Zanzibar House Boutique Hotel

We had an awesome stay in the hotel and we would come back for sure. Everything was great! The food was delicious (especially dinner), everyone was very friendly and helpful! We (family & friends) were there for a wedding and for our vacation – everything was just perfect! The manager/ hotel owner(s) organized the beach wedding perfectly. Thank you!

We stayed at Zanzibar House for 4 nights during our vacation in Zanzibar. The intimate 7 bedroom hotel has a beautiful location and the beach is private and secluded. The rooms are very comfortable, well-appointed, and have gorgeous views of the sea from large, wooden balconies. The local staff are friendly, hospitable, and go out of their way to meet your every need if they are able to. The in-house massage therapist is incredible and the pool was lovely. However, after reading a number of positive reviews before arriving at the hotel, we were disappointed in the management of the hotel as well as the quality of food. The reviews paint a seductive picture of the Italian family who owns Zanzibar House, and we were expecting a warm Italian welcome and delicious Italian and Swahili-inspired food as advertised. This was not the case and throughout our stay, the owners did not greet, engage, or communicate with us at all and we were left disappointed at meal times which (we believe) were below average. We had thankfully only booked breakfast, which was mediocre at best (filter coffee charged at an additional cost), but after two (additional) disastrous meals (a dinner and a lunch), we ate at various hotels a few meters walk down the beach front for the rest of our stay. In our opinion, there appeared to be a general disinterest in guests (unless you happened to be Italian) and the family rarely left their sleeping and dining quarters if only to attend to a group of friends who appeared to be visiting them. This was a huge disappointment as the reviews and the hotel website advertise treating their guests like family. Upon leaving, the hotel also charged us an additional $8 "city tax" (per day) over and above the obligatory $1 for infrastructure tax, which, by law, should not be paid by guests, but by the operator: Zanzibar House. We also recommend checking your bill carefully as there were a number initial errors. Overall we enjoyed our stay in Zanzibar as we are generally quite adaptable people, but it would have been even better had our time in Zanzibar House been more hospitable and we were made to feel welcome. We never met the chef but he or she appears to need guidance. It's difficult to say whether we would recommend this hotel to travellers, as with a few changes, this could really be a top vacation spot.

We stayed for a week in a sea view room and felt we must have picked the best place on the island. Zanzibar House is a small, cozy and quiet hotel on a beach which is still free from crowds and parties. The owners and staff were helpful and friendly, the food was very good. Swimming is good at high tide, and at low tide one can walk towards the far-away reef (if you have shoes to protect your feet from sea urchins..... ). Bicycles are available, and the hotel can help arranging trips (though you can do it yourself too). When we were half-way our stay we started to feel we should stay at least a week longer.... but alas. Maybe next time.

Zanzibar House is heaven on earth! We recently spent a week at this wonderful place and our only regret is that we didn't plan to stay longer. Max and Miria and their wonderful staff went above and beyond to make our stay memorable. The beautiful Italian themed dinners that we enjoyed every night were beyond compare and always prepared with the freshest ingredients. We were truly pampered. The rooms were lovely and very clean. The beds were comfortable and we had a magnificent view of the pool below and the ocean beyond from our large veranda. We loved that the resort was small, more like a B and B and we felt like we were in our own private villa. Do yourself a favor and experience Zanzibar House.. Thank you Max and Miria for making our trip to Zanzibar extra special!

Poor customer service. Waiter almost shouting at us. Non hotel guests wanted to have dinner there. The place is beautiful but service is unprofessional . Left the place as felt uncomfortable. Can’t believe the low quality of service for such a fancy place.

There are no words to fully explain our stay in Zanzibar House. We were 3 couples, taking the front, ocean view rooms for7 days. As the B and B is so small, we felt like we had the entire place to ourselves. Our rooms were cleaned and refreshed twice a day and the staff everywhere called us by name and, after a day, knew our preferences for drinks etc. With the mosquito nets on the bed, we left our patio doors wide open to catch the ocean sounds and cool, fresh breezes….priceless. We have travelled extensively and the dinner meals at Zanz House rivalled the best! Each dinner had an Italian flair with a local mix of fresh seafood of the day. Superb would be an understatement. Max even sent his Chef to BBQ a lunch on the beach for us after snorkelling, consisting of prawns, calamari, skewered fish and lobster ( and a few bottles of chilled Prosecco to wash it down). There is an amazing lady at the hotel ( beachside) that is available for very reasonable and wonderful massages. This week with Max’s family and staff was the perfect conclusion to our trip of a lifetime in Africa. Giving this facility a 5 star is an understatement!!

Wow , wow . Wow . If you are thinking about a boutique hotel run with passion and people . Don’t think further you can’t go wrong this experience was amazing and we will be back again ! Loved every minute and the staff went out of their way to assist in every way possible WELL DONE !!!!