Serena Beach Resort and Spa

9.0

Wonderful

187 Guest reviews

9.0

Wonderful

187 Verified Reviews

Read all reviews

Cleanliness9.0/10

Service9.2/10

Comfort8.4/10

Condition8.6/10

location8.2/10

Neighborhood7.8/10

Amenities9.0/10

First visited nearly 30 years ago and have stayed several times since. It's a lovely hotel for a short stay and it has an amazing staff. The facilities are excellent, great for young families and can be lively in the evenings (ask for a room away from the music in need). The restaurants are all open attracting monkies, crows and sparrows so some surfaces are likely not very clean but generally not a nuisance. The hotel's reputation is well-deserved.

Excellent property and service!

This is a lovely place to stay along the Kenya coast. The property is an excellent condition and the staff could not have been more accommodating. They offer guest free activities, such as a catamaran and kayaks. Great pool.

Serena Beach Hotel is well located, had beautiful timeless architecture and wonderful ambience. The staff made our stay special, very attentive, pleasant and wet had lots of laughter with them. The Chef is outstanding, all the meals and snacks were well prepared, with a diverse presentation of food and drink. The sea front needs some cleaning attention otherwise we enjoyed cooling off in the ocean, very safe and comfortable to swim, even for the little ones. We will be back!

Beautiful surroundings and attentive staff

Really nice place, Good pool and a beautiful beach. Lots af monkeys in the garden. Wonderfull staff

Great staff, but rooms and fixtures are ageing

The staff throughout the hotel are friendly. No less than in the past or what you’d expect. The restaurants remain very good. The gym is very good too, for a hotel. But the room was old and disappointing. The shower flooded every time because the flat surface between the partition and tub allowed water to collect and then drip to the floor instead of the tub. The doorknob on the bathroom door was partially detached. The TV was old and angled upwards. The leather on the office chair was frayed and tatty. The bathroom/bedroom frosted window was loosely installed, which meant that it would rattle if other people on the corridor closed their doors.

Excellent stay and service as always. Will be back!

This hotel has beautiful gardens. It’s a very relaxing place to be in. The rooms, although charming, are tired, and in need of a makeover. Food offerings are adequate, but unimaginative. Wonderful team of staff, responsive and friendly.

Beautiful hotel for a rest after safari with lovely moorish style architecture. Staff were very attentive, great food, lovely uncrowded pool and beach area. Plenty of things to do inside the grounds including kayaking, paddle board, catamarran sailing, squash, tennis, table tennis, pool and darts. It is also adjacent to a marine conservation area where you can snorkel on the reef with tropical fish. Highly recommended.

We had a wonderful stay at Serena Beach Hotel. The grounds are beautiful and well maintained, there is easy access to the beach, the rooms are big with comfortable beds & big bathrooms, and the staff go above and beyond to meet your expectations. For those on a family vacation there here is a kids club with kids activities (thank you Zawadi & Esther) and evening performances (music, acrobats, etc.). It never felt crowded, it was very serene and relaxing. We would definitely stay there again. Thank you!

The staff was friendly and very attentive.

Quite good hotel overall, keep it up!

The Serena was lovely. A serene and beautiful hotel with friendly staff. I will definitely be back.

Good rooms service Room cupboard door some tapes need fixing

It was slightly overpriced for the meal packages based on the offerings.

Nice place!

Wonderful result ! I will be back !

I liked the grounds, the architecture of the place Beach is just ok, and pool overcrowded Food was not quite up to my standard in the main restaurant although much better in the separated grill right at the beach

Old school style, beach restaurant is very good, although next doors hotel had a disco that was anoying

Great grandeur, property super well kept, pristine beaches, lot of amenities, 5 star property with great service. Top class service. Loved it.

A good enough stay

Beautiful grounds. Vast gardens and well maintained. Decent beach front with some activities. This hotel is 50 years old, I googled that and it’s been modernized to still afford a good stay. That’s laudable Where it lets down is the food. Breakfast was decent but dinner was a huge letdown. I’m not going to bore you with details, skip the dinner buffet by all means and if you must, the sea food restaurant was a good option. I will never understood paying for things like water when you have a buffet. What is one supposed to do? Choke on meals.

We absolutely loved our stay at Serena. From the airport transfer, reception, pool, bars, dining options (especially Jahazi Grill), kids club, room service, and turn down service. Everything was excellent, and the staff went above and beyond for us. It rained on our last day and they extended our check out to 2pm due to flight delays.

Loved it. Coming back for sure.

Great location. The property is well kept. Most of the staff are very friendly

I enjoyed the Swahili atmosphere at the hotel, the International standards at the Spa, and the kind attention of all the staff I encountered.

Wilson and his staff are excellent. They made things right when Expedia couldn't. I will never forget them and plan to visit again.

The grounds are very beautiful and serene. The beach is wonderful and the food is absolutely fantastic. Finally, the staff are helpful, professional and friendly.

