Prideinn Paradise Beach Resort – Hotel Review

The eight-day safari package concluded with a drive from Amboseli National Park to Mombasa, a two-night stay at Prideinn Paradise Beach Resort, a water safari in Kisite Mpunguti National Marine Park, and a flight from Mombasa to Nairobi. This post reviews the drive to Mombasa and the stay at Prideinn Paradise Beach Resort.

Drive from Amboseli to Mombasa

Near the beginning of the drive the driver took a “shortcut” to shave off a little time. I don’t know how much time we saved but I wouldn’t recommend it. I’m uncertain of the exact route, but if the geo location in the photo app on my phone was accurate, we followed C103 from Amboseli to C102 to A23 to Voi, Kenya where we picked up A109 to Mombasa. A109 divides the gigantic Tsavo National Park into Tsavo East and Tsavo West. With a stop for lunch and gas, the trip took about eight hours.

You can see from the map below that the direct route from Oloitokitok, Kenya to A23 goes through Tanzania. We did not pass through any posted border crossing however.

So to get to A23 without entering Tanzania we must have taken back roads that skirted the border.

As the crow flies, the distance appears to be less than 30 miles (48 km). I’m certain of one thing. That drive was by far the bumpiest, most uncomfortable ride I’ve experienced. Personal injury and/or damage to the laptop stowed in my backpack seemed like real possibilities. I was tempted to get out and walk.

The Toyota safari vehicle and its occupants managed to survive.

We stopped for gas and lunch in Voi where A23 intersects A109, the Mombasa Road. 

Many gas stations on the main roads in Kenya have convenience stores and restaurants that are great for taking a break and stretching legs.  Even though our box lunches weren’t purchased at the restaurant, there was no problem using its outdoor seating.  It seemed that most restaurants outside of the few major cities were open air affairs.  That might partially explain why Kenya and Africa in general escaped major Covid outbreaks that could have overwhelmed their health care systems.

Once we were on A109 the rest of the way to Mombasa it was smooth sailing.

Prideinn Paradise Beach Resort

Lamara Tourism booked Prideinn Paradise Beach Resort for the stay in Mombasa.  The hotel bills itself as a luxury accommodation.  It was definitely a step up from the AA Safari Lodges. 

I was assigned to a ground-floor, family room with a king bed, a bunk bed and a patio.   

Enhancements over the safari accommodations included a TV with cable channels, a refrigerator (if only I had a few cold ones to go with it), air conditioning, and free in-room wifi.

The bath included a walk-in shower, a handy shaving mirror, a hair dryer, and shower gel, conditioner and body lotion.  

Safe, slippers and bathrobe completed the room amenities.

I’d rate the room as solidly four-star. 

The food was the feature of the hotel I enjoyed most.  Breakfast and dinner was included, and the buffets were excellent.  The first night the buffet was set up by the pool.  Several stations offered a huge selection of salads, fruits, soups, veggies, desserts and of course meat.  Meat seemed to be a big part of the Kenyan diet.

I don’t know the names of many of the dishes but they were all delicious. I had a great table by the pool. It was a little windy, but insects were not a problem.

How could you improve on superb dining under the stars? How about adding live entertainment! The first night a DJ and singer kept my spirits up by playing African instrumental works and singing some lovely ballads.

The next night, dinner was indoors. Guests were treated to various forms of African dance and song along with their meals.

I had one major hang up with this hotel. A security guard said that I could not take pictures of the property. That is the only time a hotel told me it objected to photos. There have been some terrorist attacks in Kenya over the years including a major attack on a shopping mall in Nairobi in 2013. Many public buildings have metal detectors. This hotel and the one I stayed at in Nairobi also use mirrors to check under vehicles for bombs.

But prohibiting photos of the hotel served no purpose because there are tons of them on the hotel’s website and many booking sites. The rest of the photos are from publicly available sites.

Prideinn Paradise Beach Resort is located in a private enclave on a white sand beach on the Indian Ocean a few miles north of Mombasa.

Overall Impression

After surviving the shortcut, the drive to Mombasa through Tsavo National Park was fun even though only the occasional giraffe was visible from A109. The food and entertainment at Prideinn Paradise Beach Resort made that stay memorable. It would be nice to spend more time there to enjoy the beach which I didn’t have the chance to do in May.

Has a hotel, airline or other public establishment ever barred you from taking photos?

Apologies for the varying font size. I’m unable to make it uniform and WP support seems to be on vacation.