Flamingo Beach Hotel

We went to the Flamingo Beach Hotel for 2 weeks in October having booked direct with African Safari Club (ASC). This hotel is supposed to be the jewel in thier crown and ASC are supposed to be experts in Safaris. The rooms were damp and dirty, with mould in between the grouting in the bathroom. Our bed sheets had mould on them and my books went wobbly with damp! We have since written to ASC who said that this was caused by the humid conditions - we have been to Mexico in June which is v Humid and hadnt had any problems ! The in resort staff who worked in the tourist office (ASC reps) were rude and unhelpful. The bottled water is branded ASC and tasted of chemicals so I asked the rep for an alternative source. I was told she would not tell me as she worked for ASC not against them....so much for customer relations ! The transport from the airport to the hotel is in old battered buses with smashed windows. The vehicles on safari were just as bad. ASC blame this on rough turraine, however we took a trip out with a local tour company and the buses were in a perfect condition. In the brouchure they talk of small fees for sunbeds and safes. Lets just say the fees are not small. In the 2 weeks we were there they also failed to have the reasonably priced wine available which forces you to spend more in resort. They also talk in the brouchure of enjoying a meal at thier shared tables in the resturant - they dont mention this is forced seating with the same people every night....so don't dream of a romantic meal for 2 ! We went on thier 4 night safari. The range of animals we saw was great...however the lodges were of a very poor standard. At the final camp we had brown water, no mosquiteo nets and the shower didnt work ! They ran out of food at breakfast including bread and the dinners were stews of bone and scraps of meat ! Paying the bill at the end of the holiday (and during as they impose a spending limit on you !) is a nightmare. You can only pay at the cashiers desk - which is only open for certain hours of the day and has only 1 or 2 people working the desk. We spent 8 man hours queueing at this desk in our 2 weeks ! IYou cant even get a copy of your bill printed at reception, so have to queue once to get the bill...then queue again to pay ! Don't do it.....book with anyone other than them !

Stayed for 2 weeks in this hotel. Arrived back on 25 March 2006. First the bad points : The luggage scrum on arrival in Mombasa. DO NOT give more than £1 per case, the porters want £5 to move your luggage 100 yards, laugh in their face!! The buses, well...bald tyres and chunks missing. No air conditioning and the windows are just about to drop out.ASC need to spend some maney on their transport for health and safety purposes. The moneyless system that the company uses is good in theory but in practice its not so good. When you are ready to leave there are long queues to pay what could be just a few Euros. Beware of the currency exchange rates as they are very dubious as they can be several months out of date, ensure you have enough Euros to pay in full. The last bill was paid in sterling converted to Euros this worked out at the equivilent of £1 = 1 euro, change is given in local currency. European management appalling, the rep did the welcome chat wholly to sell the ASC products, no local information given and the rep was not visual around the complex after the first meeting. Thats enough whinging, now the good points: Local staff helpful and friendly, nothing was too much for them to do for you, tips are appreciated as their wages are low. The food was excellent and varied each evening. portions did not look large but there was a salad bar that you could help yourself to. You were never left hungry. Whilst the room was not modern and stylish it was clean and comparatively large. At the end of the day the room is somewhere to sleep and was fit for the purpose. The pool and surrounding areas were excellent, a massive clean pool and manicured grounds to walk around. Yes, you do have to pay for the sunbeds but don`t be surprised as this information is in the brochure. ASC need to sort out the archaic payment system and need to spend some money on their transport and this would be a perfectly good honest hotel.

Let's face it, this is at the economy end of the holiday scale. I stayed at the Flamingo for two weeks with my wife and 2 young children, and we loved the overall experience. True, the room was rickety and the bathroom/shower was in need of redecoration. True, there were 1 or 2 powercuts and the air-con didn't always work.There was no Tv. You would have to give a maximum 3 stars to the accomodation. But you don't go to Kenya to sit in a room, and the pool,bars and other facilities were all great. The food was a pleasant surprise as my expectations were very low after reading other reviews. It was varied, and although it was never hot enough, that doesn't really matter in the heat. The service was great, and all the staff were genuinely pleasant. There was barely anything for the kids in terms of entertainment, but we wern't led to expect anything. So, overall a great holiday. Just don't expect a super luxury experience at these prices. Also, it is well worth going to the Flamingo rather than the other ASC hotels in the area as it was clearly much nicer.

