The House of Royals

Beautiful gardens, nice spacious room with plunge pool. Amazing food.

We booked our room through booking.com, but they contacted me via WhatsApp and told me that there was no room at the hotel and asked me to cancel my reservation. Total disappointment

The House of Royals offers a unique opportunity to step back in time and get a glimpse of the life of the Bu-Saidi family who ruled Zanzibar, and much of East Africa, from the early 19th century, either on their own or under a British Protectorate, until independence and the 1964 revolution. The house itself is only a part of the much larger complex of palaces and grand buildings which stood there but still has the feel of grandeur. It has been lovingly restored by the host Szilvia and the gardens are spectacularly beautiful. It is worth staying there just to sit on the covered upstairs balcony and walk through the extensive ruins which surround it, some of which date back centuries. It overlooks a beach which is littered with fishing boats at low water with the crews mending nets and readying the fleet to go out when the tide allows. The busy town of Bububu is a few hundred metres away. The beach extends Northwards, where there is a small hotel, which was closed when I was there, and a beachside bar. The house itself is not easy to find but Szilvia sends very detailed instructions and has a recommended taxi driver. It is a Guest House but she can arrange for guests to eat there and it is probably a good plan as, although there is a very good local restaurant (Bibi’s Kitchen) within easy walking distance, it is not an easy journey to make in the dark. The House of Royals is extremely quiet and is a total contrast to Stonetown, but may be too quiet for some guests. I found it magical and fascinating but was staying on my own and felt a bit isolated. The breakfast was excellent, especially the local fruit juice which had a hint of cloves which gave it a very exotic and very Zanzibari tang.

The location was perfect for us. We loved enjoying the tranquillity, nature, and heritage the hotel offers. It was so lovely to watch the daily life of locals on the beach from the gardens. They are absolutely stunning! Achmed was superb! From the moment we arrived to when we left, he was nothing but attentive, kind, helpful, and an encyclopedia of knowledge! The food was delicious! And the cookery trip he arranged for us will be a very treasured memory. As well as lots of tips to take home to recreate our feast! This was honestly a very special find. Thank you, Achmed and Silvia, for creating such a wonderful place to share with visitors.

Nothing.

NOTHING

This place is a total catfish, the building might have been nice LONG time ago, but it is in need of alot of renovation, the pictures of the beach is from other parts of the island and DEFINETLY not infront of this property, it is a part of a beach full of garbage and brown water, also alot of construction going on here. The area is very very remote and not in anyway a nice village to spend time. Our 5th time in Zanzibar and never met a owner so greedy and rude, same goes for her worker that has a manipulative personality,we was very mistreated in this place. If u are looking for a historlical stay - go to stone town and not here. I have conversation proof of how we was mistreated and threatened.

Great service and view

The Villa is a jewel. it was saved and restored from a nature that was literally claiming and swallowing it back. The White Villa stands Out from its beautiful green garden but without being intrusive with nature. The garden and the Door Collection absolutely deserve a visit. the room was really well designed and furnished. you have really the feeling to be in a small bubble suspended out of time.

no real cons. maybe future improvement would be to have AC in the room, but that would be just the cherry on the cake.

Szilvia is an amazing and kind hostess. She is extremely responsive and will cater to your individual needs. For example, we arrived very early in the morning, so she let us rest in an empty room even though ours was not yet available for a few hours. We had most of our home-cooked meals at the house with Szilvia and other guests if they were around. The food was delicious, healthy, and a reasonable price. The view at the House is gorgeous!

Due to the nature of the House being a restored castle, it has some quirks. For example, we stayed in a room where the bathroom was not connected to the room. We did not find this to be a problem, but others may. The location is beautiful, but you had to take a private car to get to and from anywhere; you could not really walk to any sights.