Manni Florian: Entrepeneur Who Sold Everything He Owned In Italy To Establish Palm Gardens In Watamu

Manni Florian first visited the Kenyan coast as a tourist and he loved the climate and how he was treated by people that the interacted with.

The Italian gentleman later decided to sell all his property in Italy and relocate to Kenya where his brother had already settled and owned a house.

Here is his story as told by WoK.

Moving to Kenya

In an interview with Dee Mwango, Manni noted that he moved to to Kenya after holidaying at the coast before flying back to Italy.

Thanks to the warm reception that he was accorded throughout his stay, he made the decision to sell everything he had and move to Kenya.

“The first time I was here I was excited about the climate, people and generally everything. It just happened. I cut everything and I came here,” Manni said.

While in Kenya, Manni didn’t like most of the places that he stayed and for this matter, he acquired a land to build a house.

However, the land he acquired appeared much bigger than what he had expected and he decided to set up his business, Palm Gardens Resort.

“In fact it was very simple, everywhere where I stayed unfortunately I didn’t feel comfortable, it was not what I was looking for. So one day I decided to build something for myself and it became a little bigger than what I thought but it was okay,” he said.

Investing in Kenya

On setting up his resort in Watamu, Manni noted that he felt safe investing his money into the business which he termed his best decision ever.

The hotel has been in existence for close to 10 years.

“For investing in Kenya I felt safe, otherwise I wouldn’t have invested here but I felt safe… It wasn’t easy but I had to be positive

“Until now it remains the best decision ever and we hope for the best. It’s almost 10 years and it becomes better everyday,” Manni added.

Palm Gardens Resort

The hotel is open for both guests and walk-ins, suitable for families, couples and friends as well as workshops, retreats and business trips.

They offer amazing suites which has it’s own living space, a boutique with African designs, a spa, high speed WiFi and TV with Netflix and Youtube in all suites.

They also have a swimming pool and relaxing areas, a conference hall and a bar and restaurant with vegetarian, vegan and gluten free options.

The hotel is just 950 meters from a beautiful beach and they also organize experiences such as safaris, dolphins watching, hiking and dhow trips.