Surfescape Zanzibar — Hotel in Unguja

Where to start… first of all the pictures on the ad absolutely do not correspond to the apartments in real life. Not even the same furniture. We rent 2 x 2-bedroom apartments for 2 families on the ground floor, direct access to the beach is the only nice thing about it. Otherwise…: 1 glass for 4 people (LOL), 2 forks (re LOL), no pan (but 3 rusty casseroles||Instead), a kettle that doesn’t work, a rusty bbq good for the garbage, old damaged furniture, moldy walls (yes zanzibar is humid, but walls can be washed out from time to time! Other hotels on the same beach do it, obviously) , floor totally damaged (falling apart is more accurate), wooden bathrooms doors are a joke (totally damaged and good for trash), at least 3 light bulbs missing (although there is a supermarket in Kiwengwa that sells bulbs…), bedsheets too small for the (humid) beds and with holes, pillows smelling humidity so hard that it’s better to cover them with a towel, mosquito nets damaged (when existing, because some are missing) and misplaced, some windows do not open anymore (broken, or key missing), sun beds made with 4 wood sticks and old, used mattresses (probably used to look like cool local made 10 years ago but now good to trash). ||Surfescape Zanzibar is the only one in the entire bay/accomodations dedicated to tourists in Kiwengwa, without a power generator, so it’s the only one that remains in the darkness when all the others turn on their generator… and it happens often (with or without any storm, whatever the owner says). ||The view for sure is amazing (when the sun is out), and the area is so peaceful (except on wednesday and saturday nights when the nearby jetty bar Il Pontile blares dance music out so loud that the wind takes it directly to your bedroom although the distance seems far away). ||The staff is lovely and try to help as much as they can but their possibilities remain limited: they cannot rebuild the entire place themselves instead of the owner. ||We wondered why the owners obviously neglect this place, and let it in complete derelict before they will (obviously) give up on it anytime soon and close it for good, like a few nearby resorts. Much advertising is done on their location in Fuerteventura on their social media and website, almost nothing on their Zanzibar location, and we now understand why. Maybe Kiwengwa used to be a great deal for the owners back in the days and now doesn’t bring much money anymore? The apartments are not cheap, though, compared to the poor offer they provide.||I guess we will never know, but obviously we will have been among the last clients of Surfescape zanzibar, due to die anytime soon…...

Rating at 1/5 as our experience with the hotel was very frustrating.

We did a reservation more than a month before arrival date through the official website of the hotel, payed 50% deposit, and got a successful booking confirmation letter on email - and assumed that we are safe with accommodation, so started to get ready for the trip.

But no, just a couple of hours!! before going to the airport we got an email from the hotel, with apologise and information that our booking was confirmed by mistake, and they were not waiting for us. Good luck. When we approached the hotel in WhatsApp demanding clarifications, we were just told again that there was no place for us (as if nothing really happened and this case was pretty ok), and a name of some hotel from Booking.com that should be available for our dates (that did not look like a place where I would like to spend my vacation at all, sorry, I would better stay home).

This is where we ended up with Surfescape Beachfront Apartments experience: super stressful situation right before leaving home, looking for accommodation like crazy, no support from the hotel (they even did not check in next day (or ever) to see if we managed to find anything).

Thanks God we found an amazing place to stay, as its owner told us later - someone cancelled reservation at his hotel 10 minutes before we did our, miracle indeed. Rest of the hotels available looked either overpriced or just bad (what else can be expected an evening before arrival - leftovers).

Wasn't more than a month not enough for you to find out something was wrong? When we did the reservation via your website, the hotel was also available for the dates on AirBnb, so obviously there were places. If you really missed our reservation as you say, weren't you surprised to see our deposit on your bank account?? Or maybe the reason is that you rather cancel a direct reservation than some done via AirBnb/Booking (even though later than us), because big services would take measures for such treatment, and who cares about guests reserving via...

Overall, we had a great experience and found the stay to be fair for the price, with nice views. We chose it as our honeymoon getaway, planning to stay for 7 nights. However, due to a flight change, we had to leave early and were denied a refund for the last night, by the owners or other financial managers, even though we had selected a refundable option when booking. The manager, Mr. Laiza, was exceptional. He went above and beyond to make sure we were comfortable and satisfied. The beds were cozy, and the cleaning staff serviced the room daily. They changed our bedding once during the 7-night stay, but for the rest of the days, the bedding was just ironed. Towels were replaced if we left them on the floor. Since we stayed in an apartment, we had access to a spare bedroom, so there were plenty of towels. However, the apartment had a noticeable smell, which we eventually realized came from the palm tree growing inside. The décor and paintwork could use some attention, and there was visible limescale buildup in the bathroom. The shower screens were made of plexiglass rather than actual glass. We ran into a small inconvenience when we wanted to make coffee, as the kettle provided had an African plug, while the outlets in the apartment were European. We had to boil water in a pan until Mr. Laiza quickly provided a converter. Additionally, the hairdryer was built-in, which was convenient. The curtains were too long and brushed the floor, which could be adjusted, and the mosquito nets needed some checking as mosquitoes were still getting in. The doors also had small gaps, allowing mosquitoes inside, so they could use some readjustment as well. We were provided with mosquito spray, but despite using it, we still got bitten at night and had trouble sleeping.

All in all, it was an amazing experience. Being at Paradise Beach, we had the best time. Just be aware that it’s quite a walk to the nearest restaurants, so be prepared for a...