Kerama Blue Resort — Hotel in Zamami

First of all, most of the problems we had were from our own making. If you don’t have - or forgot to bring your International Driver’s License with you (like we did), you are basically SOL with renting any car or motor scooter. That said, this resort is far away from the port and town and you become a hostage there at night.

Let me start with – Pro’s: The room (205) is large, clean and has an ocean view The staff, especially Yuna, Wow at the front desk, Morrey the shuttle driver were extremely friendly, helpful and available. The shuttle runs between the hotel, Furuzamami beach and the ferry port many times during the day. The hotel, although pricy per night for where you are and what you get is probably the best value on the Island that “we” know of.

Con’s: The front desk closes up at 5:30pm and you are on your own with any questions or issues

The hotel shuttle stops at 5:30pm so if you don’t have a car or motorbike your hostage at the hotel. The Local buses stop running at 5:30pm as well so having dinner in town is not an option since there are no taxi’s on this Island.

You need to make a reservation for breakfast & dinner at the hotel. Breakfast is included with the room for free daily but at best horrible and cold. The traditional Japanese breakfast is anything left over from the night before as is the traditional continental breakfast (which you need to ask for since it is not plainly offered). If you’re expecting your eggs to be warm keep moving this place is not for you. We saw many of the pre-prepared breakfasts for guests siting out on the table long before the guest arrives; seeing some of them with flies walking across breakfast plates before the guests arrived to eat.

Dinner is pretty much a crap shoot with everything sub-par except for the BBQ Pork called bacon and the white rice. We pretty much bought Gapao Rice at Awesome kitchen at the beach every day before we went back to the hotel and ordered the pork and mixed it together and ate it in our room to keep from starving.

The room on the second floor is nice but if you expect to sleep, well you’re in for a big surprise. There was nonstop running from children back and forth most nights from 7pm – 3am from the floor above which is the top floor and nobody to call because like I said they are gone at 5:30pm. We complained the next day and they said they would talk to the people above but that never transpired.

To some this up, the Island is stunningly gorgeous, the town is small and quaint, the Hotel is acceptable but without our own transportation for nighttime the experience kinda sucked. Don’t let this review stop you from going to this beautiful Island or staying at this hotel . . . just remember to have your International Driver’s License with you so you can eat in town nightly and insist on the 3rd floor and you will have an amazing time.

Afterthought: on the last day, as we were leaving – a couple from Milan told us of a place that will rent you a motorbike without the International driver’s license - that place is Zamami-Rent-A-Car...

Definitely the most beautiful Island I have visited in Asia. The islands waters are absolutely stunning…clear, clean, and full of beautiful corals. This hotel was EXTREMELY accommodating. Especially considering how remote this island is (to put in perspective there is only one main grocery store on this island). The hotel has shampoo, conditioner, body wash, face creams & washes, toothbrushes, hair ties etc. They provide you with towels to bring to the beach, there are drying racks you can bring into your room to dry your clothes, and multiple vending machines in the building. They also have a shuttle service for free and electric scooter and bike rentals. My husband and I used the electric scooters and they were so fun! I weigh about 100lb and was able to cruise at max speed up the big hills on the Island…my husband weighs almost double me and he had to push off the ground a little lol. The staff that works there is extremely kind and helped me with all my questions and we used a translation app if needed. The main reason I wanted to come to the island was to see the sea turtles. I booked multiple snorkeling tours in hopes of seeing a sea turtle on this trip but no luck. I would suggest if you want to see the sea turtles just rent the electric scooters around high tide and you can snorkel around Ama beach on your own. I don’t think a tour is necessary for snorkeling on this island. We would also walk the beach right in front of the hotel every morning and we were able to see lots of baby sharks! Wonderful stay, would...

This feels like a no frills bed and breakfast set up for divers at the isolated Asa Hamlet. For the price, you can probably find better places elsewhere.

Pros: Friendly staff. Good breakfast. Decent facilities set up for divers and snorkelers with showers outside and racks for your gear. Free beach towels you can grab for your excursions. Pick up service from the pier. A shuttle to take you around the island and to dinner and back. Beautiful snorkelling sites in the protected areas nearby but you must go with a tour.

Cons: Location is the main drawback. If you’re here on Zamami, you’re probably here to see corals and sea turtles at Furuzamami beach or Ama Beach, both are quite some ways away. Asa Hamlet also doesn’t have a lot of restaurants and shops. The hotel has a shuttle to the beaches and to the main port of Zamami, but it’s only a few times a day. There are also infrequent buses. You can of course rent a car or bike but your life will be much easier if you stay at Zamami harbour.

We paid ¥31500 for two people in April. Zamami is more expensive than Naha but for the price I still expect a bit more. There’s no hot water, tea or coffee in the room.

If you’re here to snorkel exclusively with a tour or you plan to rent a car, then this place might be...