16 Jan2026
Hotel Treehouse Watamu Kenya is a unique accommodation and restaurant located on the coast in Watamu town in Kenya. It’s quite a famous hotel but it’s not just good things I’ve heard about it. Unfortunately, I did not listen to those telling me it’s a NO.
I wanted to get my own experience. And let me tell you, it turned out to be a bad idea…
Keep reading to find out more details.
I was in Watamu from September to November 2024 alone.
I was truly convinced there would be no problems at such an expensive accommodation like hotel Treehouse Watamu Kenya. Oh boy, was I wrong!
Let me start by saying that the hotel really does look interesting: its design, beach + jungle location, rooftop yoga shala, different yoga classes, ”healthier vegan food options”, greenery around the hotel.
Would you expect to have the time of your life at a hotel like this? Because I surely did.
However…
Why I don’t recommend Hotel Treehouse Watamu Kenya – sunset
How it began at hotel Treehouse Watamu Kenya
I walked to the hotel for a sound healing class, get dinner and pay for my upcoming stay.
First, there was a mess about the payments. I made an online reservation. But they didn’t really know how much I was supposed to pay once I got there in person even though we had it all in our emails. Only once at the Treehouse Watamu I found out they charge 3% extra for card payments. They did not advise me ahead of time, so I had to go back the other hotel where I was staying at that time to get cash and then walk back to Watamu Treehouse again to pay for my upcoming Treehouse stay. I wasted over an hour doing so. In terrible heat and humidity with local guys disturbing me on the way.
Second, I got burnt potatoes as part of my dinner there. Something like that should NOT happen there. Most probably the Treehouse Watamu restaurant is the most expensive dining in the entire Watamu area. It should also be of the best quality then, right? If they promote themselves as a place focusing on healthy food, they should really not serve burnt food to customers. It has carcinogens, and that’s the opposite of healthy. Hotel Treehouse Watamu is not a cheap local eatery where burnt cancer-causing food ”could” be ok.
Why I don’t recommend Hotel Treehouse Watamu Kenya – burnt dinner
Why I don’t recommend Hotel Treehouse Watamu Kenya – burnt potatoes
A few days later I checked into the hotel. I was supposed to stay there for 4 nights.
Only after I moved into my room there I realized there was a construction going on right next to the hotel which was too loud all day long. I hadn’t known about it when I was at the hotel a few days before because that was in the evening. Loud construction noise was really bothering me because a part of the room has no windows to close. So when it was too hot on the beach at mid-day, I had nowhere to hide. I truly cannot stand noise at all. I was very disappointed for paying that much but still having to deal with noise the same as at cheap accommodations in other parts of Watamu.
Hotel Treehouse Watamu Kenya – their menu promoting healthy vegan diet
How they messed up my vegan diet at Treehouse Watamu Kenya
And then they messed up my breakfast big times. Treehouse Watamu present itself as a high-end boutique hotel focused on healthy plant-based diet and they even send you an email before your stay asking about your diet preferences.
So they knew very well that I’m gluten-free vegan avoiding onions, garlic and spicy food. They had the information several weeks before I even checked in. But for some reason, when it was time to serve me breakfast, they messed up completely. Both mornings.
It was me reminding the waiter about my diet the first morning so I had to wait until they prepared for me a different meal (those special daily meals they had for that day were not gluten-free vegan). There were just a handful of guests staying at the hotel at that time together with me (I think less than 10). Yet they still couldn’t remember my diet. But that was still nothing compared to what followed.
My second evening… Due to the hotel unique design (it’s lovely for the eyes, indeed), part of my room was open without any windows to close. The hotel employees were standing right below my room talking for several hours late at night. I lost half of my sleep because of that.
One of the hotel rules is asking the guests to be quiet as you can really hear everything all around the hotel. But for some reason the staff didn’t seem to care there were people (like me) paying maybe more money to stay at the Treehouse than the hotel employee can earn within a month. They just wanted to talk so they were talking. Of course I was disappointed because I was staying at the Treehouse Watamu to relax, sleep, and enjoy the food.
I believe that hotel guests should never be bothered by hotel employees.
Why I don’t recommend Hotel Treehouse Watamu Kenya – my room
The biggest problem came on my second morning at breakfast again.
Only those with some food allergies or strict diet restrictions might understand the following.
There was a different waiter and she started bringing me food. They give you a few small courses. I asked her a few times if she knew about my diet. She kept repeating yes, gluten-free. So I thought they must have remembered finally as it was my 3rd meal there already. But once I started eating the yoghurt, it just seemed wrong after I swallowed it.
The previous day they gave me coconut yoghurt after I told the waiter I’m vegan and don’t eat cow milk. But the yoghurt on my second morning tasted completely different. I felt sick immediately after tasting it.
