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3-star hotels in Watamu
A shortlist of 3-star hotels in Watamu, the village on Kenya's north coast in Kilifi County, south of Malindi. It is for travellers who want to be near the Watamu Marine National Park, Mida Creek, the Arabuko Sokoke Forest and the Gede ruins without paying for more stars than they need.
Staying in Watamu
Watamu is a village on the north coast of Kenya, in Kilifi County, south of Malindi. The Watamu Marine National Park protects the reef and the lagoon, Mida Creek is a tidal inlet, and the Arabuko Sokoke Forest sits next to the village. The Gede ruins, a medieval Swahili town, are nearby. People come to stay close to the marine park and the forest, and the village holds 114 places to stay.
The hotels on this shortlist sit on the village's own roads and lanes. Peponi Road carries Boutique Hotel Nyumbani Tembo, Zawadi Residence and Pashmina House in Peponi Village. Jacaranda Road has Crystal Bay Resort, Jacaranda Beach Resort, Queen K Cottages At Chrystal Homes and Nyumba Tulivu. Ocean Sports Resort stands on Mida Creek Road, Watamu Beach Cottages B&B on Turtle Bay Road, and smaller houses on Kanani Road, Kifaru Road and Watamu Beach Road. It suits couples and short-break visitors who want the reef and the forest within easy reach, and families looking for cottages and houses rather than a large resort.
The shortlist
Ranked by hotel class, then guest rating and number of reviews.
Boutique Hotel Nyumbani Tembo
Peponi Road
Why stay hereBoutique Hotel Nyumbani Tembo sits on Peponi Road and stands out among Watamu's 3-star options for its 4.8 guest rating from 97 reviews. Travellers who value a small-scale boutique address close to the Peponi side of the village are the natural fit here, and the strength of that rating across nearly a hundred stays suggests consistent, well-regarded hosting.
See Boutique Hotel Nyumbani TemboCrystal Bay Resort
Jacaranda Road
Why stay hereCrystal Bay Resort on Jacaranda Road has drawn 399 reviews and holds a 4.5 guest rating, one of the more established 3-star addresses in Watamu. With that many guests weighing in, it suits travellers who prefer a resort whose reputation has been tested again and again. Jacaranda Road also places it on the same stretch as several other large properties.
See Crystal Bay ResortOcean Sports Resort
1 Mida Creek Road
Why stay hereOcean Sports Resort occupies 1 Mida Creek Road, and its 867 reviews make it the most reviewed 3-star hotel in this Watamu shortlist, with a 4.4 guest rating. The Mida Creek setting suits guests who want the creek side of Watamu rather than the beachfront strip, and the sheer volume of feedback gives first-time visitors plenty to go on.
See Ocean Sports ResortJumbo Club Watamu
Kanani Road, Mombasa
Why stay hereJumbo Club Watamu on Kanani Road carries a 4.4 guest rating from 463 reviews. The Kanani Road position puts it slightly inland from the Watamu shoreline, which suits travellers who want a club-style 3-star base and don't mind being away from the beach road. Nearly five hundred reviews back up its standing.
See Jumbo Club WatamuJacaranda Beach Resort
Jacaranda Road
Why stay hereJacaranda Beach Resort on Jacaranda Road pairs a 4.3 guest rating with 420 reviews, a solid record for a 3-star property. It suits guests who want to stay on the Jacaranda Road corridor, where several of Watamu's resorts are clustered, and who prefer a beach resort with a long track record over a smaller guesthouse.
See Jacaranda Beach ResortAnjumasa Village
Kanani Road
Why stay hereAnjumasa Village on Kanani Road holds a perfect 5.0 guest rating, though from only 9 reviews. That tiny sample size means the score reflects a handful of very happy guests rather than a settled reputation. It best suits travellers willing to take a chance on a quiet Kanani Road address and judge it for themselves.
See Anjumasa VillageBlue Bay Village
Watamu
Why stay hereBlue Bay Village is a 3-star property in Watamu with a 4.0 guest rating drawn from 9 reviews. The modest number of reviews means little is settled about it either way, so it suits guests who are comfortable booking a village address with a short feedback history and forming their own view.
See Blue Bay VillageZawadi Residence
Peponi Road Watamu Kilifi County
Why stay hereZawadi Residence sits on Peponi Road in Watamu, Kilifi County, and is listed as a 3-star property. No guest rating or review count is recorded for it here, so there is no feedback to weigh. It suits travellers who already know the Peponi Road area and want a residence-style 3-star base without relying on ratings.
