Zanzibar Bahari Villas in Matemwe

This was, without a doubt, the worst hotel experience I’ve ever had. We booked our stay ten months in advance and paid in full eight months before our arrival, yet it was nothing short of a disaster from the moment we arrived. Upon arrival, the manager failed to greet us properly. Instead, we were directed to sit on the sofas in the reception area without any explanation. It wasn’t until 1.5 hours later that we learned—from other guests in the same situation, not the staff—that our room had been overbooked. We were then shuttled to a half-finished hotel that didn’t come close to the standards of the hotel we had originally booked. We were assured this was a temporary arrangement and that we’d be moved to a villa near the booked hotel the next day. However, the following day we were taken to yet another substandard, half-finished building. This one had two small rooms with beds, an empty fridge, and little else. It felt as though the staff from the downstairs restaurant had been hastily evicted to make space for us. The building was infested with flies, lacked basic amenities like drinking water, towels, air conditioning, toilet paper, and WiFi, and appeared incomplete. The shower didn’t work, and there was even a man sleeping in the backyard. Worse still, it wasn’t anywhere near the hotel we had booked. Compensation wasn’t offered until we explicitly asked for it, and even then, all we received was free food for two days at the hotel. The service at the restaurant was slow, and our orders were frequently wrong. The food itself was mediocre at best. That said, the restaurant staff were very kind and welcoming, which was one of the few positives. When we finally got our room, there were no twin rooms available, so we had to settle for a double bed. While this was fine, the entire experience left a sour taste. The pool area was lovely, and the other guests were pleasant, but these were small comforts in an otherwise dreadful stay. This hotel has great potential, but based on our experience, it’s far from meeting even basic standards. I would not recommend it.