The Residence Zanzibar

a lot of improvements have been made and The Residence is back at its staus of best hotel in this aera of Zanaibar. Service , food, beach villa , swimming pool ..... thanks to all this beautiful team

We had a 7 night stay here in October and were extremely pleased with the experience. The facilities were great, and the staff were fantastic, a special mention to Farida, Clement & Bundala who were very attentive & personable. I also had a brilliant massage at the Spa by Nooma, highly recommend. I hope the resort give the staff the recognition they deserve. Food was great, buffet breakfast & dinner but the highlight was the A La Carte lunch menu was our favourite. The only thing that would make this better would be if dinner was A La Carte too. I recommend going All Inclusive as it made our stay stress free, meaning endless drinks around the pool & a minibar full of drinks at no extra cost! Be aware of the regular power cuts, simply due to the infrastructure on the island, but it never caused any issues as the generator would kick in straight away and power was restored. Just took us by surprise at first 😅 Thanks for a memorable, relaxing stay!

We have just spent a very memorable week at this first class hotel. Food at both restaurants was excellent ..one buffet and the other full menu. The site is well spread out ... bikes are provided and there is a 24/7 golf cart service for oldies like us!. Nothing was too much trouble for the staff Johanes soon knew our room number. Our snorkelling and sandbar trip( Salum,Hamid,Ahmed,Mohamed and Maulid) was special ... ideal for non swimmers. the boys made the occasion very special. we also took a massage together .. very well set up. Cocktails in the bar at sunset before dinner was a must and Baraka did his very best to make a cocktail he had never heard of 10/10. Transfers to and from the Hotel/airport were in modern air-conditioned vehicles with English speaking drivers happy to answer any questions.

The residence in Zanzibar was excellent. Accommodation the best we have ever seen. Staff the friendliest we have ever experienced. Food wonderful. This is a luxury quiet hotel.

Lovely location, beautiful facility with spa, tennis, water sports available. Staff were so friendly and accommodating. The meals and drink selection were great but beware the jetty construction. Unfortunately our bungalow was next to the jetty so had 3 days of sanding, concrete deliveries etc so didn't get to enjoy our private pool because of the noise. We will not be able to give The Residence another try because we are in Canada, this was a one time visit.

One of the classic crawl, I hang out all night long the bartender was friendly, helpful and professional. Music was good and heartbreaking.

Loved the view and sunsets from the ocean-front villa as well as the private pools. The room was large and the bathroom was huge!The staff was extremely attentive and accommodating for every need. Bicycles are provided and fun to ride around the property. We loved seeing monkeys, dik diks, and elephant shrews daily around the property. Take walks along the ocean during low tide (to the right you will pass many fishing boats and huts, art stands, and then find a bar on a promontory where drinks are half the price compared to the Residence). We paid for an excursion to Jozani Forest, which we could have done without because the property is teeming with both black monkeys and red colobus monkeys. We did very much enjoy the outing to Saalam Caves to feed the sea turtles. The Safari Blue trip was nice but expensive and a long trip. We didn’t visit anyplace north or west or east, but we chose this place for the seclusion and tranquility—and that is what we experienced.

The beach has a lot of rocks and sea grass, and the sand in the water feels clay-like. We knew that from reviews and that we would have to snorkel elsewhere. During high tide you can enjoy frolicking in the ocean water, though. Plenty of excursions available but expensive.

Exceptionally clean, tastefully decorated rooms, lush gardens all around and great service. We loved the villa, the private pool was perfect and the bikes were ideal to get around.

We had an excellent experience at this hotel — the location couldn’t be better, right in the heart of everything yet still peaceful and relaxing. The food was consistently delicious, with a great variety to choose from, and the staff went above and beyond to make us feel welcome throughout our stay. A special mention to Lucman, whose classes were a real highlight — he’s incredibly knowledgeable and brings great energy to every session. If you visit, make sure to join one of his classes; you won’t regret it!