Bluebay Beach Resort & Spa — Hotel in Unguja

I stayed at Bluebay recently and what an absolute pleasure it was. The whole experience was amazing from start to finish. I really tried to find something wrong, but I couldn’t. It was a perfect 6 days. The resort itself is spacious and well laid out. I would say choose a superior room. Mine looked out onto the ocean and was quiet. The gardens that the hotel is set in are spacious and open. They are very pretty and very well maintained. The room itself was ludicrously spacious but with no dead space. For Zanzibar, a hotel room with good air conditioning is a must with the humidity and my room didn’t disappoint at all. The bed was very comfortable and enormous and the whole décor of the room is really charming. Loads of wardrobe space and a big safe. The bathroom was lovely & big, and the shower was great. Whoever was cleaning my room kept it spotless and the turn down service at night was superb. The internet while I was there was fast enough in my room to stream Netflix one night in bed.

I have seen in reviews that many people complain about the beaches on Zanzibar. For me the beach at Bluebay was perfect. It has an elevated narrow strip of private beach with sun loungers and sets of stairs going down to the public beach. The public beach does have some stuff on it like bits of seagrass but that didn’t bother me. I did see the staff frequently cleaning both their own beach and the public beach which I thought was awesome. The sea is nice and calm and perfect to cool off in. There are people on the beach trying to sell you stuff. That is only the public beach though and if you aren’t interested you just tell them you aren’t, and they move on. You don’t get hassled. The resort’s private beach has security guards stopping anyone coming up that isn’t a hotel resident, but I didn’t see them have to stop anyone. You feel so safe and you can leave your stuff by a lounger and not feel like someone may swipe it away. The elevated beach is lovely because it gets the wind coming off the water and it at times is sheltered by the trees so it’s perfect to lay out. However, if you don’t like the beach, the main pool is great. Loads of space so no fighting over sun loungers. Great sun all day and the pool itself is huge, spotlessly clean like everything else in the resort and a perfect temperature. It’s also big enough and deep enough to do laps in.

The food is amazing. Tasty & delicious and even after 6 nights the variety on the buffet was great. So many different courses to choose from and genuinely full of flavour and delicious. The chefs are nailing it. If you don’t want the buffet, there is a separate restaurant which is a la carte. I had pasta and it was a good size portion and very tasty. There is a nice lunch alternative at the coffee shop where you can order a sandwich. The coffee shop is great for pastries as well. The donuts are to die for.

Whoever the management team are, have done a fabulous job with the staff because everyone seemed genuinely happy to be at work everyday. Yes there is always that feeling in hotels of how much the staff are putting on a fake smile for guests but at Bluebay all the staff seemed really happy and are always smiling. I was greeted by any member of staff who walked past me and made to feel so welcome. The staff didn’t just stop there. There were people like Joyce on the main bar who had memorized my name and drinks preferences and every night would ask me which one of the three I wanted. The Food and Beverage manager greeted me several times and asked me how my stay was going. So many staff would not just say hello but ask me how everything was, and it didn’t feel like they were just doing their jobs. They really seemed to want to know how I was doing.

I didn’t try the spa or the gym but I will do that next time I come back. The weather was so nice even in the rainy season that I just wanted to sit in the sun and relax and I was really sad to leave. I will come back to Bluebay in...

