Hi Farzanah 
 
I agree with Catherine's comments below.  
 
The hotel was great - small and comfortable, with a personal touch from the management and staff.  
 
I wouldn't recommend it to travellers who like 'luxury' accommodation - whilst everything was perfectly adequate, it worked for us as it suited our budget and the rustic nature of the island (travertine marble etc would be out of place!).  
 
The hotel restaurant is excellent, and we had really good meals. Good value too at $15 a main course for dinner. Wouldn't be ideal for vegetarians though. There aren't really other options for eating out at night, the other hotels are quite far away, or you'd have to walk on the beach which probably isn't that safe. Wine is expensive, about $30 a bottle - you could advise travellers to do as we did and take their 2 bottles of wine and a bottle of spirits along. There is no bar fridge in the rooms, but they were happy for us to put the wine in their large fridge at the bar. It was all very laid back.  
 
We did a great snorkelling trip, organised through the hotel, with Ocean Blue. It's a 45 min boat ride out to Mnemba Atoll, and we did two snorkelling sessions with 2 guides, who were great. We saw fabulous fish (and some dolphins) and it was a great activity - cost $59 each.  
 
Stone Town is an interesting experience, but extremely hot and humid - I wouldn't recommend a full day there unless you're staying there. There was an interesting tour we heard about through the hotel, 'Swahili Breeze' which incorporated a tour of the town, a bit off the beaten track, and then lunch / snorkelling off a sand bank. Charlie at Shooting Star lodge could give you the details.  
 
We had dinner one night in Stone Town at the top of the old Emerseon & Green Hotel, now 236 Hurumzi. We'd recommend it for a drink, but not dinner, as the view at sunset is fabulous, but the food was not great, and it's quite uncomfortable sitting on cushions during the meal, quite close to one another.  
 
All in all, we had a wonderful week. Many thanks for your assistance.  
 
 
Thanks 
Amanda