Recently, my 10-year-old son came to the pool bar and interrupted my intimate moment with my very cold and fruity Sauvignon Blanc. “They kicked me out of the swimming pool.” He sniffed. Who kicked you out of the pool? “The guard." He said, “She said I can’t swim there.”
I reluctantly left my drink unattended and matched to the pool. Did you kick my son out of this pool? She said, “Children are not allowed in this pool. It’s a quiet pool.” She pointed at the signage. I felt like Vasco Da Gama.
There was a place like this in the hotel? And nobody thought I needed to know? So, I found a spot under a palm tree, spread my towel, and told my son, Kim, you can’t swim here. Go to another pool. “But I like this pool!” he whined. Yes, I like it too, I said, but it’s for adults only. He asked, “Why do adults get their own pool?”
Because adults have jobs and they’re the ones paying the bills here, I said. Now, see you later. Bye. Enjoy. He walked off sulking.
The quiet, adult-only swimming pool is the greatest thing ever invented in a hotel because children can be a great nuisance. They are noisy, whiny, needy, and disruptive, and they pee in the pool. (OK, fine, so do adults).
The Quiet section of the pool was stone silent. Not a peep. Adults lay comatose on daybeds, reading, sunbathing, sipping beers, and speaking in low tones like adults on holiday.
There was no music, no children running, bumping into you. There were no drunken city louts chugging beer and yelling. I loved it. Just silence and peace. I read more chapters of my book there than at any other time. I also napped - and I never nap in the afternoons!
Someone waved a magic wand over Baobab Resort in Diani and gave it a sparking makeover. It’s cute. Only if they could stop charging for late check-out. It’s piggy and inhospitable.
