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Welcome / Karibu
Just a stone´s throw from Lamu Town, The Red Pepper House opens up its doors to showcase the very best of Swahili culture.
Whilst we lose ourselves amongst the sounds of Africa, its mosques, the perfume of its spices and the sight of its majestic dhows, we are carried along by the afternoon breeze and we find, between an idyllic beach and un unspoilt forest.
Its architecture is considered to be among the most beautiful in Africa and every one of its five Nyumbas (houses) enjoys a sea view. Perfectly integrated into its surroundings, The Red Pepper House is covered by a gigantic makuti thatched roof, which rises and falls, creating natural forms.
The finest artists and fundis (artisans), using techniques inherited from their ancestors, took part in its construction. The decor and the furniture mix the Swahili way of life with the colonial style of Lamu´s palatial residences, taking us back to days gone by, complemented by African artworks and antique objects brought from different countries of the world.
The majority of the spaces in the hotel do not have any walls, allowing guests to make the most of the tropical climate and the views of the beach and the forest.
The Red Pepper House aims to be somewhere really special, where you will be able to fully enjoy a unique experience. With friendly, faultless service, here you will be able to enjoy yourself, relax, soak up the light of this magical place, its moon, stars, dusks, sounds… along with all of the other wonderful, unique moments waiting here for you at The Red Pepper House. Welcome!
The Nyumbas
The Red Pepper House offers just five exclusive Nyumbas (houses), each with the essence and luxury of Swahili culture, in natural surroundings and with views of the sea and the forest, allowing you to relax and enjoy with all five senses.
Designed to be bright and cool, each Nyumba is made up of five spaces:
– Bedroom and bathroom finished in the traditional Nyeru manner and with a spacious shower. All of the sleeping areas follow the style of the luxurious traditional architecture, which is given its ample dimensions by the wooden beams adorning the ceilings. The bedrooms have either one large bed or two single beds of different styles: Tundabel, Pili Pili or Indian Pili Pili, with mosquito net, so you can enjoy the sea breeze.
– Living area, under the cover of the makuti ceiling
– A veranda under the sky and the stars
– Private boma enclosure with beach sand, plants and open-air African shower, where you can relax, sunbathe or have dinner with candlelight and charming kerosene lamps
The Acacia Nyumba is a larger, more spacious suite, which also includes:
– Indoor living area
– Large, complete, open-air bathroom, underneath the open sky and a large acacia tree
Each guest is given a kikoy and flip-flops, so that you can start enjoying your experience right from the moment you arrive. Plus, each Nyumba contains: safety deposit box, hairdryer, towels, bathrobe, and more!
Many Sites to Enjoy
Every corner of the hotel has its own special magic. There are many places where you can relax, eat or drink, watch the sunset and bathe in its light and tranquility, or simple gaze up at the stars and the moon. All of them are unforgettable moments.
For the dining room, under the shade of the Makuti, crockery, glassware, cutlery and tableware have been brought from many different European countries so as to evoke the splendour of the colonial period.
The living areas are spectacular and extremely attractive, and offer you a variety of ways in which to enjoy them: taking in the sights and sounds of nature all around you in the «circle», reading in a book in the library, chatting whilst watching the dhows sail by, or simply watching the magical sunset from the pier.
BEACH POOL
The pool is clad using the traditional Ñeru method. Here you can enjoy a refreshing dip with the forest as your backdrop, accompanied by its marvellous sounds, or simply relax with a drink or a snack.
Meals
The Red Pepper House offers its guests an authentic journey of tastes, ranging from traditional Swahili cooking to the flavours of the Mediterranean.
We cook with an eye to light, healthy cuisine, produced using only the finest ingredients. Fresh organic vegetables, fish, seafood and barbecues, all washed down by delicious wines and drinks.
And you decide when mealtime will be – just like at home.
Breakfast: In the Nyumba or in the dining area, served with the area’s marvellous fruits, delicious fresh juices and a collection of Swahili specialities, and all accompanied by a magnificent freshly ground arabica coffee and a marvellous range of teas.
Lunch: You can savour soups, samosas, pasta, pizza, salads, fish, ice creams and cakes, as well as special dishes cooked to order according to the tastes of each guest.
Dinner: Our delicious food can be enjoyed in an informal atmosphere or, if you prefer, in the private boma of your Nyumba, around the pool, on the seashore or wherever you prefer. To complete the culinary experience, we offer a Swahili-style barbecue. (Dinners on the beach, in the forest will be available as long as the weather permits).
Our team is extremely flexible and we can take our guests’ orders to whichever place they choose.
Bar
The bar offers a spectacular space within the «circle». The «Pili Pili» (Swahili beds) and the colonial loungers are perfect for relaxing and taking in the views of the sea and the forest, upon returning from an excursion or at any time of the day. This is the ideal place to cool down, with natural tropical juices and all sorts of other drinks on offer.
A drink at dusk: At half past five in the afternoon, the pier, the beach and the dune are transformed into magical places from which to watch the African sunset, with the beautiful play of light upon the water, whilst listening to the sounds of Africa all around. You can enjoy this special time of day with all sorts of drinks and appetizers.
Forest and Beach
Called «the forest of the red pepper tree», this forest forms part of a wooded barrier that once made Africa impenetrable from the sea. The famous explorers Burton and Speke, in their search for the source of the Nile and the Mountains of the Moon, penetrated into the African continent from Lamu, where they were guided into the interior and onwards towards the perilous adventures they were to experience there.
This marvellous unspoilt forest is inhabited by a great variety of trees and birds, which we care for and protect within their free, natural habitat. Among them you can see the paradise-flycatcher, in danger of extinction but breeding here in the forest, marabous and painted storks, osprey and other birds of prey such as hawks and kites, blue and grey herons, sacred ibises, green and crimson bee-eaters, malachite kingfishers, weavers, yellow-necked francolins, hummingbirds, owls, nightjars, bush-shrikes, woodpeckers, mousebirds, lapwings and plovers, spoonbills, sandgrouse, pin-tailed whydahs, rollers, and starlings, among many others, forming with their song a wonderful melody up in the acacia and neem trees around The Red Pepper House, and the Australian pines, mangroves and palm trees on the beach.
Behind the forest is a «shamba» (plantation) with numerous fruit trees, such as mangos, coconut palms, cashew trees, cunasi and dwarf palm trees.
On the beach you can find crabs of all sizes, including hermit crabs, and turtles during the egg-laying season, and the mangrove swamp is replete with oysters and all kinds of shells.
The Red Pepper House
The Swahili ExperiencE
