Funzi Cove Ecolodge — Hotel in Ramisi ward

The natural setting is awesome, however the cleanliness and general maintenance needs improvement. This seemed to improve after we raised it up on day three.

There are a lot of bugs and insects at Mikoko Cove and I imagine over the whole island. Its thus not the best place to visit if you are scared of bugs but they provide repellant and anti-bugs spray every evening. I do however understand the bugs and insects issue given a very deliberate and commendable effort to maintain the environment as purely as possible, which they have been quite successful at in any case.

Its not the best place to work while on vacation given no internet and somewhat poor cellphone connectivity. Incidentally, I later came to learn that they have wifi, but they charge 200kshs a day for it. I honestly could not to terms with this, honestly in this day and age we have free internet in Barber shops.

If you visit the place, which I strongly recommend, take time to interact with the local staff, Moha was our favourite, the Captain Abbas is also awesome and so is Ali aka Kibonge the Chef and Groundsman.

We had three activities that we were engaged in,the fishing was not so successful to have a catch but we did find the Paradise Lost which is sort of an abandoned hotel and tourist facility with quite a rich history. Here you will find ruins of a Shirazi Mosque. Funzi Island has a very rich historical connections with the Shirazi Arabs "hope I got the name right".

The second activity was the village Funzi village tour in which we got to tour the village and interact with the locals. This was quite refreshing and interesting to say the list.

The third activity we participated in was the funzi island sand bank, during the day and also at night, unfortunately the stars hid from us during the night sand bank visit. It was a consolation that the Funzi team integrate a bornfire as well into the night time sand bank visit. It was a great experience to have the sandbank to ourselves albeit momentary until the high tide set in.

Am really not sure if I would be able to come out and say which of the three activities was the best, they were all competitively fulfilling. I would however recommend they think of integrating an island boat tour with a local guide. Funzi Island is a conflagration of a number of islands and is touted to be bigger than Mombasa in land area. A historical siteor location visit would be an awesome addition and experience I believe.

After a seven day visit, it was time for us to leave, one week of fun and refrshing our souls, minds and bodies. It is great that the Mikoko team organizes airport transfers using both boat and taxi, the boat ride to Bodo is free for all Mikoko Cove Guests. The Taxi is through a provider who provides standardized rates, it wouldbe good to include this in the visitors information pack.

This is one place I would visit regularly to recharge myself and mine. I amactually planning to have the kids over one of these holidays so that they can experience what my Queen and I experienced.

It was mentioned that they are planning to do a campsite on location and this would be great for hikers and backpackers or budget tourists interested in visiting the facility.

Lemme guys know your experience if and when you get to visit Mikoko Cove and give them feedback so that they can improve, I noticed they have a healthy appetite for all feedback on what their visitors experience.

See you in...

The rooms weren't very clean (why was there a pile of used q-tips in the bathroom?) and the grounds were not well maintained at all. We understand the concept of an ecolodge, having stayed at many, but this just was not a well cared for facility as it was quite run down, overgrown and felt deserted due to the visible lack of upkeep. There are a lot of bugs and the mosquito nets provided were needed. They covered the whole bed and saved the night for sure! The staff had to kill the power in our room because there was some strange intense strobe light on the cieling of the room when you turned the lights off and it was incredibly bright and definitely not healthy to sleep under! This was unfortunate as it meant no charged devices for photos the next day of our trip.

The food was fine, that's about all there is to say about it. Wine, allegedly a "Sauvignon Blanc" was more of a "Sauvignin Jaune" and dark, dark yellow in colour. As expected upon just looking at it, it was absolutely terrible! The beer was cold and well stocked (phew)! The dining area is nice for hanging out and had a relaxed atmosphere.

The activities available were few and questions were not well answered as the staff was not knowledgeable or overly enthusiastic about what the area or the neighbouring areas had to offer. Sea kayaking is a nice morning out, just don't expect any clariry of instructions or encouragement about where to go. The general disinterest in your stay was what we all felt from check-in onwards. However, the sandbar beach they take you to is actually really awesome to go to and made up for a lot of the overall "meh" of the experience...

I stayed here for 5 days over the New Year. First of all, the location is magnificent. Funzi island is off the South coast of Kenya.The magic starts when a boat (very kindly) provided by the owners picks you up from the mainland and glides through mangroves onto Funzi Island. Mikoko Cove is a beautiful, rustic lodge that blends into the natural environment providing all the necessary comfort while allowing you to experience the habitat fully. It is surrounded by indigenous forest with monkeys, bushbabies and all sorts of creatures. There is a nature trail you can walk through and you can also walk to the baobab beach and many other interesting spots on the island. The highlight for me was the sandbank - which is only exposed for a few hours a day before the ocean reclaims it. We spent an amazing new year's eve on the sandback counting down the new year and enjoying champagne, drinks and a bonfire until the ocean came in and then hopped on the boat (again..generously provided by the owners on Mikoko lodge) and glided through the magroves back to the lodge.||Mikoko cove offers very spacious and elegant bandas with Lamu beds and other beautiful touches and finishes. They also offer camping options in a beautiful area in the forest where campers can really enjoy all the nocturnal noises of the animals and feel immersed in this wild island.||Highly recommended visit for anyone in the Kenyan coast looking for a piece of paradise off the...