My family of two seniors, five adults and two children all loved our recent stay at Jumuia Conference and Beach Resort. At one point, we were the only guests, yet we were still treated to great service. We had full, delicious buffet meals of Kenyan and other cuisines in the lovely dining hall with its spacious views of the Indian Ocean. (Kenyan food is now my favorite!) The grounds are large and lovely with stone walkways winding through the grass between trees. The large and small pools under the palms trees were meticulously clean and fun to swim in. The private-feeling, simple, but multiple-roomed bungalows have built-in lounging couches on their porches facing the ocean. The rooms each have their own bathrooms with showers. Mosquito netting (and spraying the room earlier in the evening by the staff) protected the beds at night and the sea breeze kept almost all of the insects away during the day. The rooms are cleaned daily, and towels are arranged in delightful animal designs from graceful swans to a water-bottle-eating crocodile. The sandy beach gives way to a long stretch of water that can be walked at low tide all the way out to the distant coral reef. The center is a Christian retreat, but there is no reason people of all faiths cannot enjoy its serene location; the Swahili and English music playing quietly in the dining hall (and perhaps the kindness of the staff) are the only hints of the religious nature of the center during non-conference times.||||Jumuia hires nice guards to walk the grounds to assure that every guest feels comfortable. Sometimes, local people working to support their families stand beyond the Jumuia area’s wall and quietly offer lovely jewelry and carvings for sale. They also are willing to take people at low tide along a “water pathway” to safely see urchins, sea cucumbers, starfish and other delights. (Don’t walk randomly beyond the sandy shore area or you risk being impaled by urchins and risk killing the fragile wildlife.) At first, I felt a bit shy and awkward interacting with the local people, but before long, that exchange became one of the highpoints of my stay.||||We stayed one night at a much fancier resort. I actually preferred the more modest Jumuia because Jumuia does not proclaim as great difference between the very rich and very poor. At Jumuia, some of the drawers in our bedroom cabinet seemed stuck closed, presumably due to humidity, and here and there on the porch a spot of paint could be used, but I didn’t even bother pointing out these small things to management because we were too busy enjoying our pleasant stay. Jumuia’s location was also much better than at the pricier place; we loved the sunrises over the ocean right at our door front. ||||As an American, I would not attempt to drive in Kenya, with its bumpy dirt roads, British-side driving, and sometimes bumper to bumper traffic. But, if you hire a driver, then I would recommend this peaceful and very pleasant retreat. From Jumuia, you can travel to Mombasa or other locations if you wish. (Just add an hour travel time to your plans, since travel always seemed to take extra time… time well spent seeing the sights out of the vehicle’s windows.)||||PS We asked for a portable access to Wi-Fi and were given...
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