Le Mersenne Zanzibar, Autograph Collection — Hotel in Unguja

I will try to accurately describe the level of poor service and indifference to such poor service demonstrated by most of the staff. We had a simple, garden view room, which has, in a straight line; a balcony, king bed, writing desk, 2 sinks and a tub on either side and a shower. To the left of the entrance is the toilet. When we arrived, 1 of the shower doors was missing. No one said anything and they hid it with a curtain, so checking guests into a room with a missing shower door is acceptable at this hotel. Also upon arrival, we had to let housekeeping know our bed was wet. The woman who came to change the sheets said she believed it was from the air conditioning. The duvet was soaked through at the top and the pillow cases, duvet cover and sheets were changed. There was still an issue because the duvet was wet, but we turned the duvet around, found a dry setting on the a/c and moved on. Returning to the missing shower door, after pulling back the curtain and seeing what was missing, we were ready to demand a room change. We didn’t have time in the morning and when we returned to our room in the afternoon, we were welcomed with a new shower door! A nice surprise, but our first example of poor communication at this hotel. We had a lunch reservation at a nearby restaurant and the hotel has drivers to take you around the island. A good service to have, but reception doesn’t communicate with the drivers to find out when they will be returning, so guests have to wait an unknowable amount of time. We waited about 20 minutes before a staff member suggested we could probably walk there before a driver would be available. The restaurant was only a 20 minute (maximum) walk. What bothers me about this experience is the next day we needed a driver to go over 7 miles away from the hotel and they had the same issue with a lack of drivers. This time a staff member called for a driver who was not affiliated with the hotel. She said she really wasn’t supposed to. Why not? As a guest, I would put great value on you helping me get to where I would like to go, especially when you know the service you are offering cannot meet the demand of your guests. There were other little things like the pool bar not having cold beer, multiple incorrect bills and a leaky patio door, but I think I have made my point. This hotel opened in 2020, so there is no way they would not face major challenges. I wish they were more upfront about their struggles. Open communication with most guests should result in more realistic expectations and give us the chance to find our own workarounds. This hotel seems to prefer to act as if everything is running smoothly while delivering many apologies for each bump in the road. I’ll end with signs of hope. We had dinner at the hotel 3 times. Twice in the room and once at their restaurant. Room service was quick, friendly and tasty. The service at the restaurant was also good. We had a very good server and her colleagues were friendly and engaging. Housekeeping did a good job with our room and seemed to be working from early morning until well into the evening to take care of guests and the hotel. Hopefully the hotel can...

We had a very nice stay at Le Marsenne. It is a very calm and peaceful resort and all the employees are extremely friendly and helpful.

Just to mention a few of them: Special thanks goes to Omar, who is just the best. Extremely friendly, always smiling and just very competent. Also Adam and Cosmas were super helpful and extremely friendly like all of the employees.

Only minor negative point was the check-out. The lady at the reception was probably just doing her job and making sure that the room will be ready in time for the next guest. Although there were multiple rooms available in the same category, there was no late check-out possible despite having Marriott Bonvoy Platinum. After some discussions they confirmed late-check out at 12:00, just to call us in the room at 10:55 to remind us of the check-out at 11:00. We didn’t want to have those discussions after an amazing stay, so we left the room and checked-out. The time until our shuttle arrived we spend at the pool and reception which was fine but the end of the stay could have been better. On the plus side, the check-in was very smooth and nice with a very friendly musical welcome gesture, refreshing towels and hibiscus juice. Furthermore, the room was ready at our arrival at 13:45.

Overall, this hotel deserves 5 out of 5. There are for sure hotels that value Marriott Bonvoy status members in a better way, but for most hotel guests this is probably just a side-note.

The location is beautiful, with amazing sunrises in the morning. There is no direct beach access to the ocean but the pool overlooking the ocean makes up for this. During low tide, there is some beach but it’s tricky to enter the ocean. However, you can walk to nearby beaches during low-tide or chill at the beach next to the bar which we enjoyed doing.

Furthermore, the rooms are clean thanks to the great work of the always smiling cleaning employees like Esther. The rooms are well equipped and many of the rooms offer very nice views.

The food was really good but not exceptional. We have actually eaten frequently in the hotel and enjoyed the evening shows at the rooftop BBQ.

We can definitely recommend this Hotel and would come...

My partner and I have travelled the world staying in Marriott hotels and have such earnt Marriott Bonvoy titanium elite status. We were very much looking forward to staying at this hotel for 10 days to celebrate our honeymoon and marriage. Unfortunately this has been the worst decision we have ever made. The hotel itself is a bit of a safety concern, sharp tiles in the swimming pool, giving me numerous cuts to my feet whilst walking in the pool, constant electrical outages, leaving you eating dinner in the dark, walking back to your room in the dark, and ofcourse no WiFi when the power goes out. The main issue we encountered was the disgusting food. Not only was it terrible, it was the most expensive I have encountered anywhere in the world. This hotel is meant to be five star, so an expectation comes with that. I wouldn’t give the food more than a two star rating. My partner and I have eaten offsite for lunch and dinner everyday since our first meal here. We have had to pay additional money for taxis to other hotels and restaurants to eat, which is not fair. Have a look at the ribeye steak I got for $55, looks like I went to a one star roadside cafe. After speaking with most guests around the pool 85% of them leave site everyday for lunch and dinner as they were all disgusted. When complaining to Micheal the general manager, he said sorry and walked away. The management team might aswell not be here, they don’t care and don’t take anything seriously, they literally say sorry and leave the room with no solution or outcome, disgusting. I will be raising a complaint with Marriott. This hotel is not 5 star and certainly not worth the money and should not be part of the autograph collection. DO NOT STAY HERE, I’m warning you, you will be very disappointed for the money you paying. Thanks for ruining my honey moon LE...