Jamala Guesthouse

Jamala House is an average establishment. Situated in a convenient part of the old town. It's nearby a mosque so expect a front row seat to daily (and nightly) calls to prayer. The ladies who cook and clean are nice and appropriately non-interested in your comings and goings. Most of the residents in the area are friendly and glad to help, but the smell of donkey poop can be overwhelming, at times. The proprietor of the establishment was nice, at first. We told him when we first arrived that we were interested in taking a dhow ride, but he booked it without confirming our plans and we were only told it was confirmed 30 minutes before it was apparently scheduled, so we declined after a long and windy day. He became quite angry and flew off the handle at us, yelling and demanding we pay the cancellation even though we had no idea that the trip had been confirmed. His words were very disrespectful, rude and mean-hearted. So, a word to the wise, plan your own itinerary instead of relying on him. It will make your stay more pleasant. Other than that one thing, we had a nice stay. It was relatively clean and had hot water.

Jamala Guesthouse is very easy to get to. It's behind the fort so from the promenade in Lamu you take the first street left after the fort (when you go from Shela) and just go up the narrow street, watch a sign above the door to your left. The rooms are very nice and bed comfortable, shower is amazing. The breakfast was plenty with lots of fruits, egg and fresh juice. The staff is nice but of little help, if you need anything arranged you need to catch the manager. Payment is only possible in Ksh in cash. I found the green bank on the promenade having the best exchange rate (some shops exchange as well for considerably worse rate). You need an ID to get the money changed in the bank (open from 8am till 4pm weekdays). The public boat to the airport cost 200 Ksh and leaves from the left pier when facing the sea (10am). Public boat to Shela is also for 200Ksh (best before 4pm or when full) and mototaxi to Shela is for 100Ksh. The only thing I didn't like in the Guesthouse is that the windows in the back rooms do not allow any air circulation (not facing the sea) and because the ventilator is just above the mosquito net, it is blocking the circulation of air. It feels like in a sauna then. As there were literally no mosquitos, without the net would have been better, I think.