Msafini Hotel

We had a wonderful stay at Msafini. The accommodations were comfortable, clean, and excellently priced. The location was ideal, just a few minutes' walk to restaurants and shops in Shela. The staff were incredibly helpful and attentive, and the breakfasts, though simple, were delicious. Thank you for such a lovely stay!

We had a wonderful stay at Msafini. The building is beautiful, the staff were friendly and helpful, and the swimming pool was gorgeous. We had the King suite on the top floor which was fantastic with a huge private balcony/terrace and gorgeous view across Shela to the sea. The beds were comfortable, and while it was hot at night (no AC), the fans helped a bit. Shower was just about ok. Oh and the breakfast was good - delicious smoothies, fresh fruit and various combinations of eggs/toast/pancakes. Actually the omelette was a bit thin and bland, and the toast was dry white bread but the pancakes looked nice and the Swahili breakfast was interesting and pretty delicious (coconut lentils, samosas, swahili doughnuts and various other bits). Overall a very relaxing place, a little rustic but beautiful and great value for money.

Sadly, we did not have a good experience here and moved after one night. It seemed like there was miscommunication and tension among staff. We booked a room with 2 beds, but were shown to a 2nd floor room with only one. When we objected, they took us to a beautiful 3rd floor room and we happily settled in. We went out to a cafe and when we arrived back, we were told we had to move because a mistake had been made and another party was arriving who had reserved the deluxe honeymoon room. We repacked our bags in a hurry and were taken back to the room with only 1 bed. It was hot and uncomfortable and the next morning we realized that a money envelope had gone missing in the move the day before. We and the staff hunted for it, but it was a bad vibe. The manager partially compensated us for the loss, but we noticed that 2 other parties had also left Msafina after just one night. Luckily we were able to book a room at The Banana House, where we had a lovely 3-night stay.

We visited on off season and during Ramadan so it was quiet. The service at the hotel was very friendly and the staff very attentive. We enjoyed our stay there in the kings suite with the large veranda it was a great reprieve from the unforgiving heat. We also enjoyed swimming in the pool in the evenings. The only down side is that they don’t serve alcohol, however they are very accommodating in terms of arranging for you to get access. Our second room was on the 1st floor and smaller than the other one I loved that it had 3 doors so the breeze can flow through the room. The rooms are clean and so are the showers and bathrooms. Great value and excellent attention to guests.