The Bluebay Hotel is excellent, built in the local style (with makuti roofs), and located in the quiet town of Kiwengwa, in a beautiful, well-kept garden. It's a great place for a quiet rest and relaxation. The service is nice and polite, though sometimes slow. We asked for an iron at reception and had to wait a long time for it to be delivered to our room. At breakfast, there was a long wait for the waiter to bring tea or coffee, and we often had to ask again. The all-inclusive option only includes instant coffee (coffee from a coffee machine is available in the hotel cafe for an additional fee). The food is very good (mainly Indian dishes) –a wide selection and very tasty. A plus: fresh local fruit, such as passion fruit and rambutan, is served with every meal. A minus: not enough seafood. The best dinners (themed) were on Thursday and Friday – lots of seafood (octopus and squid) and beautiful restaurant decorations. The a la carte restaurants aren't worth it (the Italian and Asian restaurants are terrible). Only the Indian restaurant (located at the sister hotel, the Sultan Sands, whose restaurants and pool are open to Bluebay guests) had okay food. By the way, the Sultan Sands hotel manager is very friendly and speaks very good English (he approached us while we were at the Cinnamon restaurant). The hotel grounds are quiet and peaceful (only during dinner there are entertainment programs - sometimes too loud). The Wi-Fi in the room works very well (and our room was located far from the reception, on a small hill, with a beautiful view of the garden and ocean). We stayed at the Bluebay Hotel in August, so during the winter season in Zanzibar. It wasn't hot, but the perfect summer temperature (around 27 degrees Celsius at the hottest point of the day). Despite the dry season, there was heavy rain one day. In the evening, after dark, there are mosquitoes. Before going to dinner, you need to spray yourself with repellent. The rooms are cleaned daily and sprayed with repellent by the maid in the evening. It's worth bringing your own small soaps and shower gel, because on two days the maid didn't refill it. The room is spacious, the bathroom is large (with large shower cabin). There is a socket above the table where you can charge your phone without using an adapter. The maid brings a 1.5-liter bottle of water to the room every day. Drinking water in 0.5-liter bottles is available at the pool bar. Freshly squeezed fruit juices are not available. Beer (Tanzanian) is served in bottles. There is a very nice beach with fine white sand right next to the hotel. At high tide, there is no beach at all. Kiwengwa has high tides and low tides – this was a highlight for us. There are sea urchins in the water – hard-soled water shoes are required. We felt very safe at the hotel. The entire property is secured. Security guards are also present on the beach. It's worth taking tours and exploring the entire island. Generally, we felt safe throughout Zanzibar, traveling with a local tour agency in a small group. On the beaches, there are Maasai people in traditional costumes – on the one hand, this is an attraction for tourists, but on the other, it's a nuisance, as some of them intrusively (even verbally aggressively) harass tourists. We saw this problem while on a trip to the beaches in Kendwa and Paje. On the beach in Kiwengwa is OK in this regard. Overall, our stay at the Bluebay Hotel was very good. We hope our detailed review (outlining the pros and cons) will help others decide which hotel to choose in Zanzibar. The Bluebay Hotel is a wonderful place for those looking for a comfortable, peaceful stay in a beautiful garden. Those looking for hotel entertainment and evening entertainment in the area should choose a hotel in Nungwi, Kendwa, or Paje. And finally, the great (for us) highlight of the Bluebay Hotel: every morning, guests were offered fresh coconuts to drink at breakfast in the hotel...

Hello, This review will cover the resort and somethings about the island as a whole. I have nothing but good things to say about Bluebay and Sulton. I had read in past reviews that at this resort black people are not catered to, however, this was not the experience of my sorority sister and I. We received excellence service and accommodations. We felt welcomed and had a wonderful time. Shoutout to Ms. Fatima, Oscar, Grace, and Jamu at bluebay! Shoutout to Mr. Kevin at Sulton who provided excellent service and princess treatment. I recommend that anyone choose bluebay or Sulton. We had an awesome experience at the Spa as well. This resort is about an hour away from everything and it's a quiet and relaxing resort. The vibe is not "party hardy". There are also a lot of European visitors to the island of Zanibar. You will not see a lot of black American visitors depending on where you are. If you are younger or you like to party and like loud this is not the resort for you. Also this is an all inclusive resort but it does not include everything... you have to pay a price or extra for some alcoholic beverages. I didn't have an issue because the alcohol that was included I was able to drink. My sorority sister however did not drink a lot of the alcohol due the options that were available and having to pay extra for alcohol like Jack Daniel's or Bacardi. I am not a picky person so I have nothing bad to say about the alcohol choices or foods. Housekeeping services were well and I appreciated my Housekeeper Mariam. I booked with bluebay but we stayed on the Sulton side in the beautiful bungalow oceanview front rooms. The Maasai Tribe workers were awesome and friendly. All in all I take away that Zanibar is a nice quiet island for pure relaxation! You will not get the same party vibes that you will get somewhere like a Jamaica or a west Africa (Ghana). My sorority sister and I did go out to cocobella. It's a night club and bluebay set up our transportation! We had a great time and our driver was awesome! There were of course a lot of European/white people at the club and they played a mixture of music ( a lot of edm music). But cocobella is a big nice club and they have two parts. In the red room is where most of the afrobeats and reggae was played. All in all I will be returning to Zanibar and I will definitely stay at Bluebay/Sulton again! My sorority sister will probably not return. She said the resort was too quiet for her and the island as a whole. She wanted the resort to have more bar music during the day instead of just at night during the shows. The entertainment was awesome in my opinion by the way! At night some of the bars did have music and I had a great time. As I get older I appreciate some peace and quiet. All in all the staff made me feel welcomed and appreciated even though I didn't see a lot of other "tourists" who looked like me the staff made up for that. The only thing I didn't like was the harassment on the beach by the locals for money or to buy things... but I've been to Africa before so this is common. So if you are reading this review remember Zanibar is a beautiful place with beautiful beaches and people. The island is not as developed and it is poor but the people are very nice here and you will not see a lot of black tourists mainly European/White tourists. All in all I'm impressed and I will return to the island and bluebay/sulton! Thank you again with love and hugs!...