By Naseemah Mohamed

Located on Bamburi Beach on the North Coast, the four-star Plaza Beach Hotel is a serene and peaceful getaway. Architecturally, the hotel has a Spanish flavour with staccato white walls and arches throughout the expansive building. What strikes you as you walk into the reception area is the simple but tasteful open area with wooden tables and chairs. A balcony overlooks a perfectly manicured garden.

Inside one of the single rooms at the hotel.

A stucco staircase takes you downstairs past a bubbling fountain into the dining room, which is tastefully decorated with soapstone statues on the serving table. On top of each individual table is a bowl of green water plants.

The food here is decent. However, the dining hall’s biggest asset is its open patio, which opens up to the garden giving a relaxed, non-claustrophobic ambiance to the room. Not surprisingly, therefore, the garden is kept beautiful with plenty of palm trees and vegetation. There is also an enormous swimming pool and an outside bar area for those who enjoy the outdoor. The rooms are available in doubles or singles and are tastefully decorated in warm, summer colours. The bed-board is designed in the shape of a helm. The room comes complete with air-conditioning, a spacious shower, a mini-fridge, hairdryer, television, telephone, room service and a mirrored working area.

A view of the reception lounge

Being on the beachfront, the hotel’s neighbours include other resorts so visitors can walk along the beach and interact with other tourists and locals selling their wares. Fortunately, the beach is not crowded.

It is easy to sleep at night to the sounds of the ocean waves and the whooshing sounds of the palm trees.