Splendid news for Malindi and the Kenyan coast, for the hospitality sector, the tourism sector in general, and for all the induced activities it can create: the Ocean Beach Resort & SPA, the Italian-owned 5 Star Deluxe on the beach of Malindi Bay, has affiliated with one of the world's most important hotel groups, Archipelago International, number one in South-East Asia, and will be supported and 'boosted' by one of its best brands, the Aston chain.
Archipelago, founded in Indonesia in 1997, already has over 40,000 rooms in more than 200 locations in fabulous places around the globe, including the Caribbean, Middle East and Oceania, with South East Asia. Besides Aston, its award-winning brands include Alana, Huxley, Kamuela, Harper, Quest, Hotel NEO, Fave and Nordic.

The Ocean Beach has already started the process of upgrading to Aston's high standards, having already made improvements to the facility, which has been recognised for years as one of the most efficient in terms of service and comfort.
"In just two months, since we joined the Aston group," explains owner Roberto Marini, "we have immediately started to have many more customers internationally. As of next week we will have brand personnel doing intensive training for our staff and delivering manuals for each department. As soon as everything is completed, I am convinced that I think the destination, in turn, will benefit and receive an incentive to make a further leap in quality, which is what is currently lacking to bring Malindi back to the splendour of its best days, while adapting to the needs of today's travellers and their requirements".

Marini is one of the few Malindi entrepreneurs to continue marketing Kenya and its coastline, along with the Plan Hotels and Billionaire groups. The fact that a group like Archipelago has chosen Ocean Beach Resort and decided to focus on Kenya as a new market should be read as an encouraging sign for everyone, thanks to the stubbornness of those who have been trying to improve the destination for years.

"Initiatives such as this also aim to ring a bell with local institutions, to improve the infrastructure and adapt the international airport to be able to receive direct flights from abroad," admits the entrepreneur of Brescian origin. "We have set an example in recent years, always remaining open with the same quality and strength even in difficult periods such as the pandemic, and always believing in the destination, never giving up, working in tourism with great seriousness and determination even during the hardest times where we lost a lot.