It was mid 2016. I was yearning a holiday. Nick - my wingman when it comes to group travel - came up with a getaway plan. He tasked me to do what I do best and find a place to call a home away from home. The coast of Kenya was the destination in mind. If you know me well, you know am resourceful when it comes to customizing dream trips. I have built important contacts as well. For this noble job, I reached out to my friend Paul. Paul is a doctor by profession and the owner of a few Villas in Malindi. Paul listened to me. We worked out an offer that involved a 3 nights’ stay on self-catering. I conveyed the message to Nick who got extremely excited. Our friends pressured us constantly for details about this holiday. After knowing our ‘to be’ home for the next few days, I decided to keep it to myself. This travel family couldn't keep calm and wanted pictures of where we were going. Probably to flaunt to their friends? Or certainty? Or for satisfying curiosity? Well, it was my surprise for them and no one could convince me otherwise. Nick and I made transport plans and secured two private vehicles. My travel family at that point included 13 people. We left Nairobi at 10pm on a Tuesday night. Destination: Malindi, Kenya. The journey was characterized by a few hiccups including flat tyre and traffic jam. We however managed to make it safely to Malindi by 11am on Wednesday. This was to be our home town for the next 3 days and were to bid it goodbye on Saturday. We did our shopping at Nakumatt Malindi. This is the same place we met Paul. He offered his chef to us for free. He also accompanied us to the little paradise. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Resort I Granchi. This is the most exquisite holiday destination there is. The expression on my travel family's faces was nothing short of amazing. They were lost for words. At some point they thought there was another Villa behind which we were supposed to check in. The resort has two blocks built in the shape of a crab. Granchi is an Italian word for crab. Each block has 3 floors. The first and second floors have 3 bedrooms each while the fourth floor has 4 bedrooms and a viewing deck. Paul handed us to the resort director who showed us to our rooms. We occupied the 3rd floors of both units. Getting to the house was another adventure in our little paradise. It is spacious and very beautiful. The house has a large fully equipped kitchen, a big lounge with numerous sofa beds and couches and a dining table. At the viewing deck, there is a bed and a platform outside the windows. I’m sure by now you know what the viewing decks are for. The house has 180 degrees view of the ocean. There is a very pleasant view of the ocean from 3rd floor. The bedrooms are spacious and self contained. Just outside the house is a swimming pool. It touches both ground floors of the houses. You can literally step from the house into the pool. There is another pool next to the beach that is laid with sunbeds. What more would anyone be looking for? Whether travelling as friends, couples, for honeymoon, family or chama, this is the best destination there is. The resort is next to Malindi Marine Park. This presents a clean beach with numerous boats for excursions. We were overwhelmed. Do we start with swimming? Eating? A beach walk? Stories at the lounge? Drinking our favourite poison? We were spoilt for choice and had a clear picture of what paradise is really like. The resort presented a great location to catch the sunrise and sunsets. We had the pool all to ourselves. Our mornings were characterized by catching the sunrise and hunting for crabs. The evenings were best for beach walks. As you would expect with any group travel, we created our own fun. We had our music system and played poker after having dinner. There was no designated bed time. Everyone retired to bed at their own pleasure. I will not get into detail of everyday’s activities, otherwise this would be a novel and not an article. Time flies when you’re having fun. Before we knew it, the holiday was over. The magic presented by resort I Granchi was incredible. We fell in love with the place the moment we got there. The staff made sure the resort was clean throughout. No one wanted to leave but unfortunately we did not have a choice. Saturday came and we had to pack up and be on our way. The emotions were evident as we bid the resort and Malindi goodbye. Kindly click on comments below to share your thoughts
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AuthorEliud Ndungu, a part-time adventure travel blogger who’s been exploring his motherland-Kenya for over 3 years ArchivesCategories |