drum and dancing show by the local tribe (fantastic!) and even a yoga class. No TV (yay), long walks exploring the tidal rock pools, total relaxation. We ate the majority of our meals at ManFriday's and each one was a culinary delight, many cooked over a hibachi and featuring local delicacies. One has to realize that the beach in this part of Kenya is remote, power is solar and can be intermittent but who cares, the geckos and millipedes are friendly, and showers are refreshingly at room temperature. Also, for those security-minded like us, we felt very well cared for and protected. Thank you Sonja and Papu for creating this really special place in paradise.
My sister and I are seasoned travelers who have stayed in multiple locations all over the world and I can honestly say that ManFriday's is up there with the very best. ||When we arrived we were met with wide smiles and friendly service and we were blown away by the idyllic setting and accommodation, which sits harmoniously within its natural surroundings. Sonja was refreshingly honest and open from the get go and her enthusiasm and genuine passion for the place is obvious in every detail, from the hand made soaps to the positioning of the beautiful bougainivillea! ||The setting is truly breathtaking and Sonja has worked tirelessly to create a haven which has all the comforts of home, while still making you feel completely taken care of and treated. For us, the beach-style apartments were perfect. They are simple, comfortable and very much in keeping with the general ethos of the place and the people who run it. You wake up to the sounds of the birds in the gardens and go to sleep to the sound of the ocean - a literal paradise. ||The only thing that could better the setting is the food. Every meal was inspired and inspiring. It was such a treat to have such fresh seafood cooked with such ingenuity and passion. Meal times were entirely catered to our individual needs and the staff were endlessly patient with our ever changing meal times in order to accommodate the needs of my sister's three month old baby. Many of the meals were cooked right in front of us and have been some of my most memorable meals to date. Needless to say we have encouraged Sonja to write a cook book and we would be the first ones in line for it when she does. It was such a gift to find ManFriday's and I am very grateful for the hard-work and dedication of all the staff. We will certainly be back,
Our welcome at Malindi airport didn't go too well - our driver (and manager of the camp) was late, had forgotten to re-fuel on the way and asked us to move aside a bit in order to make some place for the car's spare tyre on the back seat. Took us 1.5 hours to get to the camp (normally 25 mins). Not the most fun way to start your Christmas holiday.||||As a group of 6 Kenyan residents, we are quite used to some discomfort, but it seems that these guys have made an art out of it. Manfriday's Camp has the location and setting for a very special holiday experience, but the place unfortunately lacks any form of pizaz. Apart from being overpriced, one is led to believe from the camp's website that each cabin has its own swimming pool and terrace. Not true. In high season, one swimming pool was out of order, construction was still going on in several rooms, sailing boat and surfboards were not working, furniture was broken and our matress was full of mould, the list kept on growing. ||||Nevertheless, one just had to turn its back to the rooms and enjoy the nice sea views to soon forget all these issues. Lunches and dinners were well-prepared by the hostess Sonia and her lovely staff, which was a big plus. If only this kind of hospitality could have been reflected in the facilities and by the rest of management, our holiday would have been the dream it should have been.
I stayed for four nights at Manfriday’s towards the end of August 2013, and just loved it. The staff were all helpful and courteous, and the rooms are beautiful, each one with its own unique and lovely natural driftwood, shells and flotsam décor . The hotel has a sense of abundance of space with spread out houses and plenty of inviting casual “chill spots” so that you can choose to socialise or withdraw as you please – or join others at the outside bar in the evening and enjoy Manfriday’s deliciously limy sundowner ‘dawas’. We liked swimming and paddle ski-ing in the bay (once we’d waded through the seaweed), lazing in the hammocks and swing beds, and walking up and down the beach at low tide – extensive wave erosion of the coral and rocks has created a surreal landscape. ||It’s not a budget destination - I don't usually spend as much on accommodation, but it was definitely worth it for the perfectly secluded relaxation. Oh, and the food was absolutely delicious! Thank you Sonja and Papu
My boyfriend and I had a wonderful time staying at Manfridays! It’s simply an amazing, unique place. The rooms and grounds are lovely, the service is excellent, the food is delicious, and Papu and Sonya are great hosts. I can’t say enough good things about this place! ||||There are lots of options for things to do around from swimming to walks on a serene beach to visiting nearby Gede to lounging in one of the many wonderful spots at Manfridays! ||||We can’t wait to go back!
Wonderful quiet location well away from any other establishment. No beach boys to harrass you and no locks or doors necessary in this part of Kenya.||The accommodation is lovely and quirky, our apartment had a stone bath full of seawater as well as a shower. Great for cooling off.||Excellent service from the owners and staff with wonderful food served as and when you want it.||||A single and a double canoe are available to use to explore the cove with mangroves and along the coast but unfortunately the sailing catermarans were out of action.||The beach is not sandy at times so it is essential to have shoes for swimming and there are good walks along the coast when the tide is out but be careful in case you get cut off by an incoming tide and have to take an overland route.
Manfriday's is absolutely well situated, close to the beautiful Mida Creek, with great views on the ocean, and the possibility togo for long walks, at low tide. ||||This palce is for you if you look for a hide-away close to nature, laid back, private. if you like to go off the beaten track and want to be far away from the large hotels along the coastline. Like I do!||I loved the rooms, without television, without glass windows, all furtnitured with natural materials.||||Food is great, staff extremely friendly and dedicated. all goes at kenyan rhythm, but that's what I came for; (I can have the fast, stylish stuff at home ...).||||So for me this was just an excelent experience!
This place really has potential and one can see that it has a very well designed set up.||||Unfortunately the management (except for Sonja) is really very poor and totally incapable of running a business like this. We have never been treated so rude during a stay.||||In the peak of high season there were still rooms under construction, we had to move 3 times in 4 days. Even after we agreed to the request to make the full payment 6 months prior to arrival, so the construction could be finished in time. Didn't happen.||Everyone is in the same pool, so if the place is fully booked there is not a lot of privacy.||There were supposed to be several boats for guests to use, but they were broke or in such a bad condition that one wouldn't want to go on. Kayaks were the only things available.||When we asked for a boatride to Watamu, there was not enough petrol.||There was mould under the beds, there was no water pressure at times..and this is just the beginning of a long list of disappointments.||||Luckily we had great company of our friends and Sonja did a great job with her nice food & staff. ||In current state and under this management we would definitely not recommend to stay at Manfridays.
Was there for work a couple of days last November and I was beautifully schocked by the place and the closeness shown by the owners. I will definetly go again on vacation. Great choice in Kenya's coast.
