Zawadi Hotel, Zanzibar

Just returned from having spent 10 days at this resort booking at very short notice. We flew with Kenya Airways from London via Nairobi and got our visas on arrival as suggested on the Zanzibar TA discussion forum with our forms downloaded and completed in in advance of our arrival. We sailed through with our luggage collected and out of the airport within about 20 minutes of touchdown leaving those who hadn’t and those who had e-visas still queuing! This is a fabulous little Adults Only resort, expertly run by Evelyne and her deputy Noa with F&B team overseen by Bernard. The resort is kept immaculately clean and tidy by gardeners and cleaning staff and they all really can’t do enough for you. The resort is All Inclusive, food always seems to be available and is of a very good standard and all a la carte. Breakfast breads, croissants and pastries (so delicious and home made) and fruit platters are brought to your table and there is a “main course” option to choose from. Lunch has a selection of starters, a pasta dish and some mains choices, always with vegetarian options. Dinner was similar and you can have as few or as many courses as you wish (and down or upsize portion size if so inclined!) Sundowner drinks and small nibbles are brought to your room around 6ish together with the evening menu and if you’d prefer something different Chef William was always happy to oblige. Afternoon tea (if you can manage it, we never could) is served 4ish. Menus changed daily but some items did reappear over our 10 day stay. I’ve attached some lunch and dinner menus pics to give an idea. The wine selection with several types of white, red and a rose and a fizzy wine were quite decent (think £8-12 per bottle standard in the UK) and glasses were frequently topped up. We had live music from local performers at dinner a few times which we really enjoyed. We arrived late morning but were taken to our villa straight away. It was absolutely huge with a massive (at least 7’ wide) but very comfy bed together with very comfy pillows ( I’m fussy when it comes to pillows!) We were a bit concerned seeing all the mosquito netting over the bed but needn’t have been as we didn’t get a single mossie bite during our stay and didn’t see any other guests with them either, a first for us for a tropical holiday! Their was a bottle of sparkling wine and fruit platter waiting for us, such a nice touch! There’s a mini bar with full bottles of white and red wine, Coke, Fanta, Sprite , 2 types of Beer, cider, milk and soda water plus nuts and a kettle. There is a water cooler so plenty of nice cold drinking water literally on tap! The bathroom had shampoo/conditioner, body wash, liquid soap and hard soap and re-filled daily. The shower pressure wasn’t the strongest but did the job. There was a salon style hairdryer but the only place to plug it in near a mirror was in the bathroom so I was sometimes a sweaty mess after drying my thick hair as there’s no a/c in there!

What a truly remarkable experience. From start to the finish, Zawadi makes you feel welcomed and relaxed. The views alone are spectacular. The service, one of a kind. I must say thank you to Noa, Innocent and Safia for making our stay unforgettable!

Super Nice environment with lovely staff and a beautiful view on your doorstep! Highly recommend the experience with all you need and amazing food! You have a lot of different activities you can partake, one of those being able to dive right in front of the hotel or just go for a quick snorkel

Tim & I stayed in the Zawadi for a week in March 2024. Everything about the hotel was perfect, the bungalow was very luxurious with everything we could possibly need, a comfy bed, extensive well equipped bathroom area, lounge area and the outside space was just what we needed with our own plunge pool. The communal areas i.e the bars, restaurants, pool area were all beautiful and immaculately kept. We were looked after on a daily basis by Iddy, Ally, Innocent and Mr M. but we do realize that there were a lot of people behind the scenes that also contributed to a wonderful holiday. Nothing was too much trouble, drinks were delivered to us around the pool or at our bungalow. The food was out of this world and we visited the farm to see where a lot of it came from fresh every day. Nothing could have been done to make this stay any better. Keep doing what you are doing PERFECT!

