Ndame Paje Hotel — Hotel in Unguja

Terrible Experience! Avoid Ndame Paje Hotel!

I had a deeply disappointing experience at Ndame Paje Hotel in Zanzibar. Upon arrival, I inquired about adding a half-board option for my four-day stay. I was informed that it would cost $210 for three dinners for myself and my son, and I was assured that we could order anything from the full menu. To be certain, I asked twice if we could order anything from the regular menu, and both times, I was explicitly told that we could. Based on this assurance, I paid the $210 upfront without hesitation.

However, when it came time for dinner, we were given a completely different, much more limited menu, with barely any seafood options. After some back and forth, the restaurant manager reluctantly allowed us to order from the regular menu, as I had originally been told. However, upon checking out, I was presented with an additional bill, far exceeding the $210 I had already paid. The hotel claimed I had ordered more than what the half-board covered, despite never being informed of such a limit. When I challenged this, the staff became defensive, and the restaurant manager even admitted he hadn’t explicitly told me about any extra charges. Despite my frustration, I eventually paid the additional bill in full, on top of the $210 I had already paid. I was also informed that if I did not pay, the amount would be deducted from the restaurant manager’s salary, which was very troubling.

To make matters worse, I encountered significant difficulties when trying to pay this extra bill. Earlier that day, an ATM had swallowed my credit card, and I was left with only my phone to make payments. Unfortunately, the hotel's payment terminal was outdated and did not support wireless transactions, forcing me to manually enter my payment details into the machine—a stressful experience after everything else that had happened.

Things took a darker turn when I received a threatening message via WhatsApp from the hotel owner, accusing me of various wrongdoings, including child neglect, and threatening to involve the local police and the Dutch embassy. She even claimed to have sent my passport details, video footage, and notified the Dutch child protective services about me. The accusations stemmed from an incident where my son accidentally hurt his foot while playing darts in the hotel. I simply asked about the costs of having the hotel doctor examine him and specifically asked if the doctor could provide receipts for insurance purposes, which apparently offended the management.

When I informed the receptionist that I intended to take action against the owner's threats, the situation escalated. The owner began stalking me with repeated threatening messages, even after I had left the hotel. She accused me of things I didn’t do and repeatedly threatened to involve the authorities. These threats continued, making my vacation incredibly stressful and unpleasant.

I later learned that the hotel has a pattern of mistreating both guests and staff. The owner was openly hostile towards the local staff, often shouting at them in front of guests. After researching online, I discovered numerous complaints from other guests who had experienced similar issues, including baseless accusations of theft and racist behavior from the owners.

This hotel is poorly managed, and the owners' behavior is utterly unprofessional and threatening. I regret staying here and strongly advise others to avoid this place...

Would not recommend this hotel. After getting engaged days before our stay, we wrote to the hotel on two separate occasions explaining about our recent engagement hoping for some celebrations when we arrived. We did not even get a simple "congratulations" nothing at all which was disappointing. Upon arrival, we realised quick enough that the "luxury room" which we paid extra money for was in fact a "family room" and we were put right in the middle of all of these families, with no view. Screaming kids, banging doors, loud crying - totally understand kids will be kids. Nowhere on our booking mentioned it was a family room. And they were aware we had just got engaged, not a very good start to our relaxing vacation. In fairness to the staff when we did go to speak about where our room was located, we were offered a variety of choice to move - just to a smaller room, and management arranged to sort out the difference in price between the two rooms. They helped us move rooms and even had their own reactions when they heard how noisy it was. After this encounter we then witnessed two staff members capture a cat, put it into a big bag which you can imagine the noise of the distressed cat, right in the restaurant. Which was not a pleasant experience to watch. Next we went to the pool, upon arrival we were told not to use the towels in the rooms that there would be towels at the pool. I asked for a towel and was told no because it was rainy season they were struggling to dry them as they had no dryer. I turned around and saw 3 freshly washed towels with a reserved sign on them - I asked why they got towels and I was told these were for the owners.. so everyone had to sit at the pool with no towel while we watched the owners sit on their towel, wine cooler out as if they were special VIP's. The towels in the room were stained and did not look clean. The sheets on the bed were damp. Overall it was not a great experience and I would not be in a rush back....

It seems like someone put a lot of thought and money into setting this place up, and then left daily operations in the hands of an incompetent or completely absent manager. Location is beautiful, furnishings are nice and made from dhow wood, but there were too many little negatives to count. A few among them: [ ] Tried to go to the pool after check-in, all chairs full (seems hotel guests have to compete with the general public that’s just buying a drink for seats). So I went to the station where you’re supposed to get beach towels figuring I’d use one of those to lay on the sand. “Towels finished.” Went to reception, was told “if towels are finished towels are finished.” Asked to just be given a bath towel and told “no, bath towels are for the room and can’t be used on the beach.” So what was the point of paying 2x the cost of similar properties to have a beach vacation here? [ ] Asked for coffee before I ordered my breakfast, reminded 3 times throughout the meal, didn’t get coffee until 15 minutes after I finished eating (an hour after ordering it) and it came out room temperature [ ] Heard many complaints from other guests as well during my one night stay: one woman asked for coke and then changed her mind to Pepsi. The coke hadn’t even been opened but they still wouldn’t change it to a Pepsi for her. Another guest was celiac and asked for her eggs benedict to not come on bread but it was served on bread. After about half an hour of waiting, she ended up leaving the restaurant without eating. [ ] You’re staying at the beach front, but they’ve decided it’s a good idea to block the view to the beach despite no wind or rains (photo attached) Again, the place is gorgeous. It’s just poorly managed and I’d personally never book it again. There are literally hotels at less than half the cost here that...