Papillon Lagoon Reef

The hotel is an all inclusive hotel but not when it comes to treating fellow Kenyans with inclusivisity.
If you ever stay here and plan to step out to explore the diani night life, this is not the place. The guard will not open the gate for you stating that this isn't the time to come back. Despite knowing very well the contract i signed while checking in has no clause on their imaginary curfew. Not only will the guard deny you access to your room, he will proceed to demean you and disrespect you and no one will take any action.
If you are looking for a place with good hospitality and respectful staff. This isn't it. If you are looking to sue someone for emotional damage. This is the place.

We had a wonderful stay at this hotel and truly enjoyed every moment. The food was tasty, everything was always fresh and well prepared. The staff were very friendly, attentive, and always ready to help, which made our stay especially comfortable.

A very special thank you to Felix and the entire team for organizing such a beautiful birthday surprise for our daughter. It was incredibly touching and made the day truly unforgettable for her and for all of us. Our whole family had a great and relaxing holiday, and we left with only warm memories.

Excellent price-quality ratio!

The hotel is set on a beautiful white sandy beach, perfect for swimming.

The hotel has a large pool, with a nice pool bar and beautiful gardens that are maintained by a group of very hard working gardeners. The monkeys are not bother, just don’t leave food/coconuts lying around. The pool staff are very attentive and there are always beds around with enough shaded areas.

All of the food is very delicious and a lot of variety. The bbq on Friday is fantastic. The outdoor dining areas are beautiful and set up with nice table candles. The service is great although at times slow due to the amount of drink orders.

Our family room was comfortable and cleaned daily, we had a room at the entrance of the hotel and it was a 3 minute walk to the pool. Bottled water was also supplied daily to the room.

Entertainment was great for our children aged 7, 10 and 15- they did not want to leave! The nighttime entertainment was also great, with different kenyan shows and music afterwards.

The hotel organised our airport transfers, which was very convenient.

We took a glass bottom boat trip and catamaran to Robinson Island. Saw a lot of star fish, sea cucumber, sea urchin, fish etc- the kids loved it, perfect water for snorkeling.

Massages and hair braiding at the hotel salon are fabulous! Sarah was so lovely and the prices are very reasonable!

We took a 2 day safari to Tsavo East, which was spectacular!

Our only negative experience were the drinks, the wine and beer were nearly always warm. This was a bit disappointing for us.
And…the beach sellers. They are VERY intense, but this is normal for the area.

Overall, we had a perfect stay and would definitely recommend this hotel for families looking for a budget friendly yet quality stay on Diani beach.

Papillon Lagoon Reef

Diani Beach

Another day in " Paradise. "

1041201436

Jambo Habare, Papillon.
Here we go again. My latest, and maybe last, review. Finally managed to get round to writing this. It will be virtually the same as the other twelve, so it will be short ,and to the point. As other times, it is nothing but praise for all the people involved for making this, the usual wonderful holiday. It did start under a cloud, when I was informed of the passing of a dear friend, Raphael , a truly lovely man. But , that aside, everybody else, old and new, made sure I remembered the good times at the hotel. This is all the staff, from the top down. You all have my full appreciation. Thanks. The sad part is, I think this may have been my last visit. The spirit is willing, but at my age, the body has weakened. The journey out there , the " force feeding " and the " overindulgence ", I can handle quite easily. It is the very long and tiring journey home that causes the problems. !!!! But looking on the bright side, nothing can undo all the wonderful holidays I have had at the Papillon, and , as I always say, I just cannot thank enough for these good times. Thank you all. Mick. Asante Sana
p,s Anybody reading earlier reviews, please do not take a lot of notice, most are a load of " rubbish ". Believe me try it.

We spent 4 nights at the Papillon Lagoon Reef Hotel and we loved it!
We were a little skeptical before our arrival because we had read some bad reviews, but this was certainly good enough for us!
It was great value for money, and we would certainly stay at this hotel again if we come back to Diani Beach.

We had a family room that looked exactly like the pictures on the web page, so no unpleasant surprises. We had water in the room for drinking and water for brushing our teeth.
The rooms were clean and bright, and everything worked well.

The staff was so friendly and helpful.

The pool area was great, and our children loved it.
The water in the pool could have been cleaner, though. It seemed like there was sunscreen in the water, but this would be our only complaint about this place.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner was nice. Many different dishes to choose between at all meals and all was fresh and well prepared.

