Nyota House Lamu

Centrally situated in an elevated position in Old Lamu, Nyota house is comprised of clean lines and well-thought-out spaces.

Spread over 4 floors, Nyota House is comprised of a freshwater plunge pool, three double bedrooms, a living room, which can be used as a fourth bedroom, and an expansive rooftop.

Nyota is a house of clean lines and well-thought-out spaces – a cool, calm, and uncluttered take on a traditional Lamu house – which cleverly incorporates traditional Swahili and Islamic decorative elements such as zidaka niches, carved plasterwork designs, ceiling friezes, and mashrabya screens.

A defining feature of Nyota is the spacious freshwater plunge pool built down into the foundations of the house – with its inset nyota star design, underwater baraza seats, and illumination highlighting the surrounding archways, it is a wonderfully atmospheric place in which to cool off and relax.

The cloistered and very private ground floor of the house, entered through a traditional daka entrance porch with baraza seats and carved teakwood front door, also houses an occasional single bedroom and shower room, the downstairs kitchen – and an expansive built-in sofa seat which is ideal for lounging in front of the pool.

On the first floor, there are two double bedrooms – each with twin beds and bedside tables and lamps housed under all-enveloping mosquito nets. Each has a spacious ensuite shower room, and ample wardrobe and storage space.

The master bedroom suite – comprising a double bedroom with a four-poster bed, dressing room with built-in wardrobes, ensuite bathroom, and living room with sofas and tables – is housed on the second floor. All the rooms interconnect – making it a lovely private territory for the master and mistress of the house. The living room can also be accessed from the main stairway and second-floor landing – and so can also be used as an indoor family room.
Nyota is completely detached – with streets and open spaces on all four sides – making it unusually airy and well-ventilated – and the upper floors are further refreshed by the cooling effect of the swimming pool and louvered bedroom window shutters all around the 3-story central atrium. Should you need any further ventilation there are ceiling fans in all bedrooms.

The breezy and part makuti-thatched rooftop houses a semi-enclosed dining room to its rear – its table seating up to eight guests – and a kitchen area with a cocktail fridge and sink. The central area of the rooftop features spacious baraza sofa seats and tables under the makuti roof, while the front deck is open to the sun and to the beautiful Lamu night sky.

A combination of table lamps, hanging lanterns, up lighters and zidaka niche lights ensure that the rooftop is a charming and beautifully and subtly lit space for an evening’s relaxing, dining, and entertaining.
Views from the rooftop are wonderful and unimpeded – one of the great pleasures of a stay at Nyota is observing all the comings and goings of neighboring rooftops, streets, and alleyways, the local birdlife and cat-life, the passing parade of dhows and motorboats on the channel – and the arrival and departure of planes at the airport across on Manda island.

Centrally situated in an elevated position in Old Lamu – and just a minute or two from the waterfront, the town’s museums, main boat jetty, and main shopping street – the many attractions of the town and island are all close at hand. One can enjoy the hustle and bustle of local street life, boat and beach trips, and cultural visits – and then withdraw to the privacy, seclusion, and relaxation offered by Nyota.

During your stay you will be ably looked after by Harrison, Nyota’s house manager, a chef is available on request for an additional cost. Also very close at hand is the Lamu House Hotel which is a fixture of the Lamu Town seafront.

You will be able to access the whole house.

The main rainy season in Lamu is in May and a smaller one is in November. Since the Makati (straw thatch) roof overhangs the pool, when it rains very heavily, the pool can occasionally become discolored for a while. This can limit use during those times.

We have a housekeeper who will be available for your stay and a house manager to oversee things while you are there.

There is no hot water in the house. The vast majority of our guests have welcomed the cooler showers, to counter the hot outside temperatures, but if you think it might not be for you, we quite understand. This might be more noticeable in the wetter months of May and November.

The house is usually self-catering. If you would prefer not to shop, ask our housekeeper to shop for your food, pay him by the day and he will account with receipts. If you would prefer to have a cook, he will cost 3000KSh per day, plus the food costs bought daily as above. If a cook is required, he must be employed for the duration of the stay, or an unbroken portion of the stay (min 2 nights employed).

As with many far-flung tropical destinations, both power and water supply can get interrupted in Lamu. Although we will try to help as much as possible in these circumstances, they are often outside our control.

Parents of very young children should be aware that the house has a pool, which is deep for young children, four floors of quite steep stone steps, and reasonably low parapet walls on the roof terrace, which might be climbable to very inquisitive children. We don’t wish to put anyone off, but we do want parents to be fully aware before booking.

Finally, the Lamu Tourist Police Commander has recently directed that all institutions that provide tourist accommodation must submit daily data on the number and details of tourists (both international and domestic) present. To do so, we are required to obtain a photo of all guests’ passports or photo IDs, before travel. Thank you for your help in this matter.