Four Twenty South was originally May’s Cottages, which opened its doors to guests in 1958. The blocks for its construction had been quarried from the forest behind. The first person to sign the Guest Book, Dr Portsmouth, many years later, aged 94, found his signature on our website during the Covid lockdown and emailed us from the UK which was beyond exciting. These are his photos and memories:

My parents bought the property from the Mays in 1966, not long after Kenya’s Independence was declared in December 1963. Many Europeans and Indians, fearful of the future, were selling up and leaving the country but my parents were convinced that Kenya would thrive in its new incarnation.

Four Twenty South built new extensions to the verandas in the late 1970s, but remained relatively unchanged compared to the rapid development elsewhere. Galu Beach was, and still is in the main, private houses but on Diani Beach hotels started sprouting all along the coastline. In those days they were small and beautifully designed in what was then known as Diani Beach Architecture pioneered by Spish Tzrebinski and Tibor Gal.

Tourism in Kenya had been steadily increasing over the decades, reaching its zenith in the late 80s with cheap flights from Europe and package holidays. The hotels grew in size as did tourist numbers on the beach and this saw the start of the age of the ‘Beach Boys’ - the hawkers who have become ubiquitous on the beach trying to befriend tourists. In 1989 my parents, my father having worked in publishing in Nairobi and my mother in education, retired here. Lots of others did the same and there was an influx of expats who moved to the area.

In the 90s there were a series of high profile murders and scandals that were deeply damaging to Kenya’s tourism and in 1997 the Likoni Riots particularly discouraged tourists from coming to Diani as the Likoni ferry was still the only way to access it. My parents long-let the property from 1997 – 2009 and lots of colourful characters made Four Twenty their home. My mother spent her time painting and making jam tarts for the Women’s Institute while my father would intersperse his daily food shopping trip with stops at Nomads and Forty Thieves beach bars.

In 2002 there was a new president in Kenya and emerging from a dark decade, the country started developing at a rapid rate. The post election violence of 2007 rocked the country but the nation and its people rebounded impressively. Over the decade I started spending more time here to be with my ageing parents and help with the business and after my father died in 2006 moved here to be with my mother until she too passed away in 2009.

Commercial flights from Nairobi started in 2013 which revolutionised the area, allowing Nairobians to conveniently hop over to Diani in an hour. They brought with them some of the dynamic, cosmopolitan energy of the capital and new businesses from art galleries to sushi restaurants started to appear. The 2019-22 Covid crisis, while devastating in its impact, also ushered in a new era of working from home and has encouraged a new influx of Diani denizens.