Hotels Near Kite Centre Zanzibar in Paje

Whilst the staff at the bar were very friendly (a highlight) there were some things that massively let it down: -pool wasn’t very clean (water wasn’t clear) -mosquito net was broken - very disappointing for a 4 star hotel. -breakfast was disappointing. You pick up to 3 things off a menu but we found them quite bland - eg the French toast I would have expected to come with berries/similar, it was basically just bread. -noise level in the room, even with windows shut was really high. -parts of the complex looked tired - eg wires sticking out of ceiling in the downstairs, and mirrors which had rusted. Disappointed for the high reviews that this place had.

We were pleasantly surprised by this location - loved it. From the moment you walked in, it was like an oasis! Luxuriant vegetation, a good pool, and nice place to relax around it. The rooms were much bigger than expected. The decoration was a perfect combination between boho chic and minimalist. The roof was the restaurant which was amazing. Loved the food! Even tough we chose the same breakfast almost every day, the avocado never got old :))). Dinner was always on top and had really good options. The vegetarian options surprised us in a very good way! Staff was very attentive and helpful! Now to our hosts - the Zanzibarista team - the were very very helpful, form the start, when we started looking for options in Zanzibar. It made it in the end easy to choose them. After, constantly giving us the needed infos, tips and tricks. On site, all of our expectations were met and above. We even had do visit the ER due to a health condition and Alex was so nice and helped us with the entire process.

As the name implies, these are serviced apartments, it’s not a hotel. The location is slightly further from the beach than most tourist conveniences, but Paje is not big (we’re talking anbout 350m), and not being on the centre of tourism suits me better. It is quiet, has everything one needs, and John, the manager, was great. I would definitely stay here again. The only thing I might suggest was a discomfort, was that when we had one of the notorious big island-wide blackouts for almost 12 hours, Nebo wasn’t the most prepared. I actually come from a country that has struggled with constant electricity for several years. Generators, solar lights, and more than anything, reassurance for tourists who may not know the area, are useful. The cooker is gas, and cellphones come with torches, so I was completely fine. It just would have been good I think, given how quiet it was, to check. I’d still recommend it.

This hotel needs to seriously rethink itself, at least as as far as my experience is concerned. We had a six day stay, half board in a second floor room with a private pool. It certainly looks good on the outside and the pools and beach are wonderful, but… The pool is a gimmick, maybe fun for kids to splash around in but far to small for use by adults. The hotel decided to do some work on the roof over the terrace and pool while I was enjoying my book seated on the terrace. I had to flee as it rained muck and water from the intervention rendering the terrace and the pool unusable. I expected these to be cleaned once they had finished, but this did not happen and needed a trip to the front desk to resolve. The roof still leaks when it rains, so the terrace is basically unusable. In fact with one downpour the room was almost flooded as the drain was blocked and the water accumulated. Next day, the pool was still dirty. Then the air conditioning in our room decided to malfunction, very likely due to the episode of the previous day, pouring water over our open suitcase just underneath. OK, my fault for leaving it there, but we had to go find housekeeping and maintenance guy to fix and clean. The room itself while spacious, is not aging well. But while I have to admit, these are not daily occurrences, its pretty annoying especially when no apology was forthcoming. More frequent issues relate to the quasi inexistant internet, which when it did function was certainly not high speed. Also, the meals while adequate were not particularly appealing or varied. That said, we thoroughly enjoyed our grilled seafood platter for lunch, which of course was outside our meal plan. The housekeeping and bar staff are all very pleasant but have a tendency to forget things. The nightly turn down service with the anti mosquito spray showed up too late for us each night, While the beach is a short walk away from the hotel, the path is littered with rubbish and shards from broken bottles. It must be said this land is not actually owned by the hotel, but it has to be crossed and best not bare footed. My last gripe relates to the 5% surcharge that they impose for payment by credit card…