Distant Relatives Ecolodge & Backpackers

Had an amazing 4 day stay at distant relatives. Immediately when you arrive you are made to feel like you’re at home. All the staff are so helpful, welcoming, kind and funny! The food and drinks are delicious and decently priced. The whole environment there is amazing, inclusive and happy. Thanks so much guys and I can’t wait to come back :)

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 :)

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.

The grounds are beautiful and the vibes are pretty good. I had a private room though that could have been better. Make sure you’re comfortable with insects because the windows are open air. Fan in my room did not work. Need a moto to get to town, but they are always outside ready to go. Staff were very kind. Met some other great travellers there and unfortunately discovered that it seemed they were segregating by race in the dorm rooms. Very very unimpressed. Staff said it was a “coincidence”.

We were recommended to stay at Distant Relatives by friends who have enjoyed many breaks and family holidays in Kalifi over the years. From the moment we arrived we were impressed by the friendliness of the staff and how relaxed the place felt. The family rooms where comfortable and access to the beach was a short walk away. The food we had throughout our time there was so good we had to praise the chef Moses who came out to thank us. We loved the place so much that we actually decided to stay there the whole time we were in Kalifi - After spending 2.5 days there, you really do end up becoming apart of the family. We would most certainly return on our next visit to Kenya

Staying at distant relatives was an absolute treat! We arranged for a car to pick us up from Malindi airport when we booked our stay which was very helpful. The driver was there when we landed and it was a smooth drive. The grounds at DR are beautiful, check in was easy and we were given a tour of the area. It was great to have the option to have food/drink on the premises when we weren't out and about in town. Our room was so nice and cozy (so nice to have options from dorms to private rooms with private bathrooms all at very affordable prices). The pool was such a treat and there's so many areas to hangout outside, almost always right next to outlets, as well! The staff is very kind and helpful and there's always something to do. I would definitely stay here again when I visit Kilifi!!

It’s very unfortunate and sad that such a beautiful gem would practice racial segregation. During my week long stay at Distant Relatives they had a dorm just for the white and a different dorm for Africans. To see such horrible things happening in Africa is very appalling…. Is this the return of Apartheid? For how long will we be discriminated against the color of our skin in our own home? Wasn’t slavery enough? How about colonization? I had to check out immediately because I cannot support racist businesses and institutions The truth of the matter still remains DISTANT RELATIVES IS A RACIST ESTABLISHMENT It doesn’t matter how you try to cover up the matter.. reality still remains as is and this is neither my perception nor claim it’s the reality that I experienced at your establishment.. instead of trying to invalidate my experience why don’t you take accountability apologize change and do better!! I’ve stayed at various backpackers around the world and this is the first I’ve left a bad review… I’m deeply saddened that I had to leave a bad review but what you’re practicing is very appalling very disturbing and disgusting I proudly standing by my statement during my stay you segregated people according to race and I have atleast 8 people that can collaborate that so it doesn’t matter if you post your books I was there I lived it and I experienced it and I won’t retract my statement as the truth is the truth which is DR IS RACIST

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.