We had 2 weeks in the Jadini Beach Hotel, Mombassa in January. We had a lovely room- after changing! - and used to walk along the beach to its sister hotel - this gave a change of scene and pool. Were advised not to wear any jewellry on the beach, and at night, in order to eat in an adjacent restaurant, had to use a shuttle bus to get there!. It is sad that tourism attracts this problem, but perhaps inevitable in impoverished countries like Kenya or the Gambia. Soon after our visit, kenya suffered a catastrophic loss of tourist, the reasons for which I am not clear, and in the end they kill the goose that lays the golden egg. Between 1996 and 2001 the average stay per international tourist fell from 13 days to 9 days. After this terrorist attacks, averaging 60 a year in Kenya, put tourists off particularly coastal resorts. And political unrest within the country has led to difficult headlines around the world.
Hired a car one day and drove south to Malindi.
Jadini Beach Hotel is on the South Coast of Kenya, 35 km south of Mombassa, and overlooks the barrier reef of Diani Beach. Jadini Beach Resort a 3 star beach resort . This comfortable beach resort was the original hotel in the group. The hotel is set amidst landscaped tropical gardens and trees. It was extended in 1976 and renovated in 1991. The accommodation is arranged over low-rise, 3 story buildings and bungalows.
We had a bit of a todo one night with an electricity cut effecting the whole hotel. The manager was not on duty and the staff were to frightened of him to release the emergency candles. Eventually I persuaded them to hand out the candles, and I gave my views on the problem to the manager when he resurfaced the next day
It later hit troubled times in 2013 it was sold to repay bank debts, and appears never to have reopened. This part of Kenya suffered a big drop in tourism, and lots of hotels closed and have/will never reopen. Of Jadini, which has become a ruin, the only thing that really remains are the postcards
Four-star Jadini Beach Hotel, once a gem in the coast tourism circuit associated with politician Kenneth Matiba’s business empire, has been shut and left to rot away — a standing edifice of the tough times facing Kenya’s sun, sea and sand tourism. The manicured grounds of the hotel, auctioned in 2013 to Simba Lodges by Barclays Bank of Kenya to recover bad debts owed by Alliance Group of Hotels owned by the former Cabinet minister, are being taken over by a jungle, of creeping vines and bushes. “There are no plans to do anything,” said Vipul Patel, a director of Simba. “Tourism at the coast is in bad shape. Many hotels are closed and several have been put up for sale.” Mr Patel said that Simba could renovate the property should tourism numbers at the coast rise significantly in the coming years. It is this wait-and-see stance that has seen the hotel continue to decay, ultimately raising the cost of any future renovation. At the moment, the unoccupied property’s walls are peeling off and its swimming pool unmaintained, painting a general picture of neglect amidst the beautiful scenery at the Diani south coast beachfront.
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Closed still