The Residence Zanzibar

The room was stunning and spotlessly clean. We chose a Garden room as we love wildlife and we were not disappointed. We saw dik diks, elephant shews, monkeys, lots of sunbirds, African Golden-Weavers, Helmeted Guineafowl and loads of other birds around the hotel grounds. They offer Yoga classes every day and Pilates twice a week. I attended one of these most days and would highly recommend. The teacher gave clean instructions and was very encouraging when I lost my balance trying a new pose. The Pilates was particularly good, I hadn't done Pilates before and it was more of a workout than the yoga. For dinner you have a choice of buffet at the main restaurant or Al la carte at the The Pavilion. The Pavilion menu only had a few options per menu but they have 3 menus and change every other day. The buffet food was nice with lots of options and there is live entertainment every night. The Pavilion is a quieter more romantic option but you have to book in advance. All the staff were really friendly and helpful. The only reason I didn't give 5 stars was the fact a very large family were there for our last few days and took over a lot of the resort. The main pool lost its previous tranquillity as the all the children played there and the music from the private event in Pavilion restaurant was very loud in our Villa. 

Our best experience ever, my wife and I had our honeymoon for a full week here before heading to greece. The safari, the sand dune, snorkling and star fish diving was the best experience by this resort. I highly reccomend 10/10. You wont refret it at all

This is an amazing property to stay in Zanzibar. We were upgraded to the frangipani villa which was spacious and well appointed. The private pool was great. The main swimming pool is huge and doesn’t get too crowded. The food options at the main dining room were good with a lot of vegetarian options for breakfast and dinner. Beverage options are nice and reasonably priced. The complimentary fruits at mid morning and ice cream at mid afternoon around the pool area are a great touch. The staff is polite and extremely helpful. We had to see the onsite doctor as one of us wasn’t feeling too well one day. The staff promptly arranged for the doctor to arrive who was extremely helpful and thoughtful in his advice which we highly appreciated. The doctor didn’t charge us for his visit and medication even when we asked if he was sure. As has been discussed previously in other reviews, most beaches in Zanzibar have big tidal ranges and at low tide, the sea retreats by a lot. We didn’t swim on the beach for that reason and there’s also a lot of sea weed that the staff tries to clean every day. Nevertheless, the main and private swimming pools more than made up for it. There are a lot of monkeys around the resort and the staff warn you at the outset to keep the doors closed. It is advice that must be heeded to. The resort is family friendly. That’s great if you have kids of your own but if you don’t, it can feel a bit like school nursery during breakfast / dinner time.

Room was immaculate with private pool and ocean front.