Visited ASC 10 years earlier - now a poor shadow of its former gory. The grounds are beautiful - thats the positive bit. Lots of extras and upgrades to pay for - it gets tiring (and expensive), staff over eager for tips and have many apparently innocent scams running including saying they haven't been paid or paid late (this may or may not be true). Room was old fashioned (pink candlewick bedspread with holes), bathrooms shabby - broken tiles, dirty etc. No water for a few hours on a couple of occassions. There are plenty of good Hotels nearby offering much better standards at similar prices - heard first timers to Kenya passing off poor standards of service and maintenance as being a third world country 'what can you expect' attitude, who had no comparisons and may explain some positive review's hereunder! Overheard lots of complaints at service desk. The Safari vehicles are old and one of our group lost a whole precious day sat in the heat due to a burst tire (the spare was also flat - thus the wait - inexcusable). Could go on but you get the picture. In need of investment and overhaul.

I was nervous about this holiday after seeing the bad reviews, I wonder if these people actually went to the same hotel! It is in a lovely location, lovely pool, beach, view from the room fantastic. I found all the hotel staff friendly and very willing to assist. The food was plentiful and varied. I had a fantastic relaxing few days at the hotel and an exhilarating if tiring safari with an excellent driver. Take the right equipment some of the 'complainers' on our safari had one disposable camera and no binoculars between them, no wonder they didn't enjoy it! It is a 3rd world country and the poverty is very evident. Yes we did have a powercut too, but we had taken a torch! Am already planning a return trip to the same hotel with a longer safari. Anything I would do differently? Take some local currency for tips.

Had a wonderful time can not understand the negative reviews !! The staff were everso friendly. The rooms were basic but clean. We had a fantastic view of the sea. The food was good did not have any problems, waiters were everso helpful, will definatly go back, can not wait !!! The trip we booked was for 6 nights and it was not long enough !! The only negitive thing were the beach boys who try to sell you things every time you get out of the sea, but even then if you say no they go away. The only thing I can say to the people who have complained is you need to get a life and learn some manners.

We stayed 10 December 2005 14nts full board. On arrival at mombassa airport we had already purchased our visas but still had to queue for a little while, airport extremly hot and the elderly and very young found it very uncomfortable as no seatting or fans, so take a fan and be able to loose your coats etc...into a bag or somthing . Once out of the airport your met by a.s.c rep and are told to had your baggage to a porter who will take you a couple yards walk and want money their was 5 of us and we managed to get away with a £5 note as they wanted english money (We did have african shillings but they did not want it). You then get shown to the bus to take you to the hotel(your baggage will follow later about 3Hrs). Roads in Mombassa very bad big holes quiet an experiance. On arrival met at hotel with a Drink and singing your given your room keys and shown to your room. The rooms are Very large and are dated although clean. The Bathroom is also very large But in much need of updating as a travel agent i would not rate as 5* more 3*. We had problems with the shower occasionally sometime hot sometimes cold, but as weather so hot cold showers were ok. sometimes the water did not run very well but on the whole we did not let it ruin our stay. Toilet overflowed twice but when i advised them they quickly sent someone to sort it out. Tap water is salty and shower. The grounds of the hotel are beautiful and the gardeners will make things from the palm leaves hats etc... My husband and daughter both had birthdays and the hotel took the dates from our passports so no need to pre book things they seem to celebrate anyway at dinner all the resturant staff get together and sing with the lights down it was fantastic so much effort flowers all around their chairs and the bedroom doors and more. Entertaiment not much nothing for the children in the day or night mine are aged 11, 13, & 16yrs they did make lots of freinds though. Staff can't do enough for you you do not fill inprisoned. we went out of the hotel grounds and although hasseled to go in the shops the locals extremly freindly do shop around on prices though. The picture of the beach on previous comment is when the tied is out the beach itself is clean white and beatiful although you can get hasseled to buy things you get used to it. We did safari 1 night tsavo east and sore 4 of the big five we were very lucky. travel their and back very tyring. Crocodile camp beautiful and food good. High factor sun screen needed and imodium as we had the odd bad tummy. We all had a lovely time flights all on time we flew economy plus which was worth it.