If you are looking for a lively resort with lots of facilities and pristine beaches where you can holiday with your children and party till late night...this is not for you. Zawadi is a tranquil adults-only boutique-style hotel with only 12 villas sitting on a cliff atop a small sandy bay on Sansibars east coast. So if you want absolute privacy, top-notch food served by a staff that knows your name immediately after your arrival and all that within a small resort that can only be described as your private piece of paradise...look no further! We (only) spent 5 nights here but were taken care of in such a special and unforgettable way that (especially on our last evening) almost brought tears to our eyes. There are lots of beautiful places around the world and it is no problem building a nice hotel there. All that is almost self-evident for a 5-star-luxury hotel. But hand-picking a staff that (seemingly) effortlessly manages to guess every need and wish that you might have, even without you having to mention it, is something completely different and brought to a kind of perfection here that left us speechless. So thank you Bernard and Iddy especially but not only for that one last evening...you made memories for us. Thank you to all the rest of the great F+B Team for taking care of us (no...still no onions and bell peppers for Sonja :-)). Thank you Noa and Eveline from management for creating such a unique place...we will most definitely be back! Greetings from cold Germany Markus & Sonja

No words can express how wonderful Zawadi Hotel is! Booking this hotel was kind of an afterthough of our month long travels and it ended up being the most amazing part of our journey. From the moment we contacted Zawadi, their communication was seamless and impeccable. We were very apt to go scuba diving the morning we arrived in Zanzibar and they arranged with Rising Sun Dive Center everything! We didn't have to worry about a thing except to go diving! In order to make the dive, Zawadi had our taxi drop us off at the dive center and then Zawadi and the dive center took care of all of our luggage and personal belongings. When we were done with our 2 tank dive, Rising Sun dropped us off directly on the beach in front of Zawadi Hotel, and we were warmly greeted by Isaack with 2 fresh cocounts in hand and cold towels! This was the most special arrival ever! And all of our luggage were already neatly placed in our villa! The villas were incredibly spacious, clean, and effortlessly decorated so that the views of the Indian Ocean could take center stage. The food was incredibly fresh, flavorful and delicious! The chef catered to my gluten free sensitivity and I never had to worry about my meals having gluten in them. But by far, the people who helped us every day are the ones that made our stay truly memorable. Evelyne, Isaack, Iddy, Bernard, Raza, Iddy, Ally, Innocent, Hamad, the chef and everyone else we forgot to name, are stars! Everyone we met were incredibly kind and made us feel like family. We can't wait to come back! Much love to everyone at Zawadi!

The BAB's (5 fun girls from Upstate NY) went on safari and 2 were able to extend our trip to relax and be spoiled at Zawadi...our 'Safari under the Sea'. We are SO glad we did!! Evelyne, Noa, Bernard, Iddy, Mabula, Innocent & Azzy all made us feel welcome. The luxuries were evident from the entry in hospitality to the amenities provided in our guest room...large comfortable bed, soft pillows, beautiful, large bathroom soaking tub, private separate LARGE walk in shower & separate toilet/bidet room... complete with private patio overlooking the Indian Ocean including our own outdoor hot tub, lounges and hammock swaying in the tropical breezes... The food was delicious and included varieties with tropical flavors as well as favorite local cuisine. If you aren't that adventurous, Hakuna Matada, chef was very accommodating. The Zawadi team is a professional group who excel at customer service and hospitality. Always a smile and ready to assist! The drinks were plentiful and had lots of tropical mixies to choose from. Always fun to try new & different concoctions. Snorkeling (including mask, snorkel & fins) plus a boat ride to the blue lagoon was all included in our stay. Clear kayaks are also included - we were able to explore the ocean floor during low tide and see all the coral, shells and fish as we paddled. This resort and its team get 2 thumbs way up!! Whenever we are able to come back to Zanzibar, Zawadi will be our home away from home. ＜3

Absolutely amazing experience! Beautiful villa and surroundings, wonderful personalized service. We were treated like royalty every day. I have never experienced such attentiveness by such friendly, warm and welcoming staff! I would highly recommend!