Kisiwa on the Beach

The roof of the restaurant/bar looks impressive but is not feet for purpose. During our staying it rained and the restaurant and bar were flooded for 3 days forcing us to eat in our room on a small coffee table or opposite the toilets. The very unpleasant GM, Julios, will argue that the amount of rain was unprecedented, but we visited quite few of the little bars on the beach, the Rock restaurant and the hotel next to us and they didn't have any problems. The hotel is advertised to be luxury but it is far from that. The bathroom is old and dated with limescale on the shower head and black mould  on the tiles. It is far from environmentally friendly offering shower gel in miniature plastic bottles. The curtains in the room are black out so if you want some privacy during the day you have to be in the dark and you will have to leave out of a suitcase since the room hasn't got a functional closet. The drinks are very, very, very expensive but at least served by nice staff. It was our honeymoon and I ended up crying daily for my disappointment. We spent a lot of money for a Luxury holiday but we got an average, dated and totally unfunctional hotel. I have a lots of photos to back up my review and I will be happy to share them with anyone that is thinking to book this hotel.

It was 10/10, really unforgettable experience and it could not be better! The staff went above and beyond to ensure our comfort and satisfaction throughout our entire stay. Their attention to detail and genuine hospitality made us feel truly valued as guests. They always ask about your day and how you feel and this really makes you special! They are very chill (hukana matata) and very hardworking people. Staff are amazing here, we really become friends in our short stay Our room was clean and stunning everyday, it was always a pleasure to come back in the room. Dining at the hotel was a culinary delight. We savored every bite of the delicious meals served at the really cute restaurant, where the talented chefs show their culinary expertise with creative and flavorful dishes (fish, steak, Zanzibar spice soup, Svahili dinner - something you must experience and we are very picky eaters haha!) They worked hard for my partner's birthday and really prepared a wonderful atmosphere, grill with privaye chef and birthday cake. It could hardly be better! He was very suprise and happy! Also for the kitesurfers, here is the best spot! Overall, our stay at this hotel was an unforgettable experience. We cannot praise it highly enough and look forward to returning in the future. If you're looking for a luxurious and indulgent getaway, this hotel is an absolute must-visit.

Everything was very nice. Enjoyed every day. Housekeeping was good, food excellent. The staff is super friendly, sweet with a personal service that we enjoyed. We are hopefully going back next year for some days. We had 3 kids with us that also enjoyed every day.

Great resort ever in zanzibar Privat beach also beautiful, there was seaweed but clean Service is nice, and aircondition also nice. Staff suggest us many activity include dolpine tour, and we can negotiate it When you go to paje beach, Kisiwa will be best resort

Amazing stay at Kisiwa, the service is the best part of the hotel. The people are the nicest ever. Rooms are super clean, massages are great, and beach view is perfect. We stayed 8 nights and everything went super smoothly. So Thank you so much!

We had a lovely stay at Kisiwa on the Beach. The staff are extremely attentive and hospitable - they truly make you feel at home. On our last night the staff went above and beyond. They set up a table for us on the beach, which was very sweet. The property is beautiful and well maintained. The property is right by the area of the beach that is quiet and makes for a wonderful stay.

We had a great time ! The Staff is so nice and lovely. The last evening they arranged a surprisedinner, for us, at the beach. We will,for sure, be back when we visit Zanzibar next time because everything from the bungalow to the rest of the facilities are just awesome.

Very well located hotel at the beach, beautiful gardens, nice villa’s, some with beach view. Nice pool and beach with sunbeds, that are well connnected. The staff is extremely friendly and highly professional and do their utmost to make you feel at home. Very clean rooms. Good variety of food in the restaurant. The Spa is worth a visit! Even though we had an excellent stay, upon check out we were unpleasently surprised that we could not pay in local currency but where forced to pay in dollars, even though all the restaurant bills were presented to us in local currency. The exchange rate used was 20% below the going rate, which is totallyunacceptable and not something that we had experienced before. When we requested to pay in local currency, we were met with an unfriendly and almost hostile attitude of the front office manager, who even refused to contact the general manager to resolve this matter. Also the guest relations manager refused to help out. In the end, we paid the bill and left disappointed, not returning to this hotel anymore.

My husband wrote a review already but we had such a good time, I wanted to write one too. This place is absolutely beautiful and welcoming from the moment you arrive. They have you sit down in the beautiful lobby with a very nice welcome drink, then introduce you to several staff and take you on a tour while other staff take your luggage to your room. The grounds are beautifully landscaped and the groundskeepers are very hardworking. We saw them constantly trimming, raking and watering. They are doing a wonderful job. Everyone who works there seemed to take their job very seriously, from the security guards to the waiters to the guest relations. We felt very safe and well taken care of. Benjamin in guest relations really went above and beyond, regularly checking to make sure we had everything we need. . The rooms are spacious and clean. They clean in the morning and have an evening turndown service where they put the mosquito netting down and spray for mosquitos. I don't think we saw a single mosquito when we were there and almost no bugs of any kind. It was very nice to have our own little villa. I tried the bathtub one day. It was deep and nice. The robes could use a replacement and were too small for my husband. The pool is amazing. Nice and warm, spacious. When we went at the beginning of March, there were always deck chairs available. A pool attendant gives you towels and makes sure the pool area stays nice. It is a very nice section of the beautiful white sand beach. It is shallow and warm and has much less seaweed (hardly any) at the beach section right outside the hotel. It is a little away from the action in Paje in a much quieter section, which I thought was much better. Not as many crowds and people asking you to buy things. There are some, but not as many as when you are right in Paje. Be prepared for the Maasai guys to constantly ask you to come to their shop or to take you on a tour if you walk towards Paje. Right by the hotel, we weren't bothered. If you like kite surfing, there is a school next door. We didn't try it, but it did look like fun (but hard) and was interesting to watch. Just know that the kite surfers will want you to stay out of their way in certain sections of the beach and water. The ocean was warm, even hot at night. The food at the hotel was excellent. Every dinner their was a buffet that could be enough for dinner by itself, not just salad bar but made to order stir-fry with chicken or seafood and a changing variety of cold and hot foods. Plus on top of that, you could order main and dessert off the menu. The ordered meals were excellent, high quality, nice restaurant quality. We had selection like lamb and beef tenderloin. There were many vegetarian options too. The pizza looked great, but we found the meat options too tempting to try the pizza instead. The main came with rice or potatoes and cooked vegetables. Breakfast was excellent as well, with a fresh fruit plate delivered to the table, a large