Peponi Hotel resort is a small luxury resort on the exotic Lamu Island, in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Kenya, the very root of Swahili culture, which spread centuries ago down the East African Coast. The move of the Oman Sultan from Lamu to further off shore Zanzibar left Lamu dormant in a time warp for three hundred years. There is only one car on the island and the narrow streets of the old town are very much as they were.
Peponi Beach Resort is still run by the Korschen family, who opened the hotel in 1967 and which still retains much of the character and charm that it had then. Small and personal, it is the perfect rest after a safari or a hide away holiday from modern life.Peponi resort lies on the exotic Indian Ocean island of Lamu, just off the coast of Kenya. It is the very root of Swahili culture in East Africa, which centuries ago spread down the coast from the north.

When the Sultan of Oman moved from Lamu to Zanzibar Island - further south - Lamu lay dormant, forgotten for three hundred years. There is only one car on the island and the narrow streets of the old town are very much as they were in his day
Peponi is a resolution of all safaris in East Africa. It is the journey's exclamation point, a retreat from hubbub where one can make sense of a fast life and its senseless details. Here is where I learn to redress myself on a first-name basis.

There are too many luxury hotels around our world and they offer the same; a chocolate on the pillow, a canned romance and a cuisine called haute because it's spelled in French. Peponi Hotel stands apart from them all for integrity to place. Architecture, views, beach, dining, sounds; smells are all exhilarating surprises, unique to this coast, this culture, Africa. Yes, you come here to be pampered, but at Peponi, luxury is the engine not the destination.
The truth is Peponi 'happened'. It was a house that grew into a hotel, an idea that little by little, took shape from its sea-mad proprietors. An entire village looks to Peponi as its watering hole, its nexus of entertainment, its fountain of gossip. Throughout the decades, I've been coming, Peponi has benefited from this popularity; it has gained and regained inspiration from the surrounding culture it celebrates. It is life's exception; a place that is both luxurious beyond one's dreaming and innocent of all pretence.

Peponi Hotel Accommodation
Peponi Hotel has a total of 24 rooms, which are divided into superior and standard rooms. All rooms at Peponi have ocean views. The superior rooms are differentiated by their location, size, and private outside area, indoor plants, artwork and Swahili furnishings. No two rooms are alike. Five of our rooms are built right on the beach, with private verandah areas overlooking the sea, while the rest have a combination of ocean and garden views. All rooms have overhead fans, mosquito nets, showers (no baths), fresh flowers, and personal safes.

Peponi Hotel Restaurant
The bar is run by Charles, who will whip up in an instant our famous house cocktail 'Old Pal', or pour a fresh juice of lime, passion or orange, or even serve a fresh coconut with the top whipped off allowing access to the sweet, milky liquid inside. The bar is a favorite watering hole for quests and Shela village inhabitants alike, with "its nexus of entertainment, its fountain of gossip."
There is no hurry to dine at Peponi hotel. Breakfast is available in the dining room or on the terrace or even in your room from 7am to 10am. The choice is yours, from our wide selection of luscious tropical fruits to fish cakes and waffles with local honey and freshly squeezed lime juice. Coffee is poured from the traditional brass pots and you can guess what our jam and marmalade is made of.
Lunch is available from 12pm to 4pm. You may choose to dine either outside at the grill, under the colorful bougainvillea, where you can dig your feet in fresh white coral sand, or on the terrace overlooking the ocean, the movement of dhows and local fishermen. Should you prefer a light snack without leaving the bar, fresh rock oysters are available or a range of samosas and sandwiches all day. You may even prefer to have them sent to your room with a cold passion juice or a local beer.
Dinner is distinguished by its plethora of new ways to celebrate seafood - with ginger, lime and garlic. Mangrove crabs, warm water lobster, squid, giant prawns and fish of all varieties. For something a little more local, a Swahili menu is also available, which can be eaten in the traditional way, on the floor, around a huge brass platter.
Peponi hotel also has a fresh-water free-form swimming pool, situated under two Baobab Trees overlooking the ocean. It is the perfect place to relax with a good book, and if you so wish lunch can also be served here.

Peponi hotel reviews and articles
From Harpers and Queen - 300 Best Hotels Of The World
Peponi hotel is simple, fresh, friendly, cheerful and everything about it is totally original and genuine no frozen foods here or frozen smiles.

From The Sunday Times
Peponi Hotel, one of the greatest little hotels of the world and unquestionably the place to stay on Lamu Island.
From The New York Times
after we lurched into flight, I looked down at Lamu and wondered why we had been in such a hurry to leave. We remembered that they would be having giant prawns in butter sauce for dinner at the Peponi.

From The City And Country Home
Listening to the music of the night and getting sand between my toes during the day amounted to, in the end, an easy surrender to the realization that the hotel had gently but firmly kidnapped me.
 
Lamu Peponi Hotel in Lamu Island including Accommodations in Lamu Island with Lamu Island holiday experts offering tours to Lamu Island African Safaris Adventure.