See Zawadi ResidenceMvuvi Lodge Watamu
Ocean Sport Road, Meru
Why stay hereMvuvi Lodge Watamu is a 3-star lodge on Ocean Sport Road in Meru. No guest rating or review total is recorded in the data, so the choice rests on its position near Ocean Sport Road rather than on guest feedback. It suits visitors who want a lodge rather than a full resort.
See Mvuvi Lodge WatamuQueen K Cottages At Chrystal Homes
Jacaranda Road, Mombasa
Why stay hereQueen K Cottages At Chrystal Homes is a 3-star property on Jacaranda Road in Mombasa. There is no guest rating or review count recorded for it, so nothing here reflects past guests' impressions. It suits travellers looking for cottage-style 3-star accommodation on the Jacaranda Road side.
See Queen K Cottages At Chrystal HomesWatamu Beach Cottages B&B
38 Turtle Bay Road
Why stay hereWatamu Beach Cottages B&B is a 3-star address at 38 Turtle Bay Road, which places it on the Turtle Bay side of Watamu. No guest rating or review count is recorded for it in the data. It suits guests who want a bed-and-breakfast cottage format rather than a large resort.
See Watamu Beach Cottages B&BLatannas House
Watamu Beach Road
Why stay hereLatannas House is a 3-star property on Watamu Beach Road, the road that runs along the village's beach frontage. No guest rating or review count is recorded for it, so no guest feedback can be cited. It suits travellers who want to be on the beach road itself and prefer a house over a resort.
See Latannas HouseWatamu Sunflower House
Kifaru Road
Why stay hereWatamu Sunflower House is a 3-star property on Kifaru Road. No guest rating and no review count are recorded for it here, so its appeal rests on the Kifaru Road location rather than on a documented guest record. It suits visitors who want a house-style 3-star base in Watamu.
See Watamu Sunflower HousePashmina House
Peponi Village Watamu
Why stay herePashmina House is a 3-star address in Peponi Village, Watamu. The data records no guest rating and no review count, so there is no feedback history to report. It suits travellers drawn to the Peponi Village area who want a house rather than a hotel or resort.
See Pashmina HouseNyumba Tulivu
Jacaranda Road
Why stay hereNyumba Tulivu is a 3-star property on Jacaranda Road. No guest rating or review count is recorded for it, so nothing can be said about how past guests rated it. It suits travellers who want a house-style stay on the Jacaranda Road corridor among Watamu's larger resorts.
See Nyumba Tulivu
How to choose
For couples
Boutique Hotel Nyumbani Tembo on Peponi Road has the strongest guest score here at 4.8 from 97 reviews.
Boutique Hotel Nyumbani Tembo · Latannas House · Pashmina House
For families
Ocean Sports Resort on Mida Creek Road, Jacaranda Beach Resort on Jacaranda Road and Watamu Beach Cottages B&B on Turtle Bay Road each hold enough rooms and reviews to take a family, and cottages and resort grounds give children space away from the main road.
Ocean Sports Resort · Jacaranda Beach Resort · Watamu Beach Cottages B&B
For the best-rated
Anjumasa Village on Kanani Road scores 5.0, from 9 reviews. Boutique Hotel Nyumbani Tembo follows at 4.8 from 97 reviews, and Crystal Bay Resort at 4.5 from 399 reviews, the largest body of reviews behind a high score on this list.
Anjumasa Village · Boutique Hotel Nyumbani Tembo · Crystal Bay Resort
Where to stay in Watamu
Jacaranda Road
Jacaranda Road runs through the village and carries four of these hotels: Crystal Bay Resort, Jacaranda Beach Resort, Queen K Cottages At Chrystal Homes and Nyumba Tulivu. It is one of the streets the village is built around, within reach of the marine park and the lagoon that the park protects, and it mixes larger resorts with smaller cottage-style addresses.
Our picks here: Crystal Bay Resort · Jacaranda Beach Resort · Queen K Cottages At Chrystal Homes · Nyumba Tulivu
Peponi Road
Peponi Road and Peponi Village hold Boutique Hotel Nyumbani Tembo, Zawadi Residence and Pashmina House. This is the quietest corner of the shortlist, with small houses and one boutique hotel, and it puts you on the village side rather than the beach strip, close to the forest and the creek that define Watamu.
