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LIMBALI ~ The Sunset Nest
- Aug 2, 2021
- 5 min read
Updated: Jan 26, 2024
"Oasis by the Sea."
Booming with lush greenery and majestic palm trees, Hotel Ilomba is the enchanting oasis born from the union of land and sea.
Secluded from the rest of the world, the waves crashing against the orange sand and the birds busily chirping in the trees, takes you to a serene place of relaxation and peace. Want to see what it looks like? Skip to the end for the vlog experience!
It's located outside the city center five minutes away from the touristic giant Lobe Waterfalls (Les Chutes de la Lobe). On the seashore, it boasts a large beach and swimming pool with a beautiful view of the ocean.
HOTEL ROOMS
To truly experience yourself disconnecting from society, there are rooms with no TV available, with a small bathroom, a bedroom, and a small desk. These rooms house a maximum of three people and make up most of the hotel’s rooms.
For those who prefer to have a TV there are currently nine suites that offer this option. Seven of these rooms are the hotel’s newly built suites for a maximum of three people.
The new suites constitute a building with a ground floor and a floor on top. On the ground floor there are four suites with a bedroom, a medium sized bathroom with a shower, jacuzzi tub, a double sink, and a small veranda with chairs at the entrance.
The top floor has three rooms, providing more space than the rooms below. Equipped with the same amenities at the ground floor rooms, the difference between the rooms is the balcony at the back giving view to the forest landscape behind the hotel. The veranda in front is also considerably more spacious than the one below, with a small lounge available for each room.
The remaining two, Ebene and Palisandre both have televisions however they are the two biggest suites in the hotel. Palisandre has the capacity of housing a minimum of six people and Ebene houses five.
OUR ROOM | LIMBALI
During our stay, we enjoyed the comfort of their latest suite, Limbali, on the first floor of the ‘White House’.
Situated in front of the pool, Limbali has a small salon, two bathrooms and a bedroom meant for a couple. The hotel made an exception and accepted to add two supplementary camping beds to accommodate the four of us.
The window and glass sliding door in the room provide the master bedroom with a magnificent view of the ocean and the pool. The orange tint of the window side facing the room’s interior accentuates the sun’s glow, draping the room in an orange hue during sunset. The wooden décor brings to the room a bohemian touch, complementing the overall design of the suite.
Something to note is that the suite is still not completely finished, with the bathtub needing to be fully placed and the water pressure being relatively low. Do not worry this won’t take away from the experience as the shower offers a significant amount of space.
FEATURES
POOL
Across from Ebene, Palisandre, and the ‘White House’ the pool faces the ocean with a small garden in front. Open 24/7 the indigo lights illuminate the pool at night.
Please note that if the pool isn’t lit up at night, it means that for whatever reason people aren’t allowed to swim. Don’t worry these nights are rare and only happen when the staff is overbooked with an event or if there’s a minor problem with the pool.
BEACH
Arguably Ilomba’s strongest point, the beach is a wonderful place to spend most of your day. Extending from the reception to their BBQ, you can bathe, eat, and chill on the beach without ever needing to leave.
Equipped with adorable little huts with white curtains to deflect heat and wooden beach chairs, you can peacefully read your book or surf on social media away the brutal sunlight but close to the waves. A few tips, if you’re looking to get a full experience of bathing and swimming at the beach, the waves are strongest in the morning at around 8 – 10 AM.
My brother and I had a blast getting carried away by tsunami like waves. Ok, maybe they weren’t that big, but they just seemed like it, especially when you’re my height (1,60 cm). The only thing we regret was not having found this out earlier.
If you’re planning on spending your day at the beach, my second tip is to wake up early and run to the huts on the beach. They’re extremely sought after with all 10 -15 being completely taken starting at 9 AM only becoming free at around 5 -6 PM (17 -18hr). Seriously, people don’t joke around with the huts. But if you’re like me and just simply can’t get up early enough or don’t want to bother, there’s always the chairs and tables at the barbecue where you can set down your things and relax in the shade of the trees.
THINGS TO KNOW
ROAD TO ILOMBA
On your way there you’ll encounter a police station, from there the drive to Ilomba is only 5 minutes. It’d be wise to slow down from here as it’s easy to drive past the road leading to the hotel. Before reaching Lobe Waterfalls, the road to the hotel is marked by a panel to the passenger’s right (the panel has the hotel’s name on it with a large mustard gold sun, their logo).
Right behind the panel is a battered and uncemented mud road. In the dry season (early December – early March) the track is dry however in the dry season, your tires could get extremely muddy and depending on your car you may risk getting stuck. Keep this in mind when booking your sejour.
WIFI
Wifi is available however it’s performance depends on the location of the room, the time of day/night, and the weather. I find the Wifi connection works best either early in the morning and sometimes late at night when most of the clients are asleep when it isn’t windy or raining.
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