Villa Sarabi - Cozy house for 8 people, 4 minutes to the beach with cook

This was a beautiful property. It has 2 pools and a nice garden area. The rooms were spacious with our own bathroom. The house came with a cook who made us a delicious breakfast each morning. There is a nice outside area to sit and to eat a meal. It is a short walk to the beach but you need to walk a bit to find an area to sit. The listing says there is washing machine but you actually have to give your clothing to the maid and she will wash it for 500 a load. The beds were ok but didn't have a top sheet only a cover that wasn't the most comfortable. Also, beware of the Monkeys. Some broke in and broke all the eggs lol so make sure all your food is in the refrigerator. You can always catch a tuk tuk right outside and there is always someone watching the gate.

This house is fabulous. It's in a great location, every room has AC, the pool is lovely, it comes with a free chef (you buy the food), and they will do your laundry.

We very much enjoyed our stay at the property. The property was as described and we loved the huge pool and it came with a cleaner, cook (we chose to cook ourselves) and 24 hr security. There are two other houses that share the complex but we always had the pool to ourselves. Lots of space. It is about a 5-10 min walk to the beach (down the Forty Thieves lane (now closed)) and is about a 5 min walk to Ali Barbour's. It is a short tuktuk to the Carrefour or can walk to the local grocery store. One note is the property is immediately next to the main road and can be a bit noisy at times but value for money can't go wrong. We also walked along the beach to Nomad's for lunch (about 1.5-2 kms down the beach).

We had a very relaxing 8 days at Diani Beach. The house was fabulous. Lucy cooked amazing food. What a treat to have such a great cook there all day to prepare our meals. She gave us great suggestions on different meals and cooked some amazing meals for us that we came up with. There is a massage house on the property that we made use of regularly. Paulina is a very good masseuse that helped my back feel so much better. The staff was so helpful and caring and wanted to make sure our stay was perfect. The Maasai guys did a great job at the gate and always had huge smiles. Our group of 6 would highly recommend this home for families, groups and friends as a perfect getaway. When we did venture out for a meal, we ate at the cave restaurant, 40 thieves (which are both right there) and had some great Italian food just a quick tuk tuk ride away. We want to thank all the wonderful staff at Marula park for the great stay!

Property lovely along with staff who took great care of us all and made us feel very welcome. Really didn't know what to expect on arrival but was so much better than even advertised! Can't wait to return! Area very friendly beach boys not too intrusive. Safari and snorkelling with DM tours worth every penny. A really unspoilt part of the world ?

We stayed in the Villa Sarabi for four nights over Christmas and it was absolutely amazing! It was wonderful having a/c in the bedrooms. In addition to keeping us cool enough to sleep soundly it also blocked out road noise. Everyone at Marula Park was very friendly, helpful and accommodating, from the gate keeper, the housekeeper, the gardener to the chef! Being a short walk (approx 5 minutes) to the beach was a bonus. Having a chef made our stay very affordable. All we had to do was buy ingredients and leave the rest to her. Thank you Lucy! We loved your cooking and we will be back for more!!! We loved everything so much we decided to stay here whenever in Diani.

Great place to relax and enjoy family, sun and beach. Would stay again.