Our picks here: Boutique Hotel Nyumbani Tembo · Zawadi Residence
Kanani Road
Kanani Road carries Jumbo Club Watamu and Anjumasa Village. Anjumasa Village holds the top guest score on this shortlist from a small number of reviews, while Jumbo Club Watamu brings 463 reviews behind its 4.4. Both sit on the same village road, away from the larger beachfront addresses.
Our picks here: Jumbo Club Watamu · Anjumasa Village
Turtle Bay Road
Turtle Bay Road holds Watamu Beach Cottages B&B at number 38, the only hotel on this list on that road. It is a cottage-style bed and breakfast, which suits travellers who want the village's beach side with a small property rather than a resort.
Our picks here: Watamu Beach Cottages B&B
Plan your stay
Getting there and around
Watamu is reached by road from Nairobi. The straight-line distance is about 425 km southeast of Nairobi. Travel times vary, so treat the road journey as the way in rather than a fixed schedule. Watamu itself is a village on the north coast of Kenya, in Kilifi County, south of Malindi, and the hotels on this list sit on its own roads: Peponi Road, Jacaranda Road, Mida Creek Road, Kanani Road, Turtle Bay Road, Watamu Beach Road, Kifaru Road and Ocean Sport Road. Stays in the centre are searched and booked through IMPT, the booking partner behind this site, with availability checked live for your dates and no rate quoted on the page.
When to go
The site gives no season-by-season guidance for Watamu, so there is nothing here about the best months to come. What it does say is what you would be coming for at any time of year: the Watamu Marine National Park protects the reef and the lagoon, Mida Creek is a tidal inlet, the Arabuko Sokoke Forest is next to the village, and the Gede ruins, a medieval Swahili town, are nearby. Plan around the reef, the creek and the forest rather than around a stated season.
Things to do near Watamu
Questions, answered
Which of these hotels is closest to the centre of Watamu?
The addresses place most of the shortlist inside the village itself: Boutique Hotel Nyumbani Tembo, Zawadi Residence and Pashmina House on Peponi Road, Crystal Bay Resort, Jacaranda Beach Resort, Queen K Cottages At Chrystal Homes and Nyumba Tulivu on Jacaranda Road, and Latannas House on Watamu Beach Road. The site does not give distances to the centre, so use the street addresses.
Which hotel here has the best guest rating?
Anjumasa Village on Kanani Road has a guest rating of 5.0 from 9 reviews. Behind it come Boutique Hotel Nyumbani Tembo at 4.8 from 97 reviews, Crystal Bay Resort at 4.5 from 399 reviews, and Ocean Sports Resort and Jumbo Club Watamu, both at 4.4 from 867 and 463 reviews.
Do any of these hotels have a pool or a spa?
The supplier records behind these listings do not carry facility details for the hotels on this shortlist, so there is nothing here to confirm a pool or a spa at any of them. Check with the hotel directly before booking if a pool or spa matters to you.
Is parking available at these hotels?
The data for this shortlist does not include parking information for any of the hotels. Watamu is reached by road from Nairobi, so if you are driving, ask the hotel about parking when you book.
Are these hotels good for a short break?
Yes. Watamu is a village on the north coast of Kenya, south of Malindi, with the marine park, the lagoon, Mida Creek, the Arabuko Sokoke Forest and the Gede ruins all close by. Small addresses such as Latannas House, Pashmina House and Nyumba Tulivu suit a short stay.
Which hotels suit families?
Ocean Sports Resort on Mida Creek Road, with 867 reviews, Jacaranda Beach Resort on Jacaranda Road, and Watamu Beach Cottages B&B on Turtle Bay Road are the cottage and resort-style addresses on this list, the easiest shape for a family. They sit on village roads rather than the beach strip.
How many places to stay are there in Watamu?
Watamu holds 114 places to stay, each with its own page built from the booking supplier's record. This shortlist covers the 3-star hotels among them, ranked by class and guest rating.
Can I see the reef and the forest from these hotels?
The hotels sit in the village and on roads such as Jacaranda Road, Peponi Road and Mida Creek Road. The Watamu Marine National Park protects the reef and the lagoon, Mida Creek is a tidal inlet, and the Arabuko Sokoke Forest is next to the village, so all are within the village's reach, but the data does not state views from any individual hotel.