Madinat Al Bahr Business & Spa Hotel in Zanzibar City

The Madinat Al Bahr hotel is conveniently located at a beach near the airport (3km, 6-10min drive) and also not far from Zanzibar City (7km, around 10-15min drive) with its famous stone town and ferry terminal to Dar Es Salaam etc. The hotel's architecture is impressive. The breakfast buffet is nice, but lunch an dinner buffet happens only on weekends. The restaurant kitchen is strong on local Swaheli food, fresh produce and Indian dishes. Really yummy. But don't order the T-Bone steak. I asked for medium rare but got a hard boiled (!) though correct piece of meat but too tough to either cut or chew. The rooms are big and clean with nice ocean views. The staff is pleasant. Except, don't trust the staff at the concierge desk turned activity booking desk to book your touristic activities. Apparently it's outsourced and run by another company. We booked a lift to the ferry but they told us totally wrong ferry times and basically cost me a whole day driving to a ferry that left long before. They had no clue what they were selling. But again, not really the hotel's responsibility. The reception easily let me book an additional early check-in and late check-out both of which made my trip a lot more pleasant. Big hug and thanks for this. The Madinat Al Bahr is good for a short stay at Zanzibar as its location enables one to pack a lot into one's trip, which is exactly what all the far-away beach hotels at the eastern beaches can't provide due to long driving times.

The beginning was a little bumpy yet after I addressed my concerns, the management in all departments including frontdesk and F&B went out of there way to make this visit for my mother and me even more memorable than expected.

I have visit over 200 hotels world-wide in the last three years, and witnessed a combined effort to make things more than right for us.

Since I was working as an F&B Manager on a few cruise ships with years of training in Europe and experience in 5 Star leading Hotel worldwide, I was truly impressed.

Next to a dinner invitation we were honored with a massive room upgrade with no questions asked. The staff was always extremely friendly and forcoming.

I can definitely recommend this magnificent looking Hotel.

This was a last minute stay since we had a missed flight. Very nice hotel though. Wish we could have enjoyed more. It was a beautiful place.

A very nice hotel complex for short stays.
The free shuttle service to the city center and the airport was particularly convenient.

A little far from Kendwa Beach but close to airport. Clean, and extremely comfortable.

A little far from Kendwa Beach but close to airport. Clean, and extremely comfortable.

We were very happy to book again when our flight got postponed. Friendly staff but very slow service. Lovely amenities and clean facilities

Excellent hotel. 5 stars. Luxurious rooms. Great service.

Luxurious hotel. The food is good. The beach is not very good.