A chic boutique hotel, situated on one of the finest beaches in Africa, Waterlovers is the fulfilled dream of its lovely owners, husband & wife team Riccardo and Valentina. Built from scratch they have created a seriously cool beach hotel that sits in the heart of water-sports heaven, on miles of white sand and delivers to its guests warm, unpretentious hospitality which fulfils the Waterlovers motto, “arrive as guests and leave as friends”!

“True to the ancient adage, ‘Life holds many surprises’, we found ourselves living in Kenya, which is where Waterlovers was born, out of our love of the ocean & nature. In contrast to the big hotels, we take pride and enjoy establishing a heart-felt personal contact to our guests as it is our goal to make your experience of staying at WaterLovers as unique as possible. We want to share our paradise & our motto strongly remains ‘come as guests and leave as a friend.”

Riccardo & Valentina, Owners, Waterlovers

Located on the coral white sand of Diani Beach, 45 minutes south of Mombasa, Waterlovers Beach Resort was built by Riccardo and Valentina in a style they describe as Afro-chic, combining influences from Sardinia, the Caribbean and Swahili Coast. Drawing on these coastal themes the result is a calming rustic design that features lots of unique carved wooden furniture (such as a cool surfboard table) and bright local sarongs used cleverly to add splashes of colour throughout the resort.

Built to take full advantage of the ocean views, the main guests areas consist of the beachfront Tides Restaurant which serves a delicious fusion of Mediterranean & Swahili cuisine, the cool beach bar with lots of comfy sitting areas, the Kola Spa in the tranquil gardens and right at the centre a turtle shaped infinity pool for cooling off in the middle of the day. The hotel also has a beach house where snorkelling gear and kayaks are available, free of charge.

The accommodation at Waterlovers features 8 ocean facing suites with private verandas, a three bedroom private villa with lounge & kitchen which can be booked with a private chef and a beautiful new four bedroom penthouse apartment, spread over two floors with a cosy lounge packed with media gadgets, an open plan kitchen and large private veranda overlooking the ocean.

With constant trade winds and flat warm water, Diani is one of the best spots in Africa for kitesurfing and windsurfing, catering to all levels and Waterlovers will help you get all booked with the excellent water-sports centre “H20 Extreme” just along the beach – Riccardo and Valentina are also pretty handy on the water! Other activities available at the centre include SUP boarding, boogie boarding and with a reef only 700m off shore some pretty special snorkelling and diving.

You will struggle to leave that beach but Riccardo & Valentina can also arrange various excursions in the area which include trips into Mombasa Old Town, swimming with dolphins in Kisite Marine Park and visiting the elephant sanctuary in the Shimba Hills Reserve.