Fatuma's Tower, Shela Village Hot

User rating

4.7 (2)

Request Availability & Rates

At Fatuma's Tower you are invited into the home of Gillies and Fiammetta Turle, who want you to feel at ease and experience the peace and comfort of this tranquil space. More than a guest house they refer to it as their house for guests - a hidden corner of the world where you can find time for yourself.

The Tower is named after Fatuma Abu Bakar a Swahili noblewoman who lived in this sanctuary attended by five female slaves until the end of the 19th century. After her death and the abolition of slavery the house fell into ruins and the magnificent tamarind tree growing in the courtyard established itself in the ruins of the fallen masonry.

Accommodation

Carefully restored and modified in 1998 the historic tower house has five double bedrooms and a large yoga hall. Included behind the same compound wall is the Sand Castle with it’s ground floor family apartment of three double rooms. In the surrounding gardens, the Garden Cottage has two double rooms both with bathrooms. These ten double rooms are all furnished with local antiques and fabrics in a simple yet elegant style to recreate the atmosphere of a fine Swahili house. No two rooms are the same and the cool, airy spaces retain an informal feel while several shaded balconies provide comfortable areas for avoiding too much sun and generally enjoying the peace and fresh air. The peaceful gardens have been recently “ enlivened” by the refreshing sound of a fountain splashing over coral rocks into a small plunge pool.

All rooms have solar powered hot water, fans and mosquito nets.

Yoga Hall

In the oldest part of the house, the spacious yoga hall is cool and airy and features the slanted windows adopted by mosques. Classes take place daily and our resident teachers have been practising Astanga and Hatha for many years. Overseas teachers are welcome and we have special rates for yoga groups. The tangible feeling of peace in this room greatly encourages the practice of yoga and the warm/hot climate makes stretching noticeably easier. The hall can comfortanle accommodate up to 15 mats.

Gillies specifically encourages Overseas Yoga Teachers to bring their own groups, remembering that there is a total of ten double rooms and one for the teacher..

Fatumas Tower daily afternoon practice at 5pm all year round with Gillies and Morris. Cost of one hour for our guests $5 and outside drop-ins $8.

Forthcoming teacher visits

Therapy Room

The retreat centre also has a ‘Therapy room’ in the gardens. Two sisters who live in the village give excellent body massages and are trained in reflexology, etc. Several visiting therapists can also be made available.

History

Fatuma's Tower is over 300 years old and is named after its most famous yet mysterious owner, Fatuma Abu Bakar - a swahili noblewoman who lived here during the 19th Century. Preferring to live alone, she remained in her tower attended by five devoted female slaves. Although she had many suitors vying for her beauty and property she remained unmarried, ruling successfully over her lands on Lamu and neighbouring islands until the abolition of slavery. Over time the house fell into disrepair and had been abandoned altogether by 1900 allowing the tamarind tree in the courtyard to flourish amongst the ruins.

When Gillies and Fiammetta bought the property in 1990, they were able with careful restoration to save many of the original features of the tower and recreate the atmosphere of this once fine Swahili house. In the wall plaster of the hallway downstairs etchings of ancient dhows were uncovered.

Gillies and Fiammetta have been living in Kenya for many years and know the area well. They are happy to share the history of the house neighbouring houses.

Rates valid as from 1st January 2011.

Rates in Euros per double room with breakfast. All double rooms ensuite. Boat transfer included.

Book with Lamu.org and receive up to a 10% discount on the lowest advertised rates!
Simply fill-out the form on the left to make your booking.

Rooms (per double)
Double room (single occupancy)
2 x single rooms (sharing bathroom)
Acacia rooftop suite

€ 95*
€ 70
€ 50
€ 120

Extra Bed - € 40
Child Bed 1-3 years - € 15
Child Bed 4-11 years - € 30

*Christmas double rooms are € 125

Christmas Season: 20th Dec – 8th January. No single occupancy of apartments or rooms over Christmas period.
Low Season: May/June long rains. Climate: Excellent all year round except during the May/June long rains.
Medical: Locally experienced paramedic assistant.

Self Catering Options

Treat the kitchen as if you were at home! Our kitchen staff are fully trained and buy kitchen provisions on your account. A list of suggested menus is provided, or just leave it to the cook.

Your cook will keep a book of all kitchen purchases made on your behalf and will ask you for funds periodically. He/she will produce at the times you request and left to him/herself will make a variety of exellent meals without any further supervision.

If you want some suggestions, these are favorite dishes all done beautifully at Fatuma's Tower:

Breakfast: Fruits, fresh juices, eggs, pancakes, fish cakes, tea, coffe.

Lunch: Pizza's, potato salad, mixed & green salads, hot and cold soups, gazpacho, onion, avocado, tomato, vegetable, etc..), fish.

