Zanzibar House

I am a solo female traveller. Zanzibar House is an excellent property in so many ways. The staff are friendly and helpful. The grounds are a delight to be in, with lots of comfortable places to sit and read or contemplate the beauty of the area. I did not use the pool and I am sure it would be lovely. At night time I had an evening meal which was tasty and they accommodated my dietary requirements very well. I am gluten intolerant. I recommend this hotel if you like quiet and beauty filled places

Unfortunately our experience was not as nice as we had hoped. As two women in their 20s and 30s we felt that we were at times treated as children. We were informed by a male staff member that we were “not allowed” to eat breakfast at the table overlooking the ocean, even though the owner specifically informed us of this option the day prior (likely because he did not want to walk the extra distance.) Our ‘Garden View’ room was a view of the parked vehicles in front of the hotel. The room also lacked any storage space or shelves for suitcases and belongings, leaving our 4 bags blocking the door due to lack of any space. Breakfast had no fresh coffee, only instant, and ended abruptly—when I returned on the hour to refill my tea, I was told breakfast ended and the female staff would not bring back the tea kettle for hot water. I informed the owner I was gluten free on arrival, but no arrangements were made. This meant my breakfast options were limited to a fruit cup and eggs. Sauna/hammam must be requested in advance, as we were told it was “off”. The staff did not offer to turn on when we asked about it. In conclusion, beautiful hotel but not a beautiful experience.

This is the worst hotel experience we have had after travelling for many years across many continents. The management is poor. The owner could often be overheard berating and yelling at his staff in front of hotel guests. When issues such as a broken pool filter, slow wifi, or power outages came up, his response was to shrug and say, “This is Africa, what can you expect?” The menu at the hotel restaurant is a set menu consisting of seafood and meat dishes. As vegetarians, we found it difficult to eat here and ended up going to a hotel down the beach (Mandhari Villa - highly recommend) for dinners. We booked a “garden view” room and it was up a set up steep stairs on top of the guard house at the entrance to the hotel, completely separated from the main hotel building. Our privacy was not maintained and we had a knock on our door from housekeeping at 9pm despite not calling them for anything. There are multiple cats on the property that seem to be pets of the owners, and they wander through the lobby/restaurant/pool area at all times. The towels were not changed daily despite us having to pay an extra surcharge for a second person. This led us to wonder what the extra charge was going towards. The restaurant and pool staff however are very nice and attentive. They are working under poor management conditions and still keep a smile on their faces. All in all we would absolutely never recommend this hotel to any family or friends.

Beautiful place; nice and helpful owners, tasty food. The beach is peaceful...but fyi, has serious tides and seaweed. But there are a few lovely spots to float around at. It is an easy day trip to other more swim-happy beaches and about an hour to Stonetown. This is a place to go an relax. But options through hotel or beach dudes are plentiful if you want activities.

Our host Maximo was great! Food was spectacular. Service was decent.

Beautiful, well-decorated property. Relaxing atmosphere with plenty of lounge chairs, daybeds and tables on a beautiful beach. The four-course dinners were leisurely and tasty. The staff was very welcoming.

My stay was pleasant from arrival till departure. Everyone was nice and accommodating. Thank you and Happy Holidays. To anyone out there looking for “a feel at home” this is the place to stay.

We stayed in 5 hotels while making our way around Zanzibar and really enjoyed 4 of them. Of the 4, this one really was the best, a cut above in every respect -- fantastic atmosphere, gorgeous property, great management and staff. As you drive down the horrible dirt road that leads from the highway to the property, you'll think you must have made a wrong turn. But you haven't -- keep going.

The whole place is amazing. Unlike the 50+room hotels this is a smaller establishment which adds to the peaceful beach front atmosphere. It's in a great location to go south for a day trip to the spice farms, caves, or fishing communities. Or go North to Membe Island for diving/ snorkling or Nungwi for a big party. Extremely warm artistic decor and the food was fantastic.

Zanzibar House is an exceptional place and a beautiful experience. Georgia treated me like family from the moment I arrived. The location is inspirational, meditative and a place to disconnect from the stresses of the world. Thank you.

We had lovely time in Zanzibar House. The place is clean and nicely decorated. Owners are amazing. Everyday we were spoilt by great Italian food. Staff are friendly and helpful.We had very memorable experience. Highly recommended!

Zanzibar House was super charming and quiet, great secluded place to relax. The rooms have fantastic balconies with hanging chairs and a view of the sea. Beautiful beach right outside and really nice pool/garden area. $15usd gets u a 4 course dinner- mine was baked prawns, crab linguini, grilled lobster and mille feuille- can't beat that! Great breakfast too- try the homemade papaya cinnamon passion fruit jam and banana yogurt. Would definitely stay here again!

