Sultan Sands Island Resort — Hotel in Unguja

Sultan Sands is located in Kiwengwa, next to the beach. Kiwengwa country side is just outside the hotel. Sultan Sands is connected to another hotel – BlueBay. Both hotels are cooperating, there is possibility to walk from one to another without going ‘outside’. From airport, it’s about 1 hour of driving. Hotel is huge with beautiful garden (so green!) – there are many places for walk.

We had a room in Baobab section with pool and ocean view. African standard is different than European or American one, but these rooms look very nice and spacious. There is a huge king size bed with mosquito net, TV, safe, small shelves for stuff and place for luggage. Bathroom is huge with nice stoned shower. I was in many hotels across the globe and the weakest point of the hotel is usually the housekeeping. In Sultan Sands, housekeeping is doing really good job. Rooms are clean, there is no dust or insects inside. Housekeeping always comes twice: first in the morning/afternoon for general cleaning and closing mosquito net, and second during dinner to open mosquito net and spray for insects.

All meals are being served in one restaurant. Breakfast 07:00 – 10:30. Lunch 12:30 – 14:30. Dinner 19:30 – xx:xx (don’t remember). There is a huge variety of meals and different cuisines – African, Indian, Italian, sea food, fish, etc. Anything you will take, you won’t regret. Just keep in mind that the food is not spicy, even if they put some chili inside – it still won’t be spicy so don’t worry. Everything is very tasty and well flavored. You have to try soups and fish from grill ! From time to time there is theme dinner night like Indian evening.

There are three bars (the one in Baobab section was closed). They are open from 10:00. Huge congrats and big thanks to the bar staff. They are doing their job with passion and huge commitment can be seen on every step. All drinks are being made in your eyes, they are looking after every detail. There is a huge variety of drinks but also of cocktails (non-alco). They are so good, so tasty, so refreshing! Some people were saying that they won’t give you more than one – it’s not true. It all depends how you behave, if you are rude… I didn’t observe such a thing.

Pool is ok, looks deep (up to 2m) and huge enough. I cannot say more because due to healthy issues, I didn’t try it out. Water in pool is not coming from ocean, it doesn’t contain chlorine as well. It looks like it’s a tap water but maybe I’m wrong.

Beach is so beautiful. It’s wide, sand comes from coral and it’s easily accessible. There are huge tides. In the morning and afternoon, deep is around 30cm almost 500m from the hotel. After the lunch and evening, water comes directly to the hotel’s stairs. Shoes to the water are mandatory because of jellyfish and sea urchins.

Check-out us at 10:00. All-inclusive is finishing at 14:30 so when lunch is finished. There is a possibility for late checkout. It costs 50 USD per room, and it’s only a room (up to 17:00), all-inclusive services still finishes at 14:30. Lunch is the last meal in last day. When you buy in shops in the hotel, you can pay immediately or during check-out. Everything in the hotel is being sold in US Dollars. However it’s worth to buy some tanzanian shillings to use it in local stores outside the hotel. Watch out – hotel is converting money only in one way: USD to TZS.

Sultan Sands contains two gates. There are guards at the gates as well as at the beach. Beaches are safe but don’t go out after sunset. Despite the fact that Zanzibar people are happy, cheerful and friendly, you can have mixed feeling outside the hotel. When you are leaving the hotel, you are being asked why you are leaving and what’s your room number – for your safety. There are no so many tourists walking around in Kiwengwa, everyone is offering you something.

Sultan Sands is a very good proposition for short as well as longer stay. It’s very good hotel with perfect quality-price ratio. Everyone from the hotel personnel is very friendly, always saying ‘jumbo’. Do I...

