Sun N Sand Beach Club Kikambala

How can I begin...

What a wonderful place this is to visit, I dream of the day I return.

The hotel is lovely and has all the amenities you can ask for. The pools and gardens are very well kept. There is always somebody about cutting the lawns, collecting dead palms and climbing trees to save coconuts landing on ones head, as nearly happened!

The people are the nicest I've known on my travels. You will find yourself saying "Jambo" all day long. As your holiday progresses you will be that well acquainted with the staff that your sunbeds will be all prepared for you when you eventually reach the poolside.

My only complaint about the hotel is that it has cash bar separate from the "all inclusive" bar. I realise that some people do not want to pay for drinks on an all inclusive, however, I think I may have tried a few more cocktails had I seen what they had to offer.

We got chatting to a few of the lads on the beach and we got a few trips cheaper than the hotel. We went in to Mombasa when we wanted, visited what we wanted and came home when we wanted. All of which was escorted and at an pre agreed price. I would highly recommend this way of seeing what you want at your own pace.

Charlie on the beach also took us to his village and to his home. We visited the school and took pads, pencils and sweets. It was very moving, they are so poor.

As for safari, I highly recommend the Masi Mara. We stayed at "Little Govenors camp" for 2 nights and it was a real out of africa experience. The camp is not fenced off and you can here the elephants eating the trees, and the hippos in the swamp, literally right outside your luxury tent. This is what a safari should be about. Amongst other things, we saw a pride of lions munching on a wildebeest and we saw crocodiles kill whilst the zebra and wildebeest were crossing the river.

All in all, this was a fantastic holiday and if you've booked this holtel you will not be disappointed. But remember to go to the Masi Mara.

Have a great time.

Have just returned from a 2 week holiday in Kenya and it was brilliant!

The Sun and Sand beach resort is excellent, we could not fault a thing. Our room was fantastic, really clean and overlooking the Indian Ocean. The main restaurant had such a wide choice of food that we didn't even need to try the others. The activities were really good and such fun. However, if you don't want to get involved that's OK too. We did water aerobics, beach cricket, skittles, water polo and more.

The poverty is sad though and they need so much. People who work in the hotel go home to their mud huts and it's quite hard as they see us as being so rich when we know that's not true.

We booked with Hayes and Jarvis and also did a 3 night safari to Tasvo East, West and Amboseli, that was fantastic.

You will have a great time. Take old clothes and things for the children (and adults too).

Just returned from Kenya. Hotel was above average as an A.I. resort. Staff very friendly and always ready to help. Good food and a nice choice of restaurants. Rooms were a little tired. Hotel grounds very spacious so you never felt crowded. Neither of us had the usual "African belly" which is a good sign of high higiene.

We found the beach boys good fun...play them at their own game and enjoy the banter. If you fancy a walk round the local village, most members of staff are willing to accompany you, just tip them. Cabs are cheaper and better quality when booked via Zero (in the dive shop).

We did our own Mombassa sightseeing tour the same way, must cheaper than with the tour companies and you get to spend more time where you need it in the luxury of your own taxi. A must visit spot is the wood carving coop where prices are fixed and quality is good.

We booked our safari in the UK through DM Tours (on line) and saved the best part of £240.

When myself and a friend arrived at the Sun & Sand's our welcome was excellent, all the staff could not do enough for us. Once we got over the journey and having a good night's sleep in comfortable beds, we found the whole hotel very good, 6 pools set out lovely plenty of sun-beds, and the staff round the pool very helpful. The food in the resturaunts varied. People have said they found the beach-boys a nuisance we found them very friendly and if you were fair with them they were fair with you. We took a 2 day safari to Tsavo East and enjoyed it very much, well worth the money. I would go back again infact we are already planning for next year. The sooner the better. The Hotel is spotless and neither of us suffered with any upsets or bites? A lovely people. Thank's to them all from Linda and Anne.

As a single lady travelling alone for the first time to Africa i felt a fair amount of trepidation stepping off the flight from Gatwick.

Hovever, there was little need for concern. The hotel was fantastic! The cleanest rooms and public areas I have ever seen abroad, the gardens were impeccably kept and the service was always with a smile.

The staff were friendly and by the end of the first week almost everyone knew my name! A friendly greeting in the morning was most welcome.

The pace of life at the hotel is very peaceful, even though the animation team work their socks off all day trying to coax lazy holidaymakers from their sun loungers to take part in the activities. I did find the hotel very quiet though - it was only about 50% occupied as the terrorist attacks a few years ago has hit Kenya tourism badly - such a shame as it has so much to offer.

One tip - taxis: don't book from the hotel, you can get them much cheaper just outside the gate (Vitalis is a reliable guy and never once ripped me off. I travelled into Mombasa with him a couple of times and he was brilliant!)



Now for the gripes:

Being a single lady in her thirties on holiday alone I did get a lot of unwanted male attention -especially from the hotel staff who kept asking me out. Some would say "lucky old you" well after the first few days it began to wear thin as some just would not take no for an answer. However, a quick chat with the manager soon sorted things out and I was never bothered again.

The food was good quality but there wasn't as much choice as at other hotels I have been to.