A fitting end to our holiday and a restful break after a safari tour. High light of the hotel was the quality of the food and the helpfulness of all the staff. They bent over backwards to make sure our stay was comfortable. A particular mention goes to Evelyn at the front desk for helping us with a later check out, Nelson who runs the watersports centre for organising our trips out and the enthusiastic pool instructor for the pool aerobics and water polo.

We had an excellent stay, everyone went out of they way to help. The chefs Eric and David made us excellent vegetarian dinners. We were accommodated so well as we have a late flight. We cannot praise the staff enough for making our stay a memorable one. looking forward to returning to the property.

Very nice old style hotel

Very nice beach hotel. Quiet and not many beach boys to bother you. Staff were very friendly and helpful, especially Evelyn on reception. The food was nice and reasonably priced. I would stay again

Excellent food as always. Very good facility. Waiting staff a bit disappointing his time.

Property is great . Only fault is no CCTV on property in the event of mishap. Got my shoes stollen at pool area and security couldn’t do much. Could have been worse (wallet or phone) . Other than that, it’s good property for both couples and Family vacation.. Staff and service is general is excellent.

A disappointment to Serena

Very disappointed in this Serena property. Very outdated and when we got into our room there were hundreds of mosquitos in the room. They came to spray, but then did not clean up the room that now had dead mosquitos every where. They have no where to charge the cell phone so I had to leave my phone at the front desk. I would not recommend this place,

Beach nice but to much harassment from locals for business .locals are aloud to use beach and at high tide walk through hotel to exit.not a place for children as they have nothing to do other then pool

The hotel and grounds are very beautiful as is the beach area. The food was outstanding, a real highlight of our stay and we were hugely impressed by its standard. Finally, the staff couldn't have been nicer or more helpful on top of their overall professionalism

I’ve stayed at several Serena properties in Kenya and they have all been wonderful. Buffets were delicious. Many choices. We did a sea turtle release.

Beautiful serene place to relax with Family, Great hospitality from reception to room service and care to exceptional staff at the restaurant. We really enjoyed our time at this Serena. Have stayed at Serena Nairobi,,,this outdid it. Great service! Beautiful beaches, outdoor and swimming pool.

Beautiful resort. Great food. Lovely service and amazing spa.

Spa

Beautiful ambiance

The hotel has a beautiful ambiance. Beautiful scenery. However, it is a little bit old. We had incidents with our toilet flooding. But the staff was accommodating and fixed the issue instantly. Overall, beautiful experience.

Awful and painful checkout

Had to change my room. No lights at the room at midnight. Checkout was horrible experience as they wanted me to pay for invoices that were not mine and i even didnt go for that restaurant

Bad

A day and half out of the days to get internet.

My long weekend at Serena Beach Resort in Mombasa was the perfect end to a three week camping trip throughout Eastern Africa. The property itself is absolutely beautiful with plenty of options for food, activities and relaxation. The room was lovely and large with a comfortable bed, separate shower and bath and breezy balcony. The snorkeling both mornings was fantastic and easy to arrange (big thanks to Said on the boat!). Breakfast and dinner (included with half-board) were delicious and provided a nice variety. Pool was lovely and the swim-up bar was an added bonus. I really enjoyed Samuel at the Butterfly Pavilion who showed me the full life cycle of many species of butterflies the Serena takes an active role in conserving. Perhaps the most important part of my stay was the staff. Everyone had a smile and went above and beyond to make sure that I was comfortable, happy and enjoying myself. My waiter both nights, Victor, was very attentive and nice to talk to. Everline at the front desk was so helpful in getting me a late check out due to my late-night flight to Nairobi. As a solo female traveler, safety and amenities are priority for me. Serena was beyond comfortable and a relaxing haven in Mombasa.

Extremely helpful and positive staff. Quiet hotel (it was less than 50% full). Superb food (good choices too). Very anxious to please and grateful that we chose to visit. We have visited many hotels worldwide over the past 20 years and this was one of the best for a relaxing holiday

Room service is pathetic .....24 hours room service is not respected .....request for service is rejected ....i asked for club sandwich...but was told to go and hsve buffet Breakfast...i wanted a quiet breakfast in my room

This is an all inclusive resort. You don't have to go anywhere accept for shopping and you can get some local things at the small store that was on the property. They have a good business center and I was able to print documents from my room to the business center. They also provided umbrellas and power adapters upon request. There are plenty of things to do and see. I spent one day at the spa and got the full treatment. It looks like they are slowly going through all the facilities and updating / remodeling them. I felt very secure and well taken care of. They even took me a few places via the hotel shuttle, which normally you would get a taxi for. Great place with a great staff.

The property was well maintained, the staff were very helpful, the food in the seafood restaurant was awesome. The only glitch in the stay was the confusion in picking us up at the airport, we ended up taking a cab

All staff was amazingly nice. The scenery is just beautiful and the hotel although a bit old is very well kept

The food and service were both outstanding! We are at the buffet and the seafood restaurant and both were excellent.

Friendly staff, great & secure location! Would go back any day.

I got bit by mosquitoes in the bed every night. Everything was great.

Recharge at Serena

Serena is always an assured bet. The service is second to none. The staff are friendly, professional and nothing is too much trouble. Will definitely be back again.