Walked into a warm reception , within 10 seconds we knew we had made the perfect choice |Absolutely charming African themed little village layout , gardens were amazing ....well-done to the gardeners who work tirelessly ....|Thank you to Faki for the lovely flowers and fresh coconuts , you made us smile every single day !||Outstanding cleanliness |The cleaners throughout do an amazing job...|We stayed in room 333 , special thanks to Rose , what a beautiful lady who made sure we had everything we possibly needed , always ready with a smile , makes beautiful decorations too .||Clientele , what a fabulous mix ...|English , French , German , Portuguese, Belgian, Polish , Nigerian , Lithuanian , American and of course the hosts with the most , Zanzibaris |We had the best time , although some of us couldn't speak each other s language , we danced the nights away , so much love and respect for each other , we certainly did enjoy the entertainment .....music was absolutely fantastic |Well done the entertainment , singers, bands cultural evenings ect |As we have found out on day trips that not all hotels provide entertainment , we were truly blessed ||Staff |It made our holiday to see the staff joining in , dancing and smiling , genuinely enjoying themselves as well as making sure everyone and everything was perfect , what an unforgettable experience.....this made our holiday even more enjoyable , each and every staff member deserves a mention but special shout out to Ochieng , your infectious smile and humor made us chuckle, your kindness and knowledge helped us understand the culture, thank you so much for trying to teach us the language .....|A few more to mention Rajabu, Zuhura,,Hassan, Ally,Shomary and Bilali .....superstars ||Restaurant and food |Run like a well oiled engine !|Not big but there is certainly a fabulous selection , changed everyday , very tasty and enjoyable .....|Deserts were the best , none of the world wide , looks good but tastes the same....they certainly were made with love ! ||Shout out to the very talented and creative head.chef Mussa and his colleagues , they certainly take pride in their work , making themed night special , they have a hard job catering for so many different nations but they definitely did make sure we were all happy .....giving them recognition when you enjoying something made their day , well deserved .|Al a Cart Indian restaurant .....|What a lovely touch , very enjoyable and of course very good food |Not forgetting the wonderful dining experience on the beach , totally spoiled , what more can we say .||Phenomenal Management |Kevin Mike and Jimmi Simply the best |Teamwork makes the dream work and it certainly shows at this hotel . They not only go above and beyond they take good care of their staff too .|This hotel doesn't get the recognition it deserves .|Would we return , of course without a doubt , can't wait for next year , we are looking already ...||Kevin |A special mention |What a lovely professional kind , caring manager who took time out to welcome and check in on everyone , genuinely taking care of everything and everyone , nothing too much trouble , you couldn't possibly have done a better job .....we were humbled by your thoughtfulness , care and attention to detail ....|I had the best birthday EVER ! , the experience of the staff coming out singing and dancing with the cake will stay with me forever ,|We are so grateful for you enlightening us to the culture ...we absolutely loved the country and can't wait to see you all again , hopefully soon .||Book without hesitation , you definitely will not regret it , worth every...

Our stay at Sultan Sands was part of a safari holiday package we booked through Tour Compass. We arrived with no expectations and found ourselves in the most lovely hotel. The rooms with their Zanzibari feel are cute, you really do feel like you’re walking around a very special Zanzibar village. On the inside they met all our needs. We are a family of four and had two rooms with an interconnecting door. Each room had a balcony and a nice amount of space. Every day the house keeping staff came in to replenish the room and make the beds. They also came in each evening to turn down the bed. ||On our second day I had a concern about crow traps. I expressed this to reception who immediately dealt with my problem. The following day the manager of the hotel, Kevin found us and explained everything. He also offered to take us on a tour of the hotel and its sister hotel - including a mini hotel safari! This was a lovely experience, we learnt about the island and saw some lovely wildlife we may not have looked out for ourselves. We also saw the newly renovated rooms at Bluebay Resort ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.||We received more personal attention at Sultan Sands than we’ve ever received at any hotel throughout the world. Every single staff member goes out of their way to make the experience perfect. Kevin makes a point of greeting every guest, remembering names, checking in on everyone at least once a day. He goes above and beyond to make sure each person is having a wonderful experience. He’s there from morning until night hosting as if you are a friend in his home. ||The beach is of course gorgeous. The tide goes out a long way during low tide providing an opportunity to walk out and look at the marine life (take water shoes as there are sea urchins). At high tide it comes right in and the red flag goes up. Inbetween there is plenty of time for swimming in the warm Indian Ocean. There are many local sellers on the beach and some quaint little shops a short walk away. The sellers are pushy, as you would expect however they are interesting to chat to - I really enjoyed finding out about the different lifestyle in Zanzibar - and the security guard keeps a close eye to ensure anyone who feels uncomfortable or doesn’t want to engage is left alone. ||We used the gym every day, it’s small but has everything you need to keep up a basic routine. It was quiet every day, we rarely saw anyone else in there - the most was two other people on our final day. ||Jimmy (possibly another manager?) is also particularly attentive. Clearly ensuring a smooth operation behind the scenes. There wasn’t a moment we weren’t able to eat or drink! The evening entertainment was nice. We danced with other guests and had a lot of fun. The singers ended at 10.30pm which offered a nice balance of enjoying the evening while not going to bed so late we couldn’t enjoy the next day. ||We left the resort on two occasions. Both times the hotel organised a taxi for us. The security is tight at the hotel. It’s not easy to get someone through the gate! Other than a short walk down the beach in both directions we didn’t leave on foot. We did go horseriding at another local hotel and felt smug to see how much nicer Sultan Sands is than the other hotels we passed - the beach too is kept in much better condition. ||We played the organised volleyball a few times. This was good fun, unfortunately I didn’t get the name of the two staff members that organised it but they were uplifting and encouraging with a lot of feel good energy. ||This is a lovely hotel. I’d highly recommend it for a holiday of rest, relaxation, recuperation and of...