BOTTOMS UP — Hotel in Kiponda

Hostel is located very close to everything in the old town, the rooftop is great, breakfast was included and served at the rooftop, what was really nice.||||This hostel has a very specific atmosphere, very local feeling. Most of the staff were really nice.||||There were no lockers in the mixed dorm. ||||||We booked two trips at the reception. The spice farm was excellent. The prison island was a disaster, we didnt get what we payed for (no guide, no snorkeling, only 1 hour on the isle instead of 3,5). ||||The receptionist (a younger guy) refused to give us back our money,tried to blame us, said that we shouldn't get on the boat. But we went with a guy, who picked us up at the hostel. And the receptionist said that this was our guide. We followed him to the boat, then he turned back and dissappeared.|||| In the end we agreed only on 1/3 price refund, as the receptionist said that he didn't have more money and he already gave our money to the "guide". And he was scared of him and refused to call him. I was most angry that in the morning he let us go with someone he himself was scared of. ||||Other fellow guests, who were in the Prison island tour the day before, had a great experience though. ||||So be aware of what are you booking and dont hesitate to refuse continue your tour if something is...

My husband and I had a wonderful stay at Buttoms up! Bottoms up has a great location in the historic center of Stone Town. All the touristic attractions are walking distance. The hostel is very clean and well-maintained. Ali, the manager, was very kind to us from the very beginning. He came to pick us up at the airport and carried our heavy backpacks to the room. The room was very clean and we actually believe that we had an upgrade because we were assigned to a larger room when we arrived at the hostel. The bed was very comfortable and the bathroom was very clean. The room had AC and a small mini fridge. The breakfast was good, too (scrambled eggs, bread, fruits and tea). The hostel organizes tours to Nakupenda beach and Prison island as well as city tours. We booked our boat tour with them to Prison island and Nakupenda. It was a great experience, too! After our stay, we were going to Jambiani and we told Ali that we wanted to take a Dala Dala (local transport) and not a taxi. He explained us how to get to the Dala dala station and kindly offered us a ride to the station. He then explained the driver where we were going to make sure that everything is OK. Our stay at Bottoms up was a great experience and we recommend Bottoms up to everyone who wants to stay in the historic center...

Sadly my experience was really bad. I was totally disappointed and dissatisfied. This is a place I would never come back nor recommend.

Pictures are deceiving. The real situation is pathetic. The building is old, rundown, dirty, neglected and hardly maintained. Staff and especially ALI was so arrogant in his customer service. Juma had amazing customer relations. One had to constantly remind staff to attend to guests, either by restocking tissues in toilets etc etc. The towels and shared bathrooms were disgusting. The soap in the bathroom is a joke. Carry your own soap, towel and bathroom slippers if you must stay in this place. "Breakfast" in this case is limited in terms of options. It is only 3slices of white bread, fried eggs and black tea/coffee (no flexibility to adjust). Try giving guests a simple coastal experience for example Mahamri, Mbaazi and maybe cardamon tea. If you are looking for reliable WiFi, Bottoms up is not the place for you. Especially in the rooms on the top floor. There is no WiFi coverage on the last two floors. It was honestly a disappointment and...