Maisha Matamu Beach Hotel — Hotel in Unguja

Stay Away from This Hotel – A Nightmare Experience from Start to Finish||||I rarely write reviews, but in this case, I feel obligated to warn others. My stay at this hotel was, without exaggeration, the worst travel experience I have ever had. From the moment we arrived until we finally fled after two nights, it was a series of constant disappointments, health hazards, and outright disrespect.||||First red flag, a surprise charge. A local tax by government is $2 per night, but upon check-in, we were suddenly told it was $6. So we refused to pay it as this was simple a cheating and we did not have any quaratee owner will give us money back for two nights which we need to spend in other hotel (check below why).||||Then came the room. The moment we opened the door, we were hit with an overwhelming, toxic smell of fresh paint and varnish. It was absolutely unbearable. Within minutes, I experienced dizziness and nausea, which quickly escalated into severe vomiting. It was clear the room was not ventilated properly after renovation or some sort of chemical treatment.||||We asked, to switch rooms. Eventually, after persistent pressure, we were given a new room. Unfortunately, even the "new" room had a lingering chemical odor—slightly less intense but still unhealthy and definitely not suitable for any guest, especially not for sleeping.||As if that weren’t enough, disaster struck on the first night.a rain hit the area, and the roof of our room started leaking. Water began dripping directly through the ceiling fan, posing a serious electrical hazard. It was a terrifying situation—fire and electrocution were genuine concerns. Not only was this extremely dangerous, but the staff showed no urgency or concern when we reported it.||The following day was somehow even worse. This was the only hotel in the entire area that had no electricity and no running water for the whole day. No communication, no timeline, no alternative arrangements—nothing. We were left with no ability to shower, use the bathroom, or even charge our phones.||Let’s talk about the room standard. It was shockingly poor. There was no drinking water provided—not even a small bottle. Unlike every other hotel we stayed in during our trip, water was provided for both drinking and brushing teeth, here we had nothing.||After enduring two horrifying nights, we made the only sane decision: we left. The entire place is essentially a construction site, with loud banging, shouting, and drilling starting early in the morning. This hotel shouldn’t even be open for guests—it should be closed down until it’s safe, clean, and finished.||And now to the most disturbing part: we asked for a refund or at least partial compensation. We had paid in full in advance for a service that was absolutely not delivered. Instead of understanding or assistance, we were ignored, dismissed, and eventually threatened. The manager and the owner repeatedly brushed us off. And when we insisted, the owner’s partner became aggressive and told us he’s a local and that “this could end badly for you.” It was a clear threat and made us feel extremely unsafe.||||To sum it up:||Misleading charges||Toxic fumes||Dangerous leaks and storm damage||No electricity or water||Poor hygiene standards||Construction noise||Incompetent and disrespectful management||Intimidation and threats from the owner’s partner.||||If you value your health, safety, money, and peace of mind, avoid this place at all costs. There are many better, safer, and more affordable hotels in the area. Do your research and stay somewhere else—you’ll thank...

Stay Away from This Hotel – A Nightmare Experience from Start to Finish

I rarely write reviews, but in this case, I feel obligated to warn others. My stay at this hotel was, without exaggeration, the worst travel experience I have ever had. From the moment we arrived until we finally fled after two nights, it was a series of constant disappointments, health hazards, and outright disrespect.

First red flag, a surprise charge. A local tax by government is $2 per night, but upon check-in, we were suddenly told it was $6. So we refused to pay it as this was simple a cheating and we did not have any quaratee owner will give us money back for two nights which we need to spend in other hotel (check below why).

Then came the room. The moment we opened the door, we were hit with an overwhelming, toxic smell of fresh paint and varnish. It was absolutely unbearable. Within minutes, I experienced dizziness and nausea, which quickly escalated into severe vomiting. It was clear the room was not ventilated properly after renovation or some sort of chemical treatment.

We asked, to switch rooms. Eventually, after persistent pressure, we were given a new room. Unfortunately, even the "new" room had a lingering chemical odor—slightly less intense but still unhealthy and definitely not suitable for any guest, especially not for sleeping. As if that weren’t enough, disaster struck on the first night.a rain hit the area, and the roof of our room started leaking. Water began dripping directly through the ceiling fan, posing a serious electrical hazard. It was a terrifying situation—fire and electrocution were genuine concerns. Not only was this extremely dangerous, but the staff showed no urgency or concern when we reported it. The following day was somehow even worse. This was the only hotel in the entire area that had no electricity and no running water for the whole day. No communication, no timeline, no alternative arrangements—nothing. We were left with no ability to shower, use the bathroom, or even charge our phones. Let’s talk about the room standard. It was shockingly poor. There was no drinking water provided—not even a small bottle. Unlike every other hotel we stayed in during our trip, water was provided for both drinking and brushing teeth, here we had nothing. After enduring two horrifying nights, we made the only sane decision: we left. The entire place is essentially a construction site, with loud banging, shouting, and drilling starting early in the morning. This hotel shouldn’t even be open for guests—it should be closed down until it’s safe, clean, and finished. And now to the most disturbing part: we asked for a refund or at least partial compensation. We had paid in full in advance for a service that was absolutely not delivered. Instead of understanding or assistance, we were ignored, dismissed, and eventually threatened. The manager and the owner repeatedly brushed us off. And when we insisted, the owner’s partner became aggressive and told us he’s a local and that “this could end badly for you.” It was a clear threat and made us feel extremely unsafe.

To sum it up: Misleading charges Toxic fumes Dangerous leaks and storm damage No electricity or water Poor hygiene standards Construction noise Incompetent and disrespectful management Intimidation and threats from the owner’s partner.

If you value your health, safety, money, and peace of mind, avoid this place at all costs. There are many better, safer, and more affordable hotels in the area. Do your research and stay somewhere else—you’ll thank...

Would not recommend staying here!!!!||Im never one to leave a bad review but for this place its needed! We were supposed to stay for 3 nights but ended up leaving after the first one and booked another hotel as we were very disappointed with our room for the price we paid for!|When we first had trouble with the lock so a staff members had to go get a new one. When we closed the door we noticed a really big gap in it which people from the outside can easily see straight through if walking past so i had to hang a rug to cover it as there was no privacy there. Not to mention the bottom of the door was broken where ants constantly kept coming inside. Next we noticed the small fan provided was broken and there was no fan in the ceiling which was disappointing considering how hot it gets on the island.|After checking in we went to get lunch where we waited 1 hour and 45 minutes for our meals to arrive.|Later that night when I went to have a shower the hand piece completely broke off as soon as I picked it up.|The mosquito net had multiple holes in it, in which we got bitten several times throughout the night.|The people upstairs kept us up all night with constant walking around and moving items etc, as our ceiling was their floor you could hear even the slightest little movement. To top it off the hostel next door had loud music on till early hours of the morning.||The next morning I went to reception asking if there was another room available and told him all the issues we had and he said they ere fully booked out, so I said to him we didn't want to stay here anymore and if it was possible to get a refund for at least one night. He said I would need to contact booking.com and so I did just that. For nearly 2 weeks booking.com was trying to contact them via email and phone but there was no response. As well as i went in on 4 separate occasions asking them to please reply as they are trying to contact them.|On the last attempt I went and asked to speak to the manager who was extremely rude and denied I even made a complaint to reception about the poor state of the room, or that booking.com has contacted her and said I decided to check out on my own and that she will not be giving me a refund.||We booked another hotel near by for a fraction of the price we paid here and the room was 1000 times better than this place! I honestly have stayed at hostels nicer than this, but the poor customer service is what shocked me the most! The manager and owner of the place couldn't care less about my complaint or the state of the room which is...