Our children of 6 and 9 years found much different food they liked at all meals so there was something for everyone.

The pool bar was a lovely spot and the bartenders were kind and patient when our children practiced ordering sodas in English 😊

You can buy a full body massage of 1 hour for 1500 KSH. I really recommend that as well.

All in all, good value for Money (And nice that we could stay 2 adults + 2 children together in 1 room)

top freundliches personal, fruehstuecksauswahl v buffet, lage direkt am strand, kein malle tammtamm, ausspannen, massage tolles zimmer, schoener garten.. gerne und immer wieder

They are saying its 3* hotel but i can say its more than that. Rooms are little old style and average size with nice balcony but you can't enjoy siting on the balcony because of monkeys. But yes indeed nice hotel and service talks all about it. We were here for 3 nights after 7-8 days safari and found we should have couple of more days here. Very nice hotel with pool for kids and adults along with the public beach but don't go with my word saying public beach because the way its clean it was more like private beach. Staff was super super helpful, keep checking with us whether we need any drinks or any help. Food was also good. We had all inclusive package so can enjoy the alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks whole day then evening team with some light snacks and off course breakfast, lunch & dinner. Yes if you will go on beach so there will local vendors will try to come to you to sell the things or water activities but yes if you want you can negotiate they are open to do that else can say no also. Rest very safe and beautiful place to get relax.

Perfect destination for leisure.Cate a waitress was always helpful,Abraham at the concierge Mejumaa the receptionist and also Shaban ata the pool bar.Entire place have beutiful souls

The beach location is amazing. The only challenge is getting to and and from Moi International Airport as it is a bit far and sets you back around 60 US dollars one-way.

Dining options is low
Some receptionist not friendly: it looks like you force them to respond when you ask a question or you only get partial response/information

Very disappointing stay. We booked a family room with one double and two single beds but were given a room with only one double and one single. When we raised this, the reception staff were rude and dismissive, insisting it was “sufficient.”

The room itself had serious issues: loud scratching noises from the ceiling at night (likely insects in the wood), staff only sprayed insecticide in the room in the middle of the night while some of us were sleeping which was unsafe and temporary.

On the last day, the ceiling began leaking in the bathroom, then directly onto the bedroom and on my bed, leaving the room wet and unusable. Despite reporting it in the morning, we were not moved until 2pm, wasting most of our final day.

Wi-Fi was practically non-existent outside the lobby, and staff kept repeating “someone is working on it” without resolution.

Overall, poor service, some unprofessional staff members, and unacceptable room conditions made this a very stressful holiday. I would not recommend this resort.

My stay did not meet my expectations. First, we arrived at the hotel at 1:10 pm,but did not get our rooms until after 6 pm. One receptionist, Mariam, made particularly acidic comments when we inquired as to why it had to take that long. Benson tried his best to save the day.
Second- very poor WiFi. Absolutely no connection in the room.
The room, while spacious and sparkling clean, had extremely noisy fan and no drinking water on day 1. We had to call reception even for that! While the restaurant is well set up, and the menu provided wide and varying selections daily, the waiter service (all super willing to serve, friendly, many had tags that said trainee, ) was slow for tea and drink orders at breakfast taking unnecessarily long. I resorted to going to the tea station myself. For items on the buffet that run out, refilling was slow on several occasions, but could be tolerated, as there was a lot to chose from.
The lowest for me - There are no toilets at the pool area. One has to use the toilets at the restaurant, which despite the staffs efforts had a lingering ammonia odour particularly in the afternoons. The other option was the reception toilets, or go to my room. PS - there was no kettle/tea tray or fridge in the room. I was informed that a standard room does not have this.
The rest of the hotel was sparkly and clean, and the rooms, towels bed linen were cleaned and refreshed well daily.
The all inclusive package works well, with wide choice of soft and local alcoholic drinks. Tea/ coffee/snacks were adequately provided in between.
Overall a mixed experience that didn't live up to my expectations.

Arrived in the hotel at 1.10pm and still didn’t have rooms more than 5 hours later. Poor service and very slow wifi as well.