Dinner: Many different fish (whole, grilled, fried, fillet): crabs, prawns, calamari (squid) - curries (prawn, fish, vegetable), beans, dhal, lentils, etc... Pasta forno, and short of long pastas with sauces. Cauliflower cheese, cheese souffle, roasted potatoes and vegetable. Puddings: fruit crumble, fruit fritters, fruit salad, creme caramel, tarts, flans, cakes, birthday cakes.

Fatuma's Tower makes their own bread, they brew a delicious lemon and ginger tea from the garden, and purchase local honey. The fruit and vegetables are bought in the local shops and sea food is served fresh everyday. Oysters are available at low tides and lobster are still being caught but are mostly immature.

Book with Lamu.org and receive a 10% discount on the below rates!
Simply fill-out the form on the left to make your booking.

Rates per night	July-April (10 months)	Xmas Season 20th Dec – 8th Jan
Fatumas Tower. 1 x triple, 3 x doubles (excludes yoga hall and ground floor)	€ 400	€ 660
Fatumas Tower. Top Apartment 2 x doubles	€ 200	€ 360
Sand Castle Apartment. 3 x doubles	€ 175	€ 360
Garden Cottage. 2 x doubles (one up, one down)	€ 150	€ 300
Acacia Suite	€ 120	€ 168

To make a booking and get a 10% discount on the above rates please fill-out the form on the left.

Reservations for Fatuma's Tower

Owners: Gillies & Fiammetta Turle
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Phone: +254 (0)722 277138
Website: http://www.fatumastower.com

Guest Reviews

Average Guest Rating from: 2 user(s)

Overall rating		4.7
Service		4.5 (2)
Location		5.0 (2)
Value		4.5 (2)

Name*

Email*

Review title*

Ratings (the higher the better)

Service*
Location*
Value*

Comments*

Please Enter the Security Code

Overall rating

4.3

Reviewed by 2Flver from Ottawa, CA

Very quiet and peaceful

We spent a couple of nights here, including New Year's Eve. We found it surprisingly quiet, considering that Peponi's hotel had a party raving until 0500 hours that morning.

The property is well kept, and Gillie's, the proprietor, was most welcoming.

Breakfast is included in the daily tariff, and we found ourselves eating the best mangoes we have ever had. Food for lunch and dinner is arranged with the cook and paid for in advance. He then goes off to the market and buys whatever is fresh. Two of us had seafood for dinner two nights and it was wonderful. One of our party is a vegetarian and his meals were pretty bland. I don't think the cook knows anything else other than pasta and cheese to serve to a vegetarian.

Service was excellent, with a plenitude of staff always around. They don't hover, which was nice, but someone was always available when needed.

Very quiet. Even tho' it was New Year's Eve. The music from Peponi's quieted down after the call to prayer at 0500 hrs.

The rooms are great. I slept on the outdoors terrace and it was wonderful.

We had arranged for all carriage to/from the airport to be included in our price, so it was a surprise to find that we had to pay the porters to carry our luggage from the airport to the boat, and then from the boat to the guest house.

Also the toilet in our room did not flush properly. But I guess that is normal in Africa.

Stayed December 2011

Comments (0)

Was this review helpful to you?

Report this review

Overall rating

5.0

Reviewed by MLO from London, UK

Absolute gold dust - Am already planning the speediest possible return

Having just returned from 10 days in Lamu, the first thing to point out is this: It is as beautiful and peaceful as ever, I did not feel unsafe for a moment (and I travelled there alone), tourism there has been utterly destroyed by the media and the people need our support! What happned there in recent months is tragic but sadly representative of the world we live in. If each time we read about an unfortunate event, we refused to visit its locality, we'd almost certainly remain confined to our houses forevermore. So in the spirit of adventure read on:

Fatuma's Tower is positioned in Shela, a 5 minute walk from the waterfront but hidden away in the village. It is simply one of the most private, peaceful places I've visited... Sheltered in a very pretty garden setting away from the activity of the village and beach but only a few footsteps away. It has been lovingly restored and the rooms are comfortable, quiet, authentically designed. You'll wake each morning to the sound of the call to prayer, birdsong, and monkeys playing in the trees... The staff are wonderful and cannot do enough to make you feel welcome and looked after. Oh, and David's cooking was the best I personally experienced in Shela.

To manage expectations please note: This is a guesthouse and runs as such. It is simple but very comfortable, quiet, private and pretty... A place to retreat, read a book, sit in the garden or on one of the terraces. It is not about conventional luxury, mod cons, air conditioned rooms or swimming pool settings. But for its lovely location, charming owner Gillies, wonderful team, feeling of being safe and private, good value for money... Fatuma's Tower has won my vote for life and I am already planning my next visit.

Oh, one other thing to note (I can't remember if it's on the website), carry some small notes in Kenyan Shillings. You'll need 100 Shillings to pay the guy who carries your bags to the boat from the airport landing strip... same again from the dock up to Fatuma's Tower.

Stayed December 2011