The beach boys who try to sell you safaris are a bit of a nuisance - in fact the only way to get rid of them is to completely ignore them - engaging in conversation with them is fatal, they never give up trying to persuade you to book their safari or trip to the village. The hotel security guards do a good job of making sure they don't come into the complex though - so it's quite safe to lie near the beach and sunbathe.

All in all I had the holiday of a lifetime at Club Sun n Sand. I can definitely recommend it.

I'm going to keep this short n sweet.

My wife and I were married here in 1999.

We travelled with Thompson's and had the most perfect holiday/wedding/honeymoon we could have wished for.

If you travel here you must take part in a safari (...it's more Hilton than tents and mozzi's)...it makes all the difference.

I look forward to returning with my son (currently 4 yo) and daughter (2) when they are old enough to appreciate Kenya's beauty.

I have read many reports on Kenya, the Safari and Kikimbala Beach and to be honest have mixed reviews. The safari is amazing, we went to the Mara and has 3 nights, could not fault it one bit.

We then went to Sun and Sand and found it to be a little bit less than what we expected. The rooms were clean but our had ants in the bathroom and when we got rid of them they came straight back, we did complain but nothing was done.

The service was 100%, some staff were genuine but be carefull, many and even most are after money, we got to know some of them well and when we were leaving they asked us for money, thats not on, yes they are poor but we are on holiday and cannot give money out like its paper.

The food was good but its not as good as it sounds in the brochure. They say they have a BBQ ranch, this was a grill were you had a chop. The chinese restaurant has 2 dishes not a menu and the vegetarian is basically indian food. All of this is served in the same room not seperate. Although they have seperate rooms they were booked out as confrences !!!!

The beach, forget it, there isn't one, serious....there is some white sand covered by seaweed and locals, if you sit on the lounger by the pool they constantly shout at you to come over and go to their village, basically give them money.

ON the whole it was relaxing, beer was cold, food good, rooms ok, beach discusting, locals are a pain in the bum, service very good but get ready to give them money.

Safari, out of this world

(Photos only)

I visited Sun N Sands in March this year for 2 weeks. The hotel was a pleasent suprise! although its off the beaten track. We still went to mombassa with the hotel trips which worked out very cheap. The rooms are big and clean, staff over friendly and the entertainment from the A team was great fun. Water polo football and volley ball etc... The hotel is huge with over 3/4 pools and 3 places to eat plus the buffet, its a nice change than going to a buffet every night. The only let down was the beach the tide comes in so high around 3pm and even though when the tide is out the sea weed and coral is all over the beach plus its very shallow for around 1mile to the reef. The beach boys arent as bad as people say just tell them your not going to buy anything today and want a walk alone.



I ventoured to see the infamous White Sands as I nearly booked that hotel although im so glad I didnt, the hotel is very old now and hasnt been refurbished in over 12 years ( last time I visited Kenya)



I will deff go back to this hotel again !! and recommend it to anyone value for money too!

have just come back from the sund and sand beach resort and have had a fabulous time! the hotel is quite quiet and a bit off the beaten track but we went for a bit of r & r so it didn't botehr us - if you want to go out on trips to mombassa though, you may want to choose somewhere a bit more central - like white sands.

the accomodation is very clean - we had new towels and bedding every day. rooms have air con and a fan. there is a free safe in the room too.they also provide mossie plugs every day. the pools ( yes they have 3) are warm and clean - hours of fun spent playing on the small water slides! they have activities during the day - we didn't really join in but it's there if you want to. they have a mini craxy golf course, a gym, a massage and hair salon, pool tables, a kids club and a book swapping service!

the food was great - the buffet menu changed daily with theme menus - italien, african, chinese - plus salads, soup, and at least 5 puddings! on a saturday night they did an outdoor bbq night too!breakfast was my favurite - they cooked fresh omlettes for you, plus waffles and there was choice of pastries, cereal, fruit or good old sausages! something for everyone. if any menus don't appeal, there is also a snack bar, italien , bbq ranch and chinese with set menus that are also part of your all inclusive - we ate in each and never had a bad meal! there is an a la carte but that is an extra charge.

the staff are there to help you - they are great fun and really make the holiday! nothing is too much trouble - although it will always be done " slowly slowly" - the true kenyan way - not surprised with that heat though!

the hotel helped us organise a snorkelling trip - they also did scuba, pedellos, boat trips etc - well worth it and a nice break from the pool.

the only let down for the hotel is the beach - its not really a beach - the tide comes quite far in and even when it is out, there is more coral than sand. plus there are the beach boys - the minute you look over the wall they come running over to try and sell you anything - from vilage tours to key rings. a couple we met tried to walk out to see and were followed and hounded all the way there and back - the lads then tried to charge them $40 for the walk - they got a bit aggressive when they said they wouldn't pay. our advice - be polite, be friendly, but if you are wanting to organise anything agree a price first. they are willing to barter, and will often ask for your t shirts, cap etc as payment.

all in all, we had the best holiday ever. we had a 2 day safari at tsavao east and west, a snorkelling trip and a walk around the local village. other than that we ate drank and relaxed. i'd recommend the sun and sands to anyone !!!