A tasteful, low-key but very stylish resort, The Indian Ocean Beach Club lies at the most northerly (and therefore most private and peaceful) end of Diani Beach, which represents the main ‘strip’ of the southern Kenyan coast. A magnificent sweep of silver sand, sapphire sea and waving palms, it is the epitome of tropical paradise. Close to the mouth of the Tiwi River, the Club looks out over idyllic tropical views, while the beach front cottages stand literally ON the beach. Stylishly yet sensitively presented in startling white, and in crenellated Moorish style, the central buildings are presented in Arabic style, clustered around a magnificent free-form pool. Ringed by 600 year-old baobab trees, beneath which afternoon tea is served, the hotel is backed by some of the last remaining stretches of indigenous coastal forest in Kenya.
Location
The club stands at the most northerly end of Diani Beach, 25 miles south of Mombasa.
Accommodation
Built in 1992, the club has been designed in the style of a Swahili village, with clusters of whitewashed cottages, some single storey, some double, all traditionally Makuti-thatched. Rooms are presented in sea-blue locally woven fabrics and feature large Lamu-styled beds, carved Lamu furniture, traditional mangrove-pole ceilings, and charmingly padded window seats. It offers; 100 ensuite rooms (non-smoking and physically-challenged rooms available). All rooms offer; air-conditioning, hair dryers, mini-bar, room-service, dedicated room-steward, laundry, tea/coffee-making facilities and direct dial phone. 19 square 'village styled' clubrooms face the half kilometer beach bordering the warm turquoise-blue waters of the Indian Ocean.
Dining and bars
The club offers a choice of dining experiences: Spices;an airy first floor restaurant, over looking the ocean, Bahari Cove, an open air, informal beach restaurant featuring shellfish and seafood ‘Swahili style’. A snack lunch menu is also available. Ocean Terrace, an al fresco pool-side patio restaurant serving a tropical breakfast buffet facing the ocean. The Sultans Lounge, a sumptuous pre-dinner cocktail lounge and piano bar, Coconut Willy's, a relaxed pool bar and the Bahari Beach Bar. The Club also offers special Swahili Nights, during which dinner is served beneath the palms. Other themed nights include ’African Night, where dinner is served in a traditional African village atmosphere with dancer, handicrafts etc. The club has resident musicians who offer entertainment dance and cabaret nightly. Resident musicians, entertainment during the day and evening at the Bahari cove, pianist plays every evening in the Sultan's Lounge whilst our resident band performs on the Ocean Terrace. On special occasions, Cabaret artist performs and visiting groups entertain during our special theme evenings.
Conference and event facilities
The Club makes the ideal wedding and honeymoon venue and extensive wedding packages are offered. A broad range of conference services are offered including; secretariat room, business centre, cyber café, AV equipment, catering packages, incentives packages and delegate entertainment.
CONFERENCE ROOM BOARDROOM HORSESHOE THEATRE CLASS -ROOM COCKTAI L
TRADERS ROOM 55 pax 30 pax 50 pax 80 pax
BAOBAB ROOM 35 pax 30 pax 40 pax 50 pax
BAOBAB TERRACE 200pax
Child-friendly
The club is very child-friendly and offers: family rooms, babysitting, children’s meal times, numerous beach entertainments, games room, snorkelling and camel rides. Children will also adore the clear, warm waters of the nearby creek.
What to see and do
The activities on offer include swimming, snorkelling, sea kayaking, diving, water sports, dhow trips, glass-bottom boat trips, nature trails, butterfly farms, places of historic interest, visits to the nearby Shimba Hills (a coastal national park with plentiful elephant) or to the world-famous Arabuko Sokoke Forest, one of the last of the rainforests.
Other attractions
Swimming at IOBC is possibly the best on the southern coast. Bordering on the marine park, the clear waters offer a stunning stretch of coral reef and, because there is a gap in the reef at this point, huge waves surge right up the beach allowing for magnificent body surfing; swimming is possible even at low tide. Immediately next to the hotel is a pristine mangrove creek, where the waters of the Tiwi River meet the sea, and many different water birds can be seen. Immediately next to the hotel, there is also the 16th century Kongo Mosque. Diani Beach itself offers just about everything the visitor could wish for: restaurants, shops, golf course and night spots plus; the Colobus Trust, an area of indigenous forest that provides a sanctuary for the areas many colobus monkeys and the Kaya Kinondo, a cultural centre built around a sacred Kaya (grove) of the Digo people.
The Club offers a 200 m free-form swimming pool (and three plunge pools), an integral International PADI Dive School. Deep-sea fishing, windsurfing, snorkeling, sailing, scuba diving, glass bottom boat, sea-scope boards, pedalos, kayaks and local 'Ngalawa' outrigger canoes. 2 floodlit tennis courts, volleyball, croquet, boules, jogging trail and bird watching. Camel rides on the beach, games room, gift shop, business centre, cyber café and beauty salon.