Club Makokola, Club Mak, The Makokola Retreat – it’s had many names but this Malawi beach resort situated right on Lake Malawi is popular with visitors to Malawi due to its airstrip, beach front location and its large size. With 50 plus rooms it’s one of the largest of the Malawi Beach resorts.
Why not check out our full post about our 14 nights Malawi Family Holiday with Responsible Safari Company!
*Trip and Transfers arranged by Responsible Safari Company and Malawi Tourism
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So what did we think of The Makokola Retreat ?
On arrival I was impressed. We drove through large gates with formal security and wandered down a very long smart corridor to be greeted warmly at the reception desk. It all seemed very impressive.They told us there was an unexpected power outage at that time (but it wouldn’t last long) and that wifi was extra. This was fairly standard in Malawi although it had been free at Mvuu Camp & Lodge that we had just come from. We were handed keys to a two bedroomed cottage which looked out onto the beach and I really did think it was really very lovely. The kids loved the large grassy area to the back of the cottage which led directly to the beach and I thought that even if the rains came in that afternoon, which they were expected to, we could watch the world go by in the cottage quite happily.
We were staying at Club Mak on a full board basis so went out for lunch and ordered some sandwiches, some chicken and a pizza. What arrived were some of the largest meals I had seen in some time, the pizzas were enormous and really very good, and all the club sandwiches, pastas and other dishes could have fed two. We definitely hadn’t needed to order full meals for the girls. The service was fairly slow if I’m honest but the food tasted good and was very International in its offering. We just about managed to finish our meals as the rain came down. We could see staff start to move table coverings inside and people looking about shiftily, and then out of nowhere the downpour arrived. We laughed at how heavy it was and made our way back to our cottage with the large umbrellas provided.
The girls were briefly amused by their Dad dancing around in the rain outside, but unable to go in the swimming pool I promised them, they settled down to read their books with slight reluctance.  Power outages in Malawi at the time of our visit were frequent.  Most of the larger places we stayed had the benefit of a back up generator. One slightly negative note is that the resort was fairly frugal with its usage which may have been due to the season and low occupancy on the days of our visit.
The rains didn’t last too long so we were all out by the pool by late afternoon and the kids really enjoyed the large pool which they had mostly to themselves for the duration of our stay. We spent quite a bit of time during our stay playing cards on the terrace outside the cottage looking towards the sea as it was a quite spectacular spot.
We made our way to dinner on the first evening to a restaurant which is situated on the edge of the beach.. We looked at the menu we were handed and Matt and I really liked the look of most of the food on the menu.  The children’s menu was perfectly fine, with tomato pasta as an option and fish and mini hamburgers too. (You may need to request the children’s menu as it was not automatically offered) When the food arrived we all enjoyed our dinner, sharing most of our meals between us, and Matt and I enjoyed a couple of gin and tonics too!
Later that day we were able to take the girls into Lake Malawi * for a swim and they loved the water. It felt so much like the sea that they were quite confused really when we kept trying to tell them it was the Lake, not the sea. I could see their confusion though as it’s enormous it is hard to comprehend. We had a lovely hour or so in the water before we took the girls for some lunch.
That afternoon we spent a fabulous few hours at the local Book Bus. You can read the full post about the Book Bus in Malawi here!
The kids and Matt made the most of dinner at Club Mak that evening too (as I was feeling a little unwell) and the girls were very sad to be leaving the beautiful swimming pool.
The resort is a popular and one of the good standard Malawi beach resorts on the shores of Lake Malawi. However, over our 14 night in Malawi the resort offered the most “standard” accommodation compared to other unique and engaging experiences offered by the other places we were fortunate enough to visit.
Why not check out our full post about our 14 nights Malawi Family Holiday with Responsible Safari Company!
We are grateful to The Makokola Retreat for hosting us but had we paid over $500 to stay there for the two nights I would have hoped for something a little more special.
*We had taken the decision before we decided to visit Malawi that we would swim in the areas of Lake Malawi that were deemed to be less likely to contain bilharzia and we would also buy bilharzia medication to take home with us and take 6 -8 weeks after any possible exposure. This is not medical advice this is simply our decision.
Karen Beddow founded Mini Travellers in 2014 while doing what she loves most...going on holiday!
Mini Travellers is for parents looking for holiday ideas, destination reviews, days out and things to do with the kids. We also have family travel tips, activity ideas and all other things family holiday related. Take a look at some of our latest reviews for holidays and day trips in the UK.