Essque Zalu Zanzibar

This is not a family friendly property. The playarea looks like it was never updated. The activities listed never happened. Hilariously, there was a total of 1 ONE highchair in the entire resort. While some of the staff did their best to accommodate out requests, most of them either did not know their tasks and the rest forgot their tasks.

‏‏We chose Essque Zalu for our honeymoon, expecting a once-in-a-lifetime experience in what is advertised as a luxury resort. Instead, we paid USD 1200 for 3 nights and got the worst holiday we could have imagined – entirely because of the hotel. ‏From the moment we checked in, we had no hot water in the shower. Not once during our entire 3-night stay were we able to shower properly. We reported this issue to the staff every single day, yet nothing was ever fixed. Coming back tired, sweaty, and dirty from long day trips, we were forced to shower in freezing water – an absolute disgrace for any hotel, and unimaginable for one that charges premium prices and calls itself “luxury.” ‏The way management handled the issue made everything worse. The front desk manager was dismissive, unhelpful, and completely indifferent to our situation. There was no sense of responsibility, no urgency, no real apology, and no effort to make things right. Even on the third night, when it was clear the problem would never be solved, we were not given the option to cancel the stay and move elsewhere. We were forced to endure another night of frustration. ‏This was supposed to be our honeymoon – and Essque Zalu ruined it. Instead of celebrating a once-in-a-lifetime occasion, we left angry, disappointed, and feeling cheated. For USD 400 per night, the minimum expectation is hot water and basic guest care. Essque Zalu failed at both. ‏To future travelers: stay away. Zanzibar has plenty of wonderful hotels that truly care about their guests and deliver on their promises. Essque Zalu is not one of them. Save your money and your holiday – do not make the same mistake we did.

Hotel was amazing! Food and staff were excellent and rooms were very spacious. The jetty provided an amazing view. We would stay here again, I would note that if you're looking for beach access, I would recommend Paje. Also, it's at the very top of the island which makes traveling to other towns (e.g., Paje, Stone Town, etc.) a little far. We had close access to Sexy Fish, quad tour, Mnemba tour which was organized by Steps. Steps was conveniently located in the lobby of Essque Zalu in Nungwi. We used them to book the Mnemba swim with dolphins, spice tour, transportation to The Rock, and the Payo Quad adventure. Execution was flawless and communication was great. The dolphins were the highlight of trip for half my kids and the quad tour the other half. Definitely recommend this operator.

“A quiet place with beautiful rooms.” The staff are friendly and helpful.” Good food Nice weather “Fun and enjoyable activities

It has been a good stay Good customer care Cleanliness is top notch (that second session of house keeping 100% very good) But as Africans we are not thought of food wise I guess there should be African food included on the menu and in the dining area

The hotel is very nice, but the problem is the distance to many things you can do in other places in Zanzibar. We spend almost 2 hours each way in transfers for many activities. Other situation is the hotel only has beach in LOW TIDE.

I did a massage in the hotel. The massage was great! Happy the masseuse was wonderful! Gentle and very nice ! I will do it again for sure!

My mom and I had a phenomenal experience at Essque Zalu Zanzibar. Staff were exceptional accommodating and the food was delicious. I will definitely refer friends and family to visit the Essque Zalu Zanzibar. We will be back. A very special thank you to Maureen, Shine, Amina, Fatima and Finesse. We stayed in room 12 and what a beautiful way to wake up every morning to a beautiful beach view.

I stayed to Essque for 3 nights. I celebrated my wedding there and it was wonderful. The superstar was Moureen. She made sure the celebration was perfect. All the staffs were kind and helpful. I had several meeting with the chef (Louis) and the beverages manager (Ali), who made sure everything was clear before the wedding. The room, the pool, the restaurant, the jetty, everything is magical. I highly recommend the place. And if you plan to stay longer, please find Moureen, Amina or Paulo.

Great Resort! Good service. Our villa was marvelous, two big rooms. Excellent garden view. Gorgeous infinity pool. Breakfast was wonderful with variety of food and deserts. . The less good thing is the dinner, we had some problem as a jews to find good food for us although the chef, at the first evening tried to make us a special dish.