Billionaires Resort, Malindi: Kenya's latest luxury

Conventional images of an African holiday bring images of a hot and dusty Africa where luxuries are limited, if available at all, to mind. But the last few years drastically changed and shaped this image. Now, with Kenya’s latest luxury holiday resort development up and running, a luxury African holiday is the new hit on the continent.

Malindi: Italian owner and developer

The Billionaires Resort is the brainchild of well-known Italian businessman and former leader of the Renault F1 team, Flavio Briatore. Briatore knows what it takes to plan a successful luxury resort development – his other luxury Malindi resort development, ‘Lion in the Sun’ has received several top level hospitality and tourism awards. With its excellent location in the coastal village of Malindi and high-end finishings, Lion in the Sun has already proved to be a much-loved Kenyan holiday resort. With this development experience, Briatore set out to develop another high-end resort in Kenya.  About 500 million Kenya Shillings later, this resort will be opening its doors within the next few days. 

Malindi Resort Kenya: opening for the Christmas holiday season

Although the official opening of the resort was scheduled for August 2013, construction delays were experienced – bearing in mind that a grand development in a small Kenyan village can not otherwise but pose some construction challenges. The official grand opening hosted local government and tourism officials, sending the resort off with local government blessings. The Billionaires Resort will be welcoming its first guests a few days before Christmas. Africa is the continent of eternal sunshine, and many people from around the globe flock to the continent for a warm and sunny Christmas, Billionaires Resort’s timing could not have been better!

Malindi Resort offerings

What does the resort offer? A beach restaurant overlooking the white sandy beaches, a casino, retreat and spa, sport facilities, palm gardens, public amenities and 24 furnished apartments. The entire development has been done in great style, with eco-finishings and facilities to match Kenya’s environment and climate. Unlike Briatore’s ‘Lion in the Sun’ development, the Billionaires Resort will not host a hotel. Apartments are however available to potential owners, with the possibility of apartment renting for a luxury holiday. The resort will link to neighboring Marine Park and Beach, where shared facilities will be on offer.  It is said that the Billionaires Resort attracted great interest, and that Briatore is considering to expand the number of  luxury suites to satisfy the demand. Some of the resort facilities such as the beach restaurant are however continuously accessible to public day-visitors. According to Briatore, the resort will allow visitors to admire Africa’s natural beauty by day, but at night the facility will remind of Monte Carlo with all its glam. 

Although this top-end development in Kenya will remain exclusive with housing components only available to a limited few, it does pave the way for Kenya tourism in many ways. There are even talks of upgrading the local runway at the Malindi airport. Kenya is one of Africa’s top safari destinations and with luxury holiday resort developments like the Billionaires Resort, we can expect to see Kenya attracting even further international investments and travel attention. And the visitors, tourists and safari enthusiasts will be rewarded with a pleasant and even luxurious African experience.