We are approaching October and our time to open Kinasi’s new doors and welcome guests, after the hectic rebuilding and remodelling of seven of the rooms and all public areas, in the wake of Category 3 cyclone ‘Hidaya’ on the 4th May. It was time for this remodelling to take place. After 27 years of service, we needed a new “look” that reflects our guests needs and changing climate patterns. Our desire to practice sustainability in design and operations has dominated the project and will be evident to our visitors. The new design of all buildings is a minimalist, flat roof that is cultivated (‘green roof’) and fitted out for comfort and relaxation, with acute attention to detail for privacy, convenience and friendliness. A light, colourful, distinctively ‘coastal’ theme has been adopted for soft furnishings to create more comfort and style.
The guestrooms have been re-imagined as a home- away and re-furnished throughout. We are effectively rebuilding, raising the ceilings and altering the layout of Kinasi, creating a four- room exclusive area (16- bed) for family and special interest groups, with a pool and alfresco cafeteria for breakfast, lunch and private dinners. This also enables children enjoying themselves do not disrupt the peace and tranquility that Kinasi is all about. No expense has been spared to bring to our guests the ‘new’ Kinasi, from buildings and furnishings to training and service delivery, so we are looking forward to providing the best of Mafia hospitality.
A great deal of attention has also gone into the gardens and landscape features to complement the new designs and provide individual privacy, as the cyclone did a great deal of damage with the loss of 3 large trees and several coconut palms, and many flowering shrubs, stripped bare. But, we are not done yet – there is so much still to achieve – and we will continue for the next few months to bring Kinasi to its full potential and the finest small hotel we can imagine.
RATES
Many of you have been requesting the coming year’s rates and I wish to apologise for the delay in providing them, a result of the pressure of the site works and the need to carefully measure the value offer that we are creating. We are ever mindful of ensuring a high value/price result for guests. We have kept our rates conventional, realistic, fair and competitive. Kinasi Lodge has now moved to a much higher level than its original four stars, but you will find our 2025-26 rates the lowest in class for Mafia Archipelago and much lower than Zanzibar small luxury hotels, keeping in mind our rates are Full Board.
The standard of service we deliver is of utmost importance to the experience we give our guests; we had already invested in expanding and improving the water sports and hospitality facilities in 2023, with new boats, dive equipment, the new Pool Bar & Grill and the Cocktail Bar (we had to rebuild the wine cellar after the cyclone as one tree “leaned” on it following the storm). These have been further improved by complete reconstruction after the cyclone, in keeping with the design ethic of the remodelled guestrooms (and mindful of climate resilience) also with cultivated green rooves.
I am thankful we have a great team of personnel at Kinasi to deal with the challenges that have been thrown at us, every one of them now a builder, carpenter, painter or gardener, even a green roof designer….. Kinasi is still not ready for a photographer but we shall make all-new images available in the coming months as the rooms are completed and gardens settle into a new growth cycle.
RATES FOR THE 2025-2026 SEASON (June 1st to March 31st)
(Rates are US$ for one person)
KINASI LODGE BOOKING AND PAYMENT POLICY
In 2023 we revised our deposit payment policy from a 50% deposit to the more favourable 20% deposit, in keeping with EU regulations. It has come to our attention that our deposit policy is not being respected and it is important for us to reiterate and emphasize that it is contractual in the sense of confirmation for your request and a hold for services.
A provisional reservation will be held for a two-week period. Extensions will be accepted where possible, for which clear communication with us is requested. No communication for a provisional will result in the room/s automatically being released after 15 days. When a reservation confirms we will issue a Proforma Invoice for the deposit, to confirm and hold the reservation. Final payments are due not later than 30 days prior to check-in for low and standard season reservations, and 60 days prior to check-in for high season reservations. We do understand that international transfers can take a while to reflect and
therefore request that a proof of payment always be submitted when payments are made.
Should you have any questions regarding our booking and payment policies please send them through to stay@mafiaisland.com
Our sincere thanks and best wishes to all of you for the support and interest we have
received, as well as the patience and trust that you have expressed. Best wishes, and we
look forward to being back in business with you all again….
