Kimte Beach Guesthouse & Restaurant — Hotel in Unguja

Kimte Beach Lodge -- what a gem!!! My husband and I stayed here 6 nights in early October. I'll start with the lower points, but for us, bearing these was absolutely worth it for the high points.

This is not a high-end hotel or resort. It was one of the cheapest lodging options we saw online for Jambiani, and consistent with that, our room was small with no AC, the hot water didn't work until a few days into our stay, our mosquito net had a few holes, and the electricity went out for brief periods multiple times. However, these were manageable with the good ceiling fan in our room, hot weather making cool showers alright, and a little duct tape to patch the net. Given the spectacular location, we wouldn't have spent much time in our room regardless.

The high points: the outdoor restaurant/bar area (the common space) was truly something special. It was a perfect balance of structure and exposure, with a small open-air bar area, outdoor seating under a perfect canopy of trees, a pleasant breeze, and sand under your feet. Topped off by the picturesque beach only a few steps away, this whole place looks like something from a postcard. The staff were very relaxed in demeanor, but this in no way compromised their meticulous maintenance of the premises, their quality of service, or their thoughtfulness in cultivating a great customer experience. We especially appreciated the management's silent but clearly respected "no solicitation" rule -- in a tourist area where everyone is trying to sell you anything, it was so refreshing to have Kimte as a "safe space" where we could let our guard down a bit and just rest. Other positive things to note: -Their food and drinks were all excellent, we loved everything we tried -The breakfast included in our stay was simple but great. We especially enjoyed the fresh fruit juice! -Coordinating taxi rides through Kimte was very quick and easy. We didn’t coordinate other external services or excursions through them, but based on the rest of our experience, we would have trusted their recommendations -Early October was a good time to visit. It wasn't crowded and the weather was mostly hot and sunny with just one rainy day.

All in all, Kimte was 100% worth the price for us. It's a one-of-a-kind property with great management. We highly...

I booked kimte for 4 nights, as we drove to the lodge it was a very long journey, it was located in the middle of a VILLAGE therefore bumpy treacherous roads to reach the lodge. We arrived, saw a lady I’m assuming an employee laying in the forecourt, legs up really weird sight to see as a guest. She didn’t even greet us she continued laying there. It looked unclean and unkempt. We were shown to the room, it looked like a $5 dollar guest house, no AC, very musty & on top of that it didn’t look very clean. Anyway we decided not to stay as it wasn’t clean, very unkempt, it was very crowded with locals & it generally didn’t feel safe. We told the owner’s I’m assuming African husband who told us to speak to the owner for a refund. Weren’t expecting the refund, however I wanted to let future guests know what they’re getting into. It’s not on the beach it’s opposite a beach, surrounded by a village. Tbh it has potential to be a good lodge as the location isn’t too bad and could be closed off to allow more privacy. The workers seem as they weren’t working, and it seems that no money has been put to renovate or make it decent. ||Keep the $150 dollars you will surely need it to renovate...

Kimte Beach Lodge was all in all a decent stay, for that price range. The rooms do not have AC and the mosquito nets blocks the air current from the ceiling fans, so it can get quite warm. We hade no hot water in the shower, and not great, but definetly not terrible water pressure. It was also quite dirty, with no way to really get rid of sand before you entered your room (they should have some kind of brush for your feet or something). There is only wifi in the bar and not in the rooms. When we stayed there the beach was covered with seaweed (not the lodges fault, just a heads up), but they clean a path to the water, and also there are powerful tidal forces so sometimes the sea retreats quite far, but the water is really warm. The staff was very friendly, and the food was really good, especially the guacamole starter. Tl;dr if you are looking a cheap and low key place to hang out on Zanzibar this might be it. Great for kite surfing etc. If you are looking for a place to just lie on the beach with alot of touristy things to do, this might...