At that time I’ve been vegan for 11.5 years (not eating any animal products since July 2013) and haven’t eaten cow milk yoghurt for maybe over 15 years but I could still remember its taste. The waiter came to bring me another plate and I was there spitting the remainings of my mouth barely able to breathe with tears in my eyes. I asked her if she gave me a coconut yoghurt and she said no.
Why I don’t recommend Hotel Treehouse Watamu Kenya – the good part of breakfast
It turned out they messed up my meals again and served me a normal dairy yoghurt instead. I’d stopped counting how many times I had explained my diet to the hotel staff until then. But it really should have been more than enough. Even once should be enough!
I felt the urge to vomit and ran into my bathroom hearing the waiter screaming behind me that she was not at breakfast the day before. That was her excuse to give me something I advised hotel many times I canNOT eat. I could not believe it. I even asked her directly about my special breakfast before she even brought any meal to me.
I threw up a couple of times into the toilet bowl and went back to my table. The waiter came back with 2 other hotel staff (I really liked the two of them as persons). I was sitting there with tears in my eyes, really trying to catch a breath because I have a strong allergy to dairy. I was born with a lung problem and eating dairy makes it almost impossible for me to breathe in.
At that moment I really thought I was going to die right there on the chair.
You know what they offered me as a compensation for such a terrible mistake that could really kill me if only I ate another spoon of yoghurt?
They offered me a smoothie. I could choose ONE SMOOTHIE from their menu worth a couple of euros (which basically, was just different ingredients for the rest of my breakfast that I did pay for anyway).
That’s what my life meant to them.
That was their ”professional” way of dealing with the serious problem they caused.
Why I don’t recommend Hotel Treehouse Watamu Kenya – after throwing up yoghurt
Why I left Treehouse Watamu hotel
It’s difficult to explain with words how shocked I was to hear about that smoothie offer. The worst joke ever! Absolutely ridiculous, unprofessional and inhuman trying to solve the life-and-death situation that way!!!
Obviously, I said no to smoothie because I did not believe them any more they would even make it 100% vegan. I just asked for fresh fruit instead as that was pretty much the only thing were they couldn’t make a mistake AGAIN.
My body reacted badly to the cow yoghurt. I got so angry, shaking like crazy because I could barely breathe that I shouted at the staff members that I wanted to leave the hotel immediately and I wanted all my money back.
I was not proud for being that furious but my life was at stake.
And that’s worth a lot more than just a smoothie to me!
I left to my room crying, went to throw up again and started packing. The owners of Treehouse Watamu were not at the hotel at that time so it took me and the hotel staff a few conversations to finally get somewhere.
At that point I was still scared that I was just about to die. It was that difficult for me to breathe. If not for some yoga breathing techniques I did right there in between vomiting and packing my suitcase, I might not be here writing this blog post any more.
In the end, they agreed to my terms for a full compensation. But that was only after I clearly shouted a big NO to any other option. I truly doubt I would be offered anything but that smoothie if I was not that sick, furious and crying.
Why I don’t recommend Hotel Treehouse Watamu Kenya
Not even once I was asked by the staff about my health, if I needed any help to go to a doctor, if they could take me anywhere as I was clearly not ok. Nothing. No one even helped me with my baggage when I was leaving to the parking lot then. All these things were so wrong!
And then the owners never reached out to me to apologize either.
Do you see now why I do NOT recommend you staying at hotel Treehouse Watamu Kenya? The unique design is not worth it!
That’s what happened at a posh expensive hotel focused on expensive plant-based food where you need to pay from $200 to $300 per night for a single room. For that much money, and having just a few hotel guests, you should be treated like a Queen/King there. Not having to deal with all those problems instead!
And I have to mention one more thing… I don’t really understand why but there’s just something off about the owner of the Treehouse Watamu (it’s a man in his 50s or 60s I met a few times before my stay, with his daughter I never met in person). He has a huge ego, a know-it-all, talking as if he was the wisest person on the planet. That seemed very arrogant and not the energy I want to feel at a yoga hotel.
Plus, they promote healthy diet at the hotel but he is actually a bit obese.
This is so not authentic! What about walk your talk?
And that was not just my own feeling. A few other people told me they did not like the hotel owner vibes either, unfortunately. Initially, that was the main reason why I chose to stay at Treehouse Watamu Kenya hotel during the days when he was supposed to be out of town attending an event. Shame, I did not listen to his vibe and what other people were telling me.
Does a big ego has a place at a yoga hotel where they organize yoga retreats and yoga classes? In my humble opinion, that’s the opposite of what the essence of yoga should be.
Why I don’t recommend Hotel Treehouse Watamu Kenya – my bathroom
Would you expect to get all these problems at such an expensive hotel like Treehouse Watamu?
