Distant Relatives Ecolodge & Backpackers

Fantastic service, from we arrived and until we left. The 3 dogs was for me a bonus. (i'm a big softie when it comes to dogs) The food at the restaurant was great, though a little pricey. The staff goes above and beyond to make you feel welcome. The Manager of the place even invited us to see his boat. (Sadly we never found the time) Only negative is that the showers are cold... like COLD. It was explained that it was due to the water normally being heated up by the sun and we were there in the off season which is a little colder. (Not that cold though) If you don't mind the cold showers, then I highly recommend this place.

If you like hostel/backpackersl vibe, this is the place for you! There are not so many options in Kenya, so Distant Relatives really stands out. You will be surrounded by nature, friendly and helpful staff, animals (monkeys, cats, dogs, insects, birds) and interesting people. When it rains, the roof might be leaking in some rooms, but the administrator resolved the issue quickly and moved us to another room. Communal toilets and shower were always clean and well-maintained. The location is a bit far from the main beach but there are always boda bodas outside the gate, and you can also call a tuktuk. They host different events such as musical jams and night parties. The food in the restaurant is also very delicious! A few suggestions for improvement: 1. Communal kitchen is not very well equiped as there are few cooking items available, especially clean ones if someone who cooked before did not clean after themselves. Maybe additional pots for heating water for tea/coffee and a couple of more frying pans would be good to have. 2. There should be dedicated smoking areas or much more non-smoking areas. It was unfortunate that many people smoked around all the time meanwhile we came to enjoy nature and fresh air - it just did not feel right that in the Ecolodge smoking is allowed almost anywhere. 3. Music sound control. Sometimes I felt like the music in the bar area was a bit too loud for morning hours when I would prefer to relax in silence as the day unfolds, but maybe I could just ask to lower it a bit. Sometimes at night it was a bit noisy too and there was some noise at around 4 am on Sunday coming from the village (must be the church!) Just bring your ear protectors :)

Disappointing. It is a nice space, nice dorms, decent food, nice staff. But the music is going in the bar/pool area almost all day so it's impossible to chill and read a book. The nearby beach does get nice sunsets but can also be a bit loud with people with portable speakers. For me, it really wasn't worth the detour.

DR lies on top of what is almost a privat little beach towards the Kilifi Creek. The compound includes some mostly friendly animal life; very nice eco-themed daily activities. bar/food could be a tad cheaper but are perfectly ok, there's also the possibility to prepare one's own meals. Staff is very friendly.

We always love to return to this wonderful ecolodge when in kenya. The rooms are clean, the food is delicious and the vision of the place is outstanding. We highly recommend a stay there.

I loved the privacy it offered for one seeking some quiet ,relaxed enviroment. The variety in meals offered. The whole eco setting within the vicinity. The kids enjoyed the uninterrupted swimming sessions & making friends. For house keeping,they should ensure it's a daily routine in terms of changing bed sheets & pillow cases ,cleaning of rooms & bathroom & toilet areas,disinfecting of the same & probably put an active supervisor to do follow ups on the same to ensure high standards of hygiene.