Swahili Beach Resort is situated on the East Coast of Zanzibar, 68kms away from the Stone Town. What can we say, Mohamed has done it again. After creating the hugely successful Arabian Nights Guesthouse, he has created the same concept in a lodge. Mohamed cleverly identified all the comfort aspects of all the hotels on the island and incorporated these into his new lodge Swahili Beach Resort.
The Lodge (it is too small to be called a resort) has all the comforts and luxuries of a resort. This is due to the fact that they have the financial backing to ensure that everything is of the best authentic Zanzibar quality. They have used stunning authentic Zanzibar furnishings and design to create one of the best places in the entire Zanzibar. It is not a beach resort with hundreds of people. It is small enough to be intimate and big enough to allow for all the luxuries like a pool, room service (something not very common in Zanzibar) and many other luxuries.
Swahili Beach Resort is located in the renowned area of Kizimkazi. For those perhaps not too familiar with Zanzibar, this is where people come to swim with the dolphins. Whilst they often swim away when you dive in the water, you are pretty much guaranteed of seeing them, regularly! Swahili Beach Resort is also located on the best beach in the area. The sea is the most tropical you will ever encounter! We are always amazed at how the ocean looks in this area when we arrive. This is a comment from one of our clients who stayed on one of the private islands and went to Kizimkazi afterwards: "There is also quite a lot of places to stay at in Kizimkazi so it might be worthwhile for African Encounters to add one of them to the list of hotels because swimming with the dolphins was one of the best things of our holiday!"
The lodge also features the Cardamom Shop which has a tastefully decorated and well stocked boutique where you will find Zanzibarian curio alongside the finest accessories and gifts sourced primarily from the East African region. You will also find a wide range of other products from Africana books to post cards. They also have a conference hall which can house 40 people and the Clove Business Centre where you can access the internet and do a little work should you please.
We highly recommend Swahili Beach Resort because of its charm, it's comfortable with all the extra little luxuries, and Mohamed's golden touch. Most importantly, you will not find better value for money on the island.
There are a total of 19 rooms consisting of 9 Sands Rooms, 6 Superior Rooms and 4 Cabana Rooms.
The Sands Rooms are the largest and closest to the ocean. These are single storey semi detached units with 2 rooms per unit. They enjoy both a beach and ocean view. The Superior Rooms are located a little further back but still enjoy a sea view. These rooms are double storey semi detached units with 4 rooms per unit. The Cabana Rooms are sort of in between, but they also have a beach and sea view.
All rooms are exceptionally comfortable and spacious. They all have a separate dressing room, en suite bathrooms with awesome showers and nice big verandahs. All the rooms also feature air conditioners, ceiling fans, satellite television, mini bars, telephones and safe deposit boxes. The bathrooms have hair dryers.
Value for money rooms like this you will not find anywhere in Zanzibar.
Room Facilities:- 19 Rooms (all sea view)
- Separate dressing room
- En suite bath room
- Spacious veranda
- Air conditioning
- Ceiling fans
- Hair dryer
- Satellite TV
- Mini-bar
- Smoke detectors
- Telephones
- Safe box
- Room service
The lodge has the Cinnamon Restaurant, Caraway Bar and Pili Pili Lounge. Breakfasts are served from the buffet and consist of English breakfast, fruit or cereals. Lunch is served from the lunch menu. The lunches are basically pub lunch type meals such as burgers, fish and pizzas. Dinners are served from the buffet and range from traditional Swahili seafood to western style dishes.
The Caraway Bar overlooks the swimming pool and ocean. It is the perfect place for sundowner cocktails or just to chill out at during the day. They serve the full range of spirits, wines, fruit juices, smoothies and their own Swahili Tea.
The Pili Pili Lounge is a sort of chill out lounge where drinks are served and guests can just sit relax, have a drink and chat.
General Facilities:- Restaurant
- Caraway Bar
- Pili Pili Lounge
- Conference Centre for 40 people
- Business Centre
- Cadamom Boutique Shop
- Swimming pool
Activities:- Snorkeling
- Deep Sea Fishing
- Spice Tour
- Jozani Forest (Colobus Monkeys)
- Dolphin Tour
- Safari Blue Tour
- Stone Town Tour
- Prison Island boat Trip
- PADI Dive Centre
Open: Swahili Beach Resort is open all year round.
Written by Terena Le Roux 