Essque Zalu Zanzibar

The disappointment of our whole stay in Zanzibar. The only silverlining about our stay are the beaches in Nungwi and Kendwa. Unfortunately, from even before we arrived, the whole experience with the staff is already disappointing. We were initially staying in Matemwe and decided to head off already to Nungwi, in this hotel, for our extra day. We reached out to the hotel a day before around 3pm through their two numbers in their page to inquire about booking directly with them and sort our rooms since we already have an existing booking for 3nights, this will just be an additional. but we did not get a response until the following day when we were already close to the hotel. By then we already decided to book through booking.com as we couldn’t risk waiting, in case rooms will be sold out. This was already the first red flag if they can’t even bother to respond to inquiries. When we arrived at the hotel, during check-in we explained the situation about the rooms because we don’t want to move rooms. They were also saying that it will be two twin beds joined together, while I understand we booked for garden twin, the room description in booking.com mentions king bed; if this is not accurate, this should be changed as it’s confusing. We got a king in the end but after making us feel like they did us a huge favor. After the first night, we were just very unhappy with everything so we decided to talk to them about cancelling our stay and refunding us our payment as everything’s been paid for, unfortunately, as it was through a third party, we are unable to do so. The next three nights had been dreadful. After the whole ordeal, nobody bothered to check on us even once. Staff won’t even greet as we are in and out of hotel. The beach outside isn’t ideal for swimming so they provide a shuttle to Nungwi and Kendwa. But to Kendwa, for some reason, instead of dropping you to a public beach, they opt to drop you off to another hotel where you need to pay 10USD. Which is ridiculous. Plus, on this day, we called reception to confirm if the shuttle to Kendwa was available since we were told it depends on availability, which they confirmed. When we got to reception, as always, the staff looks so confused as if this is the first time they heard about their shuttle to kendwa. We ended up waiting for more than 20minutes. While waiting, another guy from the tours company was offering us airport transfer! You can’t even sort this supposedly daily shuttle, what makes them think we’d want to book a transfer, plus it is just our second day!! Anyway, Nungwi is just around 10minutes walk from the hotel so better to just walk there. Another day, we called reception if they could arrange a tuktuk for us to go to Nungwi which was just 5min away, once again disappointment. Was told they couldn’t and that they only have a taxi for guess what, again 10USD, as if that’s their base price for anything. Breakfast? Pathetic. Apart from the egg station, sausages, everything else look like the leftover from their buffet dinner. And they were lukewarm. We are talking about a hotel that claims to be 5star, but honestly, they are 3stars at best. The hotel itself needs so much maintenance done, which on a normal scenario we can understand, but when customer service is also ZERO, then there is no redeeming factor. Upon checkout, nobody bothered asking about our stay, not even the same lady who we spoke to about the fact that we are not satisfied and would like to refund. Although, at this point, we are so done with everything about the hotel, rather not be approached by any of their staff because every interaction was pure disappointment and makes everything worse. No attempt of service recovery or even an apology at all. With this price range, you would expect atleast decent service, but in all our travels, this is the most pathetic, most disappointing experience we’ve ever encountered, and the first time I am writing such a negative review on a property. It’s the first time we left a hotel very disappointed and feel cheated. Good thing Zanzibar as a whole was amazing and we won’t let a hotel with staff that lacks passion destroy it for us. It honestly felt like they were all picked from the streets and assembled to work the same day with how disorganised and unprofessional everything felt. The hotel is supposed to feel like your home away from home but they made us feel like unwanted guests instead. Best part was checking out and never having to deal with them again. Book at your own risk or do yourself a favor and don’t book at all.

We were booked to go in December for a family holiday and then this hotel wanted to charge us over R100000 in taxes. We landed up having to cancel our whole holiday. We are still waiting for the refund. The whole experience has been an absolute nightmare. I would definitely not recommend this hotel

Wonderful Stay with Exceptional Staff at zalu Hotel (Zanzibar) We really enjoyed our stay at Zalu Hotel in Zanzibar. The absolute highlight was the staff — incredibly kind, attentive, and welcoming. They remembered our names and even our preferred seating areas, which made the experience feel very personal. Breakfasts were buffet-style and included, with lots of variety. There were chefs making eggs, crepes, and pancakes to order, along with cereals, breads, and other options. Dinner was also buffet-style, with a different theme each night (Swahili night, pasta bar, and other rotating menus). We found dinner to be a bit hit or miss depending on personal taste, but overall the quality was good. Nightly entertainment was another highlight — lively, fun, and something we really enjoyed, especially having great seats to watch the performances. In terms of value, pricing felt more in line with U.S. standards than budget travel (buffet dinners were around $40 USD per person plus tip), which seems fairly standard for Zanzibar overall. That said, the service, atmosphere, and experience made it a great stay, and we would definitely recommend it. Huge shoutout to all of the people who made this trip extra special! Moreen at the front desk, Juma with concierge service, and all of the wait staff - Mahmoud, Joffrey, Islam, Flora and the others!

The massage was wonderful. Very relaxing, refreshing and left me at ease. “Happy” the massage therapist truly lived up to her name.

Everything was perfect ! Beautiful