I have been to many countries, and the stay here was my son's favorite vacation! We had a room with ocean veiw, worth every penny! the beauty of the island greeted us every morning. The owners were exceptionally accommodating. They made sure the kids were happyily fed each night and made alternate meals to their liking Every morning we had a wonderful breakfast which is a set menu that included pancakes, crepes, and homemade doughnuts!!! Each evening was a culinary exploration of 4 course Italian meals of local fish and seafood, fresh beef, homemade breads, homemade pastas and local vegetables. You could also order something more to your liking and they will acoomodate you to their best. ( The Half board option is more than worth the deal especially since the hotel is not close to any restaurants. Guests from other hotels along the beach would regular Zanzibar House for lunch and Massages!) The staff are very friendly. The massages are AWESOME with the beach right in front of you! The ocean there is beautiful and is worth a swim. There is a turn down service everynight which includes fresh towels if you need them, bottled water, and spraying and arranging of your mosquito net for your health and safety. (The spray is very mild and did not trigger my allergies). We had a VERY early flight on our departure and they made sure we had some homemade doughnuts for the boys! My son and I were very reluctant to leave. THANK YOU ZANZIBAR HOUSE. WE WILL BE BACK!

Excellent service. Nice boutique feel. Not perfect but a real home from home. Staff and management are on hand and helpful. Recommended.

Only 7 rooms, when these are occupied by single people or couples it's a tranquil paradise. When the rooms are occupied by 4 people / families the hotel can seem overcrowded, noisy & too busy. The pool area is quite small and it's difficult to find a quiet outside area to relax if many children are playing in the pool. The boutique style hotel offers lovely little touches, beach baskets with fans & slippers, extra large super soft bath towels and treats like pastries and pizza at certain times of the day. It must be difficult to keep on top of the maintenance due to the close proximity to the sea and the climate but some areas would benefit from a little bit of work. Family run hotel and I found a warm welcome from all the staff. The upgrade to a sea view room was very much appreciated. Wonderful tour guide on the beach called Mustafa will help you make the best of any trips by tailor making yours to your particular requirements - he is very knowledgeable, speaks good English & has a good sense of humour.

My stay here was really lovely! The home is directly on the beach in a very quiet area. The setting is beautiful and I was able to watch the sunrise from the beach and the sunset from my room. The food was very good, lots of fish, which I loved. Do the half board! The staff was glorious! Nina was with me most days and has such a sweet smile and demeanor. Yokobo, the Massai guard, was awesome and the drivers and other staff were great! Only two negatives: the internet did not work in my room for my entire stay. I asked several times for a solution but the owners just shrugged it off. I was able to use the internet in the common areas and there it was reliable, but was disappointed to not be able to use it in my room. While I know that some people like to disconnect while on vacation, I don't :) I travel solo so I like to be able to read the news in the morning from bed, or plan my day as I'm getting ready especially since I also didn't have cell service. The other small issue is the very high price from travel outside of the hotel. It's nearly impossible to get around without a car. They called a driver for me who normally would have charged no more than $40 to take me to The Rock Restaurant. I was told that the cost was $40 for a 4 hour trip and I would pay an additional $10/hour...but the trip to The Rock, one way was an hour and 45 minutes! So without even eating, I had basically used my allotted time. I suggest finding your own driver and using them to go offsite.

Zanzibar House is a paradise. The hotel is beautiful and immaculately clean. From arrival to departure the owners and their staff are available at all times. The pool and beach area feel like your own little slice of heaven. The evening meals are a real treat as well. They are served Italian style (4 courses) and are homemade from scratch. Its like dining in Rome with a beautiful beach backdrop. The only thing you should be aware of is that this place is very remote from other hotels and restaurants. It was perfect for us because we wanted rest and relaxation. If you want a party, look somewhere else.

Great location but be prepared for an off road experience getting there. Once you do it is well worth the drive. It's about an hour from the airport. Breakfast and dinner are included. No menu for dinner. The owner serves you a four course meal including dessert that smacks of european style cusine. It has many amenties such as a swimming pool, bicycles, pool table, ping pong table, snorkeling gear and more. Owner arranges tours, and provides shuttle service from/to airport. Cost is $40 USD. Downside for me... the Italian owner wasn't cordial with me, nor very accommodating as he was with the European guests staying at the same time. Maybe being there on my own might have been a factor. All and all, I rate my experience a 3 out of 4 because of the owner. The staff was great, the house very clean and inviting with balconies and views of the ocean. You walk off the steps of the resort home and you are on the beach. The food was unique and delightful. It felt more like a home not a hotel. GR

amazing house managed by a lovely italian family. perfect stay with ocean view to all kind of travellers. can't describe how great was the food .. they kept surprising me each day.don't forget to taste their crepe ... yummyyy to the max !

My remarks and observations in the overall, hotel service and condition categories as well room comfort and cleanliness are based on a hard working couple's way of training and creating jobs for young people in hotel work and service(bed prep and floor cleaning as well as towel service and for a 5 star cooking presentation and quality in the evening dinner experience).The room comfort included mosquito nets in each room and bed prepared and pulled back everyday...cleanliness and comfort and neiborhood(included sweeping all the floor spaces everyday whether it was sweeping up the white small grains of sand or redoing clean artistic bed covering beauty.