Hotel Villa Unaweza — Hotel in Unguja

|It was not my first stay in Zanzibar; I was now looking for boutique hotel options in the friendly village of Matemwe because of its beautiful quiet beach and proximity to Mnemba Atoll. After some online research, I was attracted to the option of Villa Unaweza because of their great website and great online reviews!||So, from my very recent experience there, Villa Unaweza is a beautiful new boutique hotel; everything is fresh and clean. There is a wonderful attention-to-detail with the interior design and décor. Also the hotel’s exterior areas and gardens are surrounded by carefully tended native flora and fauna.||The Staff are amazing and clearly very well trained. The Hotel Manager, Sylvia, and her Team are professional, friendly and helpful. They all knew the wider local area around Matemwe very well, and had a great knowledge of Zanzibar in general. I was particularly impressed with the friendliness and professionalism of the restaurant staff including Sharif and Mongola, who exhibited knowledgeable guidance about the menu options in the Unaweza restaurant. ||The restaurant’s food was amazing and very well prepared, both at breakfast and dinner. There was a good range of local and European food options on the restaurant’s menu, with a big selection of local freshly caught seafood too.||The lovely tropical pool at the hotel was really well maintained, and, happily for me, the bar was very close-by..! I admit that I enjoyed many drinks from the cocktail-menu whilst relaxing in the hotel’s pool!||All-in-all, a wonderful stay at Villa Unaweza. Will I return there…? …yes,...

This place truly deserves the highest marks when it comes to: Design and ambiance – the interior and surroundings are so thoughtfully arranged that they invite you to relax, unwind, and indulge in sweet, carefree laziness. Service – the staff are absolutely lovely, helpful, and genuinely go above and beyond to make sure you feel welcome and at home. Cleanliness – the rooms are spotless and smell wonderfully fresh. There’s a twice-daily service that ensures everything is tidy and pleasant. In the evening, the room is prepared for the night; The restaurant - delicious and generous breakfasts, plus amazing lunches and dinners with both local and international flavors.

*A small but charming detail: the housekeeping ladies create playful towel or pajama figures—just a little gesture, yet it makes such a warm impression :)

In the end a little bit poetic. At Villa Unaweza, time may keep moving forward, but for a moment, it feels like it stands still. That’s because of the unique atmosphere of peace, warmth, joy, and—above all—the heart and soul that has clearly been poured into this place to make it everything you could dream of for a perfect holiday in Zanzibar.

We’d like to thank every single member of the Villa Unaweza...

We appreciated that the hotel was clean and service and staff was professional. The breakfast was good, offering several options for everyone and adapting to offer breakfast takeaway when having to leave early in the morning for excursions. The design of the property was nice with a good relaxing area. We had dinner twice at the hotel and food was good each time with reasonable prices, matching what you can find on the island.

We did not enjoy that the beach was not good (we never could swim because of the seaweed / tides etc), the pool was mediocre (I didn’t feel it was clean, saw someone clean it one day only) and the water in the shower / sink had a very weird smell that we never noticed anywhere else (neither in other hotels nearby). They had a power cut which lasted 2 hours but during the power cut also there was no water (couldn’t flush, shower, etc).

I would recommend staying 2 nights to go snorkeling at Mnemba island (very closeby) and relax by the pool during one day...