Reviews of Kaya Mawa

"After our safari we wanted somewhere to relax and Kaya Mawa was perfect.

Set on a beautiful beach on Likoma Island, we were treated like royalty; nothing was too much trouble. Staff, most of who are from the local village, couldn't have been more charming and helpful. Our room was very big with private plunge pool, three decks and complete luxury.

Meals were mostly served on the beach and the food was very good. Other options were in your room or deck, in the gazebo, under the mango tree; they kept coming up with new ideas.

One of us did a couple of scuba dives which were very nice indeed with a totally personal service from dive master Kevin.
We did the boat trip around the island which was somewhat spoilt by rough conditions at the other (north) end of the island. The visit to the incongruous cathedral was very interesting.

We can't recommend this place enough; we are already trying to work out a way to go back!" See all these reviews: 9n in Zambia; 4n in Malawi

"Kaya Mawa and beautiful Likoma Island has been the perfect 5-day addition to our Zambia safari.

The picture-perfect beach location, crystal-clear waters filled with life, great food and service along with amazingly friendly people of Likoma Island made it a fantastic, relaxing experience. Special mention for the beautiful room (or villa in our case) - it would certainly deserve six stars for all of its unique individual features, special touches and spacious luxury.

Thanks again to the wonderful management and staff for all the effort in taking care of us after my father had hurt his ankle and apologies for all the long-distance room service across the beach and extra boat trips - rest assured that our time at Kaya Mawa was still hugely enjoyable." See all these reviews: 10n in Zambia; 5n in Malawi

"If we won the lottery we'd go back tomorrow.

We simply loved it, great location, the most amazing room, great service and a little dog we fell in love with.

I cried when we left I loved it so much!!" See all these reviews: 6n in Malawi; 4n in Zambia; 2n in Rwanda

"Very relaxed atmosphere but professionally run. Nothing was too much trouble and the view from Room 4 was one of our best ever! Great opportunity to interact with the local population who were extremely friendly and wanted nothing except a look at the photograph we had just taken. A wonderful memorable time here, not least the singing in the cathedral and in St Marks Church on Sunday morning.

We feel that there may be a communication problem between Kaya mawa, Nkwichi and Willderness. When we arrived at Likoma, Kaya mawa were not expecting us until later and only turned up at the airstrip to take other clients back. We were supposed to transfer from Kaya Mawa to Nkwichi at 11.00 but the boat didn't arrive until 17.00. Kaya Mawa did everything possible (not helped by lack of reliable communication with Nkwichi) but Nkwichi were expecting an arrival from the airstrip.

There were also problems on leaving Nkwichi when the leaving time was changed several times (but this was partly due to Air Malawi Lilongwe to Joburg changing flight times). The other problem appears to Likoma airstrip. Our pilot in complained to the "security man" there about pot holes not being filled in and the next day another plane crash landed on the strip. Judging from news reports on the web about this, Likoma appears to be one of the worst places in Malawi to land and maybe Expert Africa can exert some influence as a result of this crash to help get somethingdone about this.

However this didn't upset ou time in Kaya Mawa or Nkwichi in any way - both were brilliant." See all these reviews: 7n in Zambia; 3n in Malawi; 3n in Mozambique

"A long haul from South Luangua to Kaya Mawa and an even longer haul back to the UK - 4 flights! But probably worthwhile for some R&R at the end of our safari. We were very pleased we had taken your advice and stayed for 3 nights not 2.

Wonderful island and location. Our room was amazing, set amongst the boulders on the beach. We were lucky that the next door room was not being used, so we were able to use their deck and loungers - otherwise it is a short but gruelling track to the beach. It might have felt a bit close to that room and potentially overlooked if it had not been vacant.

One thing that I would emphasise to future guests and probably also to management - the need to take a torch and some sturdy trainers. The path to the room is extremely hazardous and it was pitch black there until the moon came out - I would advise management to lend out torches if they want to avoid accidents and being sued. The trainers are a must for the beach which is really really sharp on the feet - and that is coming from someone brought up on the beach with feet as hardened as most Europeans.

The food was really really excellent, and healthy too." See all these reviews: 8n in Zambia; 3n in Malawi

"Although Kaya Mawa initially seemed somewhat crowded (!) after the tranquility of Nkwichi, it was just another great venue.

The staff, and James and Susie in particular, were exemplary in ensuring that you always had what you wanted. Nothing was too much trouble and it was lovely to dine out under the stars in surprise locations each night. New Years Eve dinner was a fantastic meal - almost matched by the hilarity of the fireworks.

If you find steps hard, don't go to Chalet 3 but for relaxation, good food, water activities and for the shopping experience in town, this is a wonderful place." See all these reviews: 5n in Zambia; 4n in Malawi; 4n in Mozambique

"We had a very peaceful saty at Kaya Mawa - James, Diana, Craig and Suzie all worked hard to ensure all our needs were met.

Diana in particualr went out of her way to ensure my dietary needs were met, which made a huge difference to me. We particularly liked the dining experience in a different location around the grounds every night - that was wonderful!

The accomodation is beautiful, yet quite "QUERKY" in places - tha bathroom in ou room was set in to the rock, which was lovely to look at but not that practical to use - especially if you have a need to use the bathroom during the night.

We hadn't realised that drinks would be considered as "extras" to our bill and Kaya Mawa were unable to take credit cards as payment. We had to use on-line banking to settle our bill, which would have been OK if the bank hadn't frozen our account afterwards!

We think it would be a good idea to make sure guests are aware of the extras before they travel, so that they can arrange to take enough cash with them." See all these reviews: 9n in Zambia; 4n in Malawi