Wonderful beach resort with amazing staff

I was here on business, but wanted to enjoy a place on the beach for my one day off. The Serena was perfect. The staff was lovely, going out of their way to make sure we were well taken care of and comfortable. The rooms were really nice- with a sea view and lovely balcony. The beach was really nice- with a beautiful pool option as well. I feel like this was the perfect choice for work or play.

The Staff were the best I have ever encountered. I travel a lot and have been to different hotels, not only in Kenya, but in Africa as well as globally. i really must say that the staff at Serena Beach and Resort Spa go all out to make an positive impression on their clients. Special thanks to Herman, the general manager who was always around the corner somewhere, checking on his clients and for putting together the lovely programme for the hotel.Many thanks to Nathan at the Sports Center for his professionalism and cheerful encouragements as I contemplated to do my first Scuba Diving excursion. Thanks a lot to Rama, the scuba diving coach who then took me through the Scuba Diving Lessons and the actual excursion in the Indian Ocean. It was such a beautiful lifetime experience and saying ''thank you'' for making it so barely seems enough, so I will say Gob bless you all abundantly!! Cheers, Blessing

Great Stay

The food during the Eater Holidays are super. The service is excellent. Only the beach is above normal standard.

Awesome Experience!

Awesome! Great food, staff and location. For sure I will be back soon.

The hotel takes special care of turtles that hatch their eggs on the beach. When the turtle babies are ready, they release them into the ocean. I happened to be there during one of the releases - it was one of the coolest things I have ever seen.

Staff were very helpful, polite and trained. Rooms could be bigger and hot water was always luke worm

Amazing hotel with great service.

Great hotel - not a shiney concrete lump but a hotel with character.

Great.

Skal conference

very poor lighting in the gardens enroute to the rooms, they lights blind you, and need to be changed, i almost sprained my ankle one night on the uneven walkways. the lights shine directly into your eyes and when its pitch black its actually dangerous. our next serena lodge had appropriate lighting.

Great stay

Lovely property!

Excellent, delicious staff

Excellent. Serena is probably the nicest place in the area, mainly because of the premises of the hotel, which are outstanding, built in old swahili style, but also because of the beach and the gardens and their biodiversity. This time I discovered a wonderful turtle protection programme and had the privilege of attending the first journey of dozens of green and haksbill new born turtles to the ocean. The staff is "delicious", as we the French use to say. Some of the critics below or in other websites mention that the hotel is getting old, but this is not Dubai, folks, and the food expensive for the price paid, which is not fair, because the food is great and the buffet changes everyday is always plenty of options. And there are not hidden charges as some said. One critic that should be also adressed is about the noise of "the locals" in the swim pool. Besides the fact that apartheid has been abolished, the hotel customers come from all arround the world, including many african countries and of course, Kenya. Fortunately, this keeps the hotel full of live and color. I will come back as soon as possible.

Excellent service and staff relations, frear accommodation, delicious food. Room 621 shower not having hot water!

Indian Ocean Beauty

It's hard to beat the view of the Indian Ocean from the Serena. Lots of beachfront with warm, swim-able beaches. I had a single room which was on the small side, but comfortable with a private patio. Breakfast and dinner included had a limited menu but the food was decent and service was very attentive (think colonial British) though a bit slow. The resort is a little bit secluded, so it doesn't feel like it's close to Mombasa, but you can easily get an Uber for under KES 1,500 if you want to go into the city for sites like Fort Jesus.

A beautiful hotel with an Arabesque theme throughout. Peaceful and relaxing environment with beautiful gardens and excellent facilities. The food was excellent, but the highlight was the magnificent staff who were unfailingly attentive and friendly. We enjoyed our stay very much, and this was probably the nicest and most relaxing hotel I have ever stayed in.

Good for business

Serena is Serena in Mombasa. Old style, could need to refresh the rooms even if we have what we need. Buffet for diner is expensive for what we have. Pool a bit noisy with locals. However Will come back again.

A great hotel.

Located at a very serene location with private beach. Dinner and breakfast had variety and very tasty. Staff were very friendly. Humphrey went above n beyond.

Great Experience

Hotel has excellent staffs and very good people. This is from Gym (Halfan), swimming (Nyambu) to restaurant (Riziki, Judith) it was nice being there for 4 nights.

Very nice beach hotel

Hotel is on the beach and very nice. Standard rooms are quite small and tight; superior rooms are bigger and more comfortable. Hotel and rooms are nicely appointed in Swahili theme.

The stay was rather disappointing for the amount of money that we paid. While the staff was friendly, they did not keep their words about the services they said they would offer. We had to ask several times for the staff to bring us water and the remote control for the AC which did not happen. At the check out there were unexpected costs which were not communicated properly prior. Additionally, there were stains on the bed and pillows and the food was rather mediocre. All in all, I would not recommend to stay here.

Nothing too much trouble

What a great place to relax and enjoy a beautifully designed hotel, facilities, great food and the most helpful staff. Particular thanks to the staff at the Butterfly sanctuary for the work they are doing.

Wonderful staff