Before I booked my holiday I studied the brochure very carefully. After booking I read the reviews of the hotel and was very aprehensive. We were there from 6 Jan to 21 Jan. Please bear in mind that you are paying £1000 for your holiday - not £2-3k and cannot be compared to the likes of Kuoni or Hayes and Jarvis. We found the staff very friendly and helpful. They are particularly pleased if you try a little Swahili (we got several lessons every day). The brochure clearly states that their grading system should not be compared to UK 'Star' grading. The manager and chef spoke to us regularly and asked us if we were happy. The grounds were fabulous, the gardners were really keen to show us 'round and shin up a tree to pick a coconut for you - hey and if you get the impression they'd like a tip then go on, 50p or a £1 isn't gonna break the bank. This is a 3rd world country and yes the bathrooms were a little tired - but were cleaned very efficiently. The food was absolutely fine, always a plentiful supply and prepared with care. We didn't try the a la carte restaurant as it specialises in fish (as per the brochure) and we didn't really fancy it. In the information booklet the company send you, the welcome meeting and any many other publications you read warn you that you're likely to get an upset tummy at some point and many people did - IT'S THE CLIMATE and not the hotels fault. Many many people there had been before several times, and I would like to join that club. If we'r nit picking we had a couple of tiny niggles. We swapped tables several times, but this was speedily rectified and by way of apology moved to the suite area. All prices are in Euros and also charged in Euros. I would suggest that you bring your money in Euros to save exchanging currencies, however, if you do take sterling, dollars or shillings they'll take them. If you don't get your entry visa in advance you will have to pay for it in cash. They won't except shillings and prefer dollars which took us by surprise. We upgraded our flight to 'Royal Safari' again the brochure tells you not to compare it with other airlines business class. In hind sight we'd have stuck with economy plus. Same size seats but material not leather. You don't get free entry into the VIP lounges, but hey, that wouldn't be missing much. No, the bit we didn't like is as you are at the front of the plane you're closest to the toilets so you get a constant stream of people queueing. Pick your safari carefully. We did the Kimana Kilimanjaro one. Don't expect to see any Cats as the masai have killed them off. No shortage of elephants though. I know this is a lengthy review but I really think that some of these reviews aren't balanced. In short remember - you're in a 3rd world country and paying half the amount you would with another company

The worst hotel on the planet. Don’t even think about going. Dirty, filthy hole. Food is foul. Unsafe, felt threatened; be very careful! Do not believe any good reviews about this hotel they are not true. This is not a 5 star hotel, more like a 2 star. In the brochure it says 5 palms; maybe 25 years ago! Nothing has been done since. Half the coral reef is dead from pollution from Mombassa. Booked a suite, it was a dirty old room done about 25 years ago. Had stained mattress, torn sheets and a pink candlewick. Everyone in the hotel complained about the food. The sun beds and the ripped filthy cushions are ab absolute disgrace. The towels are the worst I have ever seen. I work sometimes in Bangladesh and its better so you now understand. Do not take your children. Unfriendly tour staff as too many complaints. The showers sometimes worked and then did and the salty water was awful. The two other hotels in the complex are even worse. The third is closed. Next door the intercontinental has closed also. The hotel limos/old clapped-out buses with cracked windscreens are the worst I have ever seen. Don’t take a free holiday here as you will catch something for sure.

Just returned from a Christmas and New Year holiday.Stayed st the Flamingo Beach Hotel after a cruise on the msroyalstar. The staff are excellent and the location is glorious. Can't wait to return.