Joya Boutique Hotel in Jambiani

It is a beautiful place in paradise where you find peace, if you are looking for it. The 6 rooms make it very familiary. The rooms are like on the picture.
My room with ocean view and hammock was fantastic. The staff was wonderful and the food great.

Mamamapambo was a wonderful stay. Upon arrival we received refreshing drinks and a warm towel which was such a special touch. The beautifully locally handcrafted accommodation with so many African cultural influences was perfect and right on the beach. The pool is small, but who needs a pool when you have access to the beach. There is a sitting a step outside of our door and view of the beach was amazing. The room was spacious with everything that we needed. The louver doors and windows provided us with an amazing night breeze and we slept like a babies. We departed with a special locally grown loofah with a special message on the bag. All was 100% perfect!

We stayed as a family at Mamamapambo for 10 days and it was heaven on Earth. We spent 30 days in Tanzania exploring Zanzibar, going on Safari, staying with some tribes, and our highlight was our 10 days at Mamamapambo. First of all, Jambiani is a quiet little fishing village that is quiet. We also stayed in Stones Town (loved it too for different reasons), and Kendwa (too noisy, not as charming) while on Zanzibar. For us, we loved this quiet little town, watching the tides go in and out, eating delicious food, and meeting locals. Mamamapambo is a tiny boutique hotel that has everything you need. We had the best room on the ground floor, furthest away from the pool. This room meant we had our own private patio overlooking the beach. It has two palm trees that provide nice shade for most of the day, a hammock that my daughter loved reading in, and a sweet cat that visited at night. The room was beautiful and far exceeded my expectations. It is amazing how they are able to keep it so clean when we were going in and out of it from the beach. The staff is wonderful, welcoming, attentive, and kind. The restaurant has delicious food which can make leaving this hotel optional, although I highly recommend walking around the town to get some culture. The breakfasts at Mamamapambo were delicious and such a treat: fresh fruit, instead of coffee we got hot chocolate made with premium chocolate, an a big menu of options, a bread basket, and a cup of fresh juice that changed every day. We had a couple of hiccups during our 10 day stay (electricity going out, bathroom flooded), but the hotel staff was responsive and did their best to resolve the issues as quickly as possible. We would walk the beach every day. You could see the women tending to their seaweed farms, see children running around at school, see monkeys in the trees, or look for sea urchins shells (our favorite). This town is small, and if someone tries to sell you a boat tour from there, they are from that village. We were lucky enough to meet Hamis on our first day, and he took us on a walking tour when the tide was low and showed us all sorts of sea creatures I've never seen before, and told us about his childhood growing up in Jambiani. We also ended up doing two boat tours with him, a village walking tour that included visiting a local village school (be prepared to be amazed), and attended a festival in a neighboring town. Booking directly through someone is often more economical than booking online, through a travel agent, or a hotel. For example, we did a full day boat tour for 3 of us for $130 total. Anyhow, book Mamamapambo if you can and stay in Jambiani.

I rated the service and location only, because my friends and I only went to their restaurant. The staff was very kind and the food was really great, although it took over one hour to get served (understandable, since we ordered grilled seafood for everyone). We believe that the staff could have informed us that the dish would take a long time to be prepared.
The only thing everyone should be aware of is that THEY DON’T ACCEPT CARD. Luckily, a friend had cash (dollars) to pay the whole bill, otherwise we don’t know how we would pay.

Such a lovely hotel to stay at away from the busy Paje area. Super relaxing and comfortable stay, right in front of the beach. Josephine, Bona, and the all the staff were extremely helpful and super kind. That’s what made it special ❤️ also gave us some great recommendations for local restaurants in the area. Thank you, we hope to be back soon! Highly recommend this place.

We had a lovely stay at Mamamapambo. The location is peaceful and relaxing, and a really welcoming atmosphere. There are great local restaurants nearby, and it’s only a short distance from Paje if you’re looking for more activity and a livelier vibe.

I would highly recommend this place to anyone looking for a quiet, relaxing stay in Zanzibar.

We would like to express our deepest gratitude for the absolutely exceptional experience we had at your magnificent establishment.

From the moment we arrived, we were captivated by the beauty of the place, the elegance and comfort of our room, but above all, by the incredibly warm and attentive welcome from your entire team. Every staff member was exceptionally kind and professional, making our stay even more enjoyable.

A special thank you to the talented chef who prepared the most delicious gluten-free dishes for me—such a thoughtful gesture that truly touched me. And what can we say about the manager and the owner, whose dedication and passion shine through in every detail, making this hotel a true haven of happiness.

We leave with unforgettable memories and only one desire: to return as soon as possible! We will certainly be recommending your establishment to everyone we know.

With our deepest appreciation,

Manon and Alex

We directly felt at home at our arrival ! We enjoyed our room opening onto the nice terrace with a wonderful sea view! Everybody was really nice. We really recommend to persons who want to rest in a peaceful place ! The italian influence in the kitchen was also a nice surprise! Go there without hesitation !

We spent together with a friends couple a truly excellent week at this most unique small but spacious boutique hotel. The ambience and comfort is super cosy, modern african style. Host Susanne with staff were extremely friendly and attentive to make your visit special. Always there to give recommendations and organize small trips. The food was excellent and the rooms very spacious, with a lot of flair, style and good comfort. This place has a top location and family run flair at the Jambiani beach and we enjoyed every moment.

Ocean Front Paradise Everything about Mamanapendo was excellent. My husband and I stayed for a few nights and had no complaints. All the staff were Friendly, polite and helpful. The food was excellent. The property was exceptionally clean and well maintained.