Chale Island

Hotel review

For some the journey is more important than the arrival, but not if you are travelling to the exquisite Chale (CHA-lay) Island resort. The trip entails a thirty minute drive along a Kenyan dirt track which will loosen your fillings but bite your tongue because this resort is worth more than mere gold. 

The hotel is situated upon a small island which guests reach by boat at high tide, or tractor/trailer the rest of the time. The site is a large sprawling and luxurious camp boasting three swimming pools, five restaurants and, well, enough watering holes to quench any thirst. The best of them is the Sunset Bar, on stilts, on the water, where guests gather at the 5pm opening hour to enjoy a real-time ‘sundowner’ while watching the great egrets return to roost in the safety of the island. 

Even the cheapest rooms, in a small tower with sea views, are wonderfully spacious, and our “banda” was huge with a large terrace overlooking the water that was occasionally requisitioned by the local Colobus monkeys. Their cousins are known to enter unlocked rooms and, according to staff, empty the mini bar…an unusual scapegoat if nothing else! The bedroom was huge and the decor minimalist. The bathroom was built along similar lines, boasting all the amenities you could wish for and a few that you probably won’t need. The best touch was the outside shower, in a miniature enclosed garden off the bathroom, where you could enjoy an alfresco scrub without anyone other than an inquisitive monkey spoiling the solitude.

One of our party who utilised the hotel spa noted with some astonishment that while most of them play taped jungle sounds, Chale Island resort simply opened the windows and let the real jungle do its thing.

The food was excellent and the service prompt, not something you can say very often in Africa, with breakfast a highlight boasting fruits which you might never have encountered before and countless other healthy goodies. 

The five restaurants include a cafe selling coffees, ice creams and snacks with the odd peacock in attendance at the till, and a barbecue restaurant (this was closed during our visit but their menu was seamlessly incorporated into the main eatery).  One poolside restaurant specialises in sushi, another in Italian dishes which could be because the hotel boasts a genial, Italian manager who has been in situ since 2006 when the place opened. Andrea started out as a comedian; still a people person, he can be found propping up the bar most nights. But his attention to detail is second to none! There is a games room, with snooker and table tennis on offer, and a television room that was showing a Premier League match but can revert to movies at the flick of a switch.

There are a multitude of sea-based activities on offer, mostly free. Kayak your way around the island with a guide (it takes less than an hour), try your hand at deep sea fishing, or head over to the Marine Centre where you can see the conservationists at work. 

A stunning private island stay, which will tick all the boxes whether you're looking for romance or a luxury family getaway.

Iain Morrison