A private house on the Lamu coast

Mkoko is one house, taken as a whole. Four double bedrooms, each with its own bathroom, sleep up to eight guests — a size that suits a family, or a few friends travelling together, rather than a crowd.

The rooms for gathering are the heart of it: a long table under a high thatched roof, plaster benches and arched niches, cool floors, and doorways that stay open. Indoors and outdoors are barely separated. You will find yourselves drifting between the two all day.

Beyond the rooms there is a kitchen, Wi-Fi, and a garden that acts as another set of rooms — including the treehouse. Manda beach is a short walk away.

This is a characterful coastal house, not a resort. Coral stone, timber and thatch behave like coral stone, timber and thatch. That is the pleasure of it, and it is worth knowing before you come.