We booked with freedom destinations in the UK who arranged flights / accommodation and safari.
Everything was well organised.
We chose papillon because we wanted a small traditional feel , our room was perfect and we paid extra to keep it on why we went on safari and was well worth the extra cost.
Food - a good variety at all sittings the afternoon tea is a nice touch. , Food akways fresh and tasty.
Staff - all so friendly , helpful and welcoming a real asset to the hotel.
Shop - not expensive unlike other resorts , do not have a massive stock but we forgot an adapter and they have essentials and other bits.
Massage - had a full body massage which was brilliant and an absolute bargain - highly recommend.
The gardeners will climb the trees for coconuts and will ask guests if they would like one - you pay what you feel no set amount - they were delicious
Entertainment - we was away on safari for some of our stay but what we did see was a good mixture and it was a good standard - worth going down to watch.
The hotel was perfect for what we wanted and we we loved every minute - it’s not 5 star luxury i but the staff and grounds and everything else I have rated it 5
Before arriving I saw lots of comments about not going on the beach because of the beach boys - dont be put off the beach is lovely , the sea is so warm and the sand is super soft - yes they will speak to you and will be near the entrance to the beach but they are not rude or intimidating - be polite and say if you are not interested - they remember you and will just have a chat and say hello the next time.
We felt completely safe 😊

Our safari was to Ngtuni lodge which was absolutely amazing !!!
We also went to Bora Bora which o highly recommend , and did the trip to sandbank it was ok but snorkeling not the best , but glad we did it.
Booked trips with Jomo our rep.
Would love to return as we didn’t get out and about due to our length of stay.

Very poorly managed and over priced. The family room is an open room with 4 small twin beds no privacy. I was overcharged to switch from a family room to a double room , food is ok no variety. Rooms are cleaned daily but laundry is old. Be aware of mold stained on pillows. Ac does not always work. Front desk staff are good but have no say or much help with problems. Won’t recommend at this time. Needs improvements. This was my second time there.

Stayed for 5 nights from our 3 days safari in tsavo east and west.A very beautiful hotel on the beach.Clean and spacious rooms,fantastic and delicious food..Amazing beach view.Great morning walks.All staff are friendly,helpful and accomodating.We booked a last minute stay in papillon during our last day safari in tsavo west,Our guide stallone +254710239929 made it possible with good rates.Highly recommend the hotel service.if looking for trips our guide was the best.

Stayed at this hotel 4 times now and I cannot fault it. The 1st time was in a basic twin bed room which is fine for some but not for me. No TV or Kettle.

Since then I have booked the beach front rooms which are superb in every way.
The staff are excellent and will go out of their way to make sure you have a great holiday. The food is good and plentiful.

I love the pool with the swim up bar and there is never a problem getting sun-loungers.

I have been to hotels/resorts all over the world and this is one of my favourites.

Also, if you are flying in to MOI airport, arrange the transfer via the hotel. At 6500 KES, it is much cheaper than any transfer company.

I hope to be returning there very soon

The resort is set in a wooded area right next to a white sand beach
the room is of good size with a ceiling fan, AC, TV, fridge
you get a couple of bottles of water daily
room can be cleaned almost every day
the bed is nice and firm there was a balcony with views of the local monkeys
the area has nothing as such
food for a All inclusive buffet is Good
Dinner has a no beach wear policy but you can wear chino shorts
staff are pleasant and friendly
the beach is ok but can get a bit of hassle from the local traders
transfer can be arrange by the hotel UBER is available also
evening entertainment isn't that great
my 1st week was very quiet with not many guests
i would go back for the right deal

The hotel was the dirtiest holifay destination i’ve ever gone to. Has weird brown towels that had a foul smell. The pool bar had no music, amd they barred us from playing music from our bt speaker. Would not recommend!!!

The staff were kinder friendly but the managers on duty were sorta rude. Any requests we had fell on deaf ears. Not accomodative at all.

The rules are just too many. And there is a subtle level of racism.

This is really nice hotel, Location is wonderful.
Hotel staffs from reception, cleaner, restaurant, bar, pool attendant, are marvelous / helpful and well trained.
Rates are better than other nearby on beach hotels.
Entertainment program is good too especially Water aerobics
Food variety and quality is outclassed.
You can go to nearby island with 5 mins boat ride and do snorkeling.

Two suggestions:
a) They should add stand fan in the room
b) Generator should have coverage for AC in the room as well

Overall very good experience at Papillon

Word of caution : Ensure if you negotiate with Private JETSKI guys (near hotel), monitor and agree time. They really tell you 15 mins but finish in 8-10 mins.