After spending a busy week in Nairobi, we came to relax in Diani. We found the home to be very clean and comfortable (A/C worked great for the bedrooms!). The property is beautiful and secure. The gorgeous beach is a short walk down the drive and the home is convenient to the nearby grocery store. I highly recommend bringing or renting some snorkel gear for the beach, as we saw many ocean creatures that we have not had the opportunity to see close up before. Word to the wise: If you buy or rent anything at the beach, bargain, bargain, bargain. We were able to take camel rides on the beach for $400 shillings pp. Other than some pesky beach boys that are rather annoying, the local people here are kind and we felt comfortable as tourists. We especially loved Lucy, our chef for the week! She prepared a shopping list for us based on our preferences and she did a great job catering to our large group. In addition, she cooked some local dishes and arranged for the local fisherman to bring us freshly caught red snapper for the grill. She really stands out to us as another great reason to recommend the house to other guests. She was also able to arrange for someone to come to the house for massage services and they have a small building on the property specifically for that purpose. We would recommend stopping by Stilts Diani Beach at 7 pm which is across the street from the entrance to Ali Barbour's restaurant (also a nice experience). Here, the Bush Babies come to feed on a few bananas when they wake up each evening before they scatter away back in the Jungle at night. We also discovered half priced pizza night at the Swahili Beach Resort (across from Nakumatt Grocery) on Friday evenings. It is a beautiful resort that is nice to see and the pizza was great. Getting around in town is easy, just walk outside the property and a Tuk Tuk will pick up three people for $30 shillings each one way. Just be firm with the price, as they will not offer change if you don't act like you know the local prices. I hope this review is helpful, as these are things I wanted to know before coming! There is only one small thing I might suggest, that there be some water available to guests when they arrive and some very basic cooking necessities be provided (such as salt and pepper, oil, and other items that are not expensive or easily perishable). One final thought. Don't even think about taking the bus from Nairobi. Fly directly to Ukunda. It's worth it!

We were a group of 5. We had been on a mission trip inner country. We stayed our final 3 days in Kenya here, on the coast. We appreciated several things, that are usually considered common, but not after being in remote villages. We were thankful for running water, not to mention that the water was a hot shower!!! We were refreshed by the air conditioning in each bedroom. We were thankful for 4 separate bedrooms with a private toilet for each. A few bonuses were blow dryers, refrigerator in kitchen, microwave!!! We bought food at a nearby Nakumatt. However, our evening meals we took at the restaurant directly by the Villa (within an easy walking distance), called Forty Thieves. Excellent food!! We swam in the Indian Ocean, again, walking distance, but, watch out for black sea urchins!!! Good thing we had a doctor friend there!!!! My husband still has a slight showing of the fifteen pricks to the bottom of his foot. I would recommend this place to anyone!! The only thing that should be considered is the drive down from Mombasa. With the ferry, time can be tricky...allow enough if you are catching flights!! It took about an hour and a half, we were told by the driver that we hired that was good, it can take longer waiting on ferry. But, ultimately, no complaints there, just consider it. As it turned out, we were very thankful not to be near the city hustle/hassle of Mombasa. If your driver is unaware of the location, just tell him at the Forty Thieves, the gate is directly there at the entrance, Marula Park, see sign.

Once more, our family of 2 adults and 4 children have returned to Marula Park for the 4th consecutive year, during the New Year/Christmas period. Over the course of the years, we have stayed at Villa Cheetah, Villa African Dream and now Villa Sarabi. Villa Sarabi is the biggest of the 3 villas, who sit in a compound that is very conveniently located, a few minutes walk from the beach but also close to supermarkets and the central part of Diani Beach. Every year we come, we marvel at how well the garden has been designed. Even though the villas are on the same compound, because of the way the trees are planted, the orientation of the houses and the bushes are set, you have a lot of privacy. We almost never saw our neighbors (not even in the pool) All the villas are equipped as described, with everything you need (and more) to make your stay comfortable. We have loved the staff who has worked at Marula Park for many years , who do a very good job cleaning, taking care of the place (it's nice to come back from the beach to a clean house!) . Evelyne, Jane, Celestine, etc etc are just wonderful and are a perfect mix of helpful and discreet. The design and decoration of the houses are lovely, the beds are comfortable, the bathrooms have nice showers, the appliances work well, the pool and garden are just lovely (nothing like swimming in the warm pool water under the stars....). The owner is very warm and responsive by email and has done everything to accommodate some of our last minute planning! A big thanks, Birgit, for allowing our family to have made such nice memories in your place. I'm trying to think of what can be improved and I really can't see what to add! So.....I will stop my review here, because if I keep going on about all the positive things of Marula Park, we might not get a place next year ;) ! Natalie