Some minor issues but staff very accommodating and helpful to offer alternatives

Great location and superb hospitality

Stayed in July 2025

No bodysoap or similar in toilet :(

Staff was so friendly, nice breakfast, overall nice atmosphere. Convenient location in Shela. AC worked, although dripped some water. Problem was fixed fast tho :)

Stayed in May 2025

Nothing

The traditional atmosphere and that it was a family run place made it very special. The management and staff were very friendly and helpful. Food was delicious. We loved being in the top room with a private balcony and beautiful views over the sea. We loved staying in the old part of town, exploring the area and seeing all the donkeys. Management organised a friendly and efficient water taxi that we used to and from the airport and for daily trips.

Stayed in April 2025

WiFi was a bit iffy but they did their best to fix as quickly as possible. They then upgraded us to the top room. So all good really!

Great views over sea, large balcony with top room.

Stayed in August 2024

The towels did not seem fresh and clean. We couldn’t get the aircon to work. Low quality soaps. More attention to detail would be a plus.

Best hotel room sea view in all Lamu! Breathtaking. The location is amazing. Comfortable bed and nice staff.

Stayed in October 2024

Nothing but room facilities like water should be placed

I loved shela Bahiri it has stunning view from the hotel And the manager was a very helpful guy walking distance from peponi

Stayed in September 2024

Fantastic location in traditional Swahili house right on the seafront next to the beach. Balcony overlooking the boats.

Stayed in May 2024

Great position to explore Shella and get a boat to Lamu! All the staff was extremely kind, and it was very easy to get everything organised.

Stayed in January 2024

No hot water first day and very weak water pressure. Hot later fixed and pressure a little better. No room safe. No hair drier. Air con only turned on in the evening.

Fantastic location. Great balcony. Very friendly and helpful staff

Stayed in December 2023

Power cut, not fault of hotel, in area for about 13 hrs made one night incredibly hot. A rechargeable fan on hand in case would go a long way.

The staff, especially Barack, are amazing. Incredibly professional and helpful in organizing activities such as sunset boat cruise or tour of old town. The view from room and location were superb. The vibe is nice and relaxing, and breakfast was also made to order and quite good.

Stayed in November 2023

I don't think this is good value for money compared to other parts of Kenyan coast. Its a beautiful building but quite costly for the product. Not sure there's a lot of options though. Food was okay but got tired quickly. Wifi not very good at all.

View from balcony was very good but be aware that this is also the point for local boat transport to stop and moor. That makes it a convenient location but also noisy. Staff were helpful but got a little upset if/when you went to eat somewhere else. They can organise sunset sail and other activities for you at reasonable prices. They can also arrange alcohol for you since Lamu is predominantly muslim/dry community. Bathroom/shower was very good. Private balcony was good, as was communal balcony. If there were other people staying in the rooms off the communal area then it would be different. Location was good in that it was very easy to go around the corner to where the long open beach started, for a walk or swim. Very close to another fancy hotel (forget the name) which is very popular, where you can eat and drink.

Stayed in September 2023

Very cozy in traditional style. Great location right on the water. Helpful and friendly stuff.

Stayed in March 2023

No hot water in our room for 3 days. No AC except at night. No bedside tables or bedside lights. Switch the main light off at the door and then try and find the bed in the dark. Bathroom tired, no water pressure, no hot water. Leaking toilet hose. The property is overpriced and long overdue a renovation and refresh. We will not stay at this property again.

The location is good. But being next to Shela's main jetty it can be noisy both day and night.

Stayed in June 2025

Taufik the owner/ manager went above and beyond for us during our stay. A very great gentleman....

Stayed in June 2025

We found Shela Bahari, even though it has a great location, very overpriced. The mattresses are a bit old, there were several holes in the mosquito net, the bathrooms are oldish and there were constantly problems the showers….low pressure, later no water at all. The view of the ocean is nice, but as other reviews are saying, it is really loud outside from 6 or 7 am on. The staff and the manager are really nice and they try to immediately help you with the problems (for example the shower). And I didn’t have a general problem with the place, IF the price would have been 50 euros the night. But if you sell a room for 130 euros or even 200 euros the night, then in my opinion it should really be quite fabulous. And we are residents here in kenya and know, what you can expect for that price.

Stayed in May 2025

1.The entrance was at the back (on public access road) of the building, making security a hazard as anyone could enter. (2)the room was bare minimum with termite (ants) mold in bathroom. (3)No staff or setting at breakfast which was to be from 7A…a staff for the coffee bar came at 8 and my breakfast was only a cup of hot chocolate. (4)tried communicating with Tawfiq but in vain as I had informed him my disappointment and intention of leaving after the first nite… he got back to me the next evening after I had checked out of the hotel! I requested A Refund of two nites which was refused OR even a one nite refund as he stated :DUE TO POLICY of BOOKING.COM. This is absolutely not acceptable as customers trust Booking.com choice of hotels in good faith. Sadly NOT so as one cannot gamble with one hard earned money and throw it away because of bad services!!

The location was good

Stayed in May 2025

There was nothing that I didn’t like. It was an incredible place and highly recommend it. If you are looking for an amazing place with amazing local people then this is the place.

It was well located and the fact that it was owned by locals made it extra special

Stayed in November 2024

Stuff is very friendly and helpful. Food was delicious and a good variety Beach is nearby Easy to access city

Stayed in September 2024

The only thing I did not like was that the air conditioner would be turned off during the day and turned back on at night. I am a solo traveler and remote worker so not having air conditioner when the sun is very hot and strong made it difficult to get work done. Other than that everything was great!

I enjoyed the breakfast a lot, the location was great, there are many boats docked right next to the hotel waiting to take you to any other part of Lamu and the staff was always available to help organize other outings.

Stayed in June 2024

The facilities in the room itself are quite limited and the shower has poor water pressure. The room was directly facing the jetty and although this gave good sea views, it could get a little noisy and busy at times. This was also the case in the restaurant where sometimes it could be too noisy

The breakfast was good offering fresh fruit, fresh fruit juice and choice of eggs or pancakes.

Stayed in February 2024

For a genuine and memorable Swahili experience in an iconic location, you must stay here. Barack and Tawfiq were the most generous of hosts, always available to assist with travel plans and share local knowledge.

Stayed in February 2024

The bathroom was old and not very clean. No water and poor wifi connection in the room.

Perfect location. Nice building. N

Stayed in January 2024

The staff were helpful and very friendly. The food was fresh, delicious and finger licking good. Looking forward to visiting again and again.

The location is perfect with an awesome oceanic view from both the hotel room and restaurant. Our selfless host Tawfiq received us warmly and paid attention to finer details during our stay to ensure we had a memorable holiday.

Stayed in December 2023

Very old and run down rooms. Guest kept leaving their clothes to dry in the common space making it unusable. Only 1 plug per room. The bathroom smells of sewer.

Breakfast was basic and fine. Owner is caring and friendly

Stayed in October 2023