Sandies Baobab Beach Zanzibar in Nungwi

Bottom line up front: this is a beautiful property with rooms and food that do not live up to the billing.

The good first: the property is absolutely gorgeous with old, majestic baobab trees throughout. The landscaping is top notch and the beach view is absolutely stunning. The pool is gorgeous with a beach view and the drinks at the poolside bar were great. The staff are also super friendly and a few are conversant in several languages.

The bad: the food is overpriced and poor quality. We did not do all-inclusive and ordered a la carte as the buffet food did not look appetizing. Unfortunately, the menu food was equally bland and uninspired. They charge $40 for 4 very modest sized prawns. I would not consider them jumbo prawns and they did not taste fresh.

The room was even worse. The attention to detail is clearly lacking. We had to ask 4 times to get the room arranged as requested in the reservation, with 2 twin beds. The A/C was completely nonfunctional, and the room remained hot and stuffy throughout the night. The screens on the windows were filled with holes so we could not open them for a breeze. As they changed the sheets, the mattresses were filthy. And the shower faucet was falling apart. Several of the spigots had fallen out and water fell unevenly. The refrigerator was completely non-functional and spoiled our food. The cheapness of the finishings in the room shocked me given the price point. The front desk was accommodating so adding 1 star for them.