The Residence Zanzibar

Unfortunately, although the rooms are five-star, the food and service were disappointing ; like a like a two star hotel experience. I’ll never recommend to anyone, my friend, my family and known people. Lack of standards, especially on the food in the service.

Having been to various Maldives resorts we thought we’d try somewhere different, hoping we wouldn’t be disappointed as we love the Maldives. No direct flights here from UK, so a long flight. We had an ocean front villa, 121, loved it. Gorgeous expansive beach & ocean views. Villa was extremely large, clean & had all amenities we required. We were all inclusive, didn’t like having to sign for every meal/drink (supplements for some items) Connie in office was super helpful & made our holiday. Overall we preferred here to Maldives.

The Residence is a beautiful and luxurious place to spend time in a quiet and stunning location. The staff were fabulous and made our stay very special. Everyone so friendly and keen to provide everything possible to make our stay perfect.

Stayed at Residence for 5 nights from the 28 December 2025. I was travelling with my mum, and we had an amazing time. Our gardens room villa was extremely well sized, with a fab private pool that was big enough to properly swim in. The highlight was the staff - they couldn’t do enough to help or be any more friendly. And the new yeas eve party on the beach was amazing. A huge thanks to all the staff that pulled out all the stops to ensure the guests had an amazing time - from the food right through to the fireworks at midnight. Truly special.

Location of the The Residence is great. The staff is friendly and helpful and provide excellent service. The facilities, from the private pool to the infinity pool, the yoga service and fitness center were great too. The food was good and the chef as outstanding in providing food for special dietary needs; there were different cuisines on different days which was great. I had one issue and the way it was addressed needs to change for a hotel of this caliber. There was a loud beeping like an alarm the first night and I gave a detailed report to the front desk and even though a note was made, there was no follow up. When this happened again the following night, I recorded the noise and also figure out the problem. Only then was a technician sent to handle the problem. This is not the service I would expect from such a hotel.