Does The Residence Zanzibar have a pool?

Yes, this property has an outdoor pool.

Is The Residence Zanzibar pet-friendly?

No, pets are not allowed at this property.

How much is parking at The Residence Zanzibar?

Self parking is free at this property.

What time is check-in at The Residence Zanzibar?

Check-in start time: 3:00 PM; Check-in end time: anytime.

Does The Residence Zanzibar provide a shuttle to the airport?

Yes, there's an airport shuttle that runs on request. A fee of USD 95 per vehicle applies.

Are there all-inclusive benefits at The Residence Zanzibar?

Some rate plans available at this hotel are all-inclusive.

Where is The Residence Zanzibar located?

Nestled on the beach, this Kizimkazi hotel is 18.4 mi (29.6 km) from Paje Beach.

The Residence Zanzibar Reviews, Deals & Photos 2025

10/10 Excellent

Jorge

18 July 2024

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities

Beautiful place. Great staff. Delicious food

Stayed 3 nights in Jun 2024

10/10 Excellent

ABDUL

19 September 2022

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities

Excellent Villas, service and food

Stayed 4 nights in Sep 2022

8/10 Good

Ubaid

16 October 2024

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities

Beautiful property, with a nice layout. The staff was very friendly and helpful, the only issue we faced was complete power failure on the first day and Internet going off and on.

Stayed 3 nights in Oct 2024

10/10 Excellent

boris

2 July 2023

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Family holidays

Amazing localization and very well maintained gardens. Staff is very nice and always helpful.

Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2023

10/10 Excellent

Mitul

4 July 2025

Liked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities

This is an amazing property to stay in Zanzibar. We were upgraded to the frangipani villa which was spacious and well appointed. The private pool was great. The main swimming pool is huge and doesn’t get too crowded. The food options at the main dining room were good with a lot of vegetarian options for breakfast and dinner. Beverage options are nice and reasonably priced. The complimentary fruits at mid morning and ice cream at mid afternoon around the pool area are a great touch. The staff is polite and extremely helpful. We had to see the onsite doctor as one of us wasn’t feeling too well one day. The staff promptly arranged for the doctor to arrive who was extremely helpful and thoughtful in his advice which we highly appreciated. The doctor didn’t charge us for his visit and medication even when we asked if he was sure. As has been discussed previously in other reviews, most beaches in Zanzibar have big tidal ranges and at low tide, the sea retreats by a lot. We didn’t swim on the beach for that reason and there’s also a lot of sea weed that the staff tries to clean every day. Nevertheless, the main and private swimming pools more than made up for it. There are a lot of monkeys around the resort and the staff warn you at the outset to keep the doors closed. It is advice that must be heeded to. The resort is family friendly. That’s great if you have kids of your own but if you don’t, it can feel a bit like school nursery during breakfast / dinner time.

Stayed 4 nights in Jun 2025

10/10 Excellent

Estella

8 October 2023

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities

Really nice hotel, stayed in a one bedroom villa and it was beautiful and clean, food choices were good also but could have more options. Pavilion restaurant was really nice. The place is really big and because they are all villas it sometimes feel like there’s not many people around, when in fact they are sold out. Would stay here again only downside is the location, the road conditions are not the best on some areas, and nothing around the resort so you are forced to only eat and stay on the villa. However it’s not too far from some of the activities.

Stayed 3 nights in Oct 2023

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

22 December 2024

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

A charming property

We had an unforgettable stay at The Residence and can’t wait to return—especially our three kids, who are already asking when we’ll be back! The hotel’s beautiful gardens were a highlight; we enjoyed walking through them every day instead of using golf carts. The staff were always friendly and eager to help, making us feel right at home. The two restaurants offered excellent food with daily themed menus and live performances, ensuring a fresh and enjoyable dining experience. The complimentary watersport activities were fantastic, with the boat house crew leading fun and informative sessions. Our beach-facing luxury villa was spacious, well-decorated, and offered great privacy, especially with its private pool although the kids also enjoyed swimming and playing with other kids in the main overflow pool. The monkeys occasionally made an appearance around the villa but kept their distance, adding a fun touch. The beach, while a bit seaweedy at low tide, was perfect after 1 pm. The tour guides were professional and made exploring the area a breeze. Overall, we had a fantastic time and look forward to returning soon!

Stayed 5 nights in Dec 2024

10/10 Excellent

Nazma

13 December 2023

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities

The staff were amazing. It felt like a family environment. I was quite emotional after I left. The managers and staff did everything possible to make my stay perfect. Benjamin, kitchen staff and housekeeping and all cleaners helped me out a-lot during my stay. This was a dreamy luxurious stay. I was even given complimentary treats on my arrival. I booked the Ocean view prestige Villa and it was a great decision. You have bikes at the villa which you can use to explore around the resort and gardens. The spa is extremely amazing. I loved my therapist Anna she was brilliant. Highly reccomend.

Stayed 1 night in Dec 2023

4/10 Poor

Sachin

4 October 2023

Liked: Cleanliness, room comfort

Disliked: Staff & service

5 star resort, 2 star sevrice

The food is below average, also the free water activities that the hotel provides were unavailable when we stayed there for 4 days. Similarly, the steam room was out of order. We had a half board stay and they would charge for water during dinner (but not for breakfast). Most of the vegetables were from the can although fresh vegetables are available in the market. For a five star hotel I would expect more.

Stayed 3 nights in Sep 2023

6/10 Okay

Mujtaba

27 February 2025

Liked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities

Overall, my wife and I had a nice stay for our honeymoon. However, there were several issues, especially given the $600 per night cost. Pros (1) Hotel is scenic: beach, villas and pools are nice (2) Service is good; staff is very polite (3) Food is good with a variety of options Cons (1) Logistics are poorly handled Issue A: We had two separate bookings. At check-in, staff said we would have to move villas between them because they would be giving us a bigger villa. They said they would call us around noon on move day. At noon, no one called. I called around 12:30, and was told someone would call me back. No one did. I called again around 12:50, and again was told someone would call me back. Someone called and said we would no longer need to move rooms.. Issue B: Day before leaving, we scheduled a car to take us at 10am to Stone Town, and from Stone Town to the airport. Staff said someone would come to our villa at 9:45am to collect bags. Staff completely forgot. Nobody came to get our bags until we called. And when we got to the lobby to check out and take our car, they informed us they forgot to book a car. They weren't able to get a replacement until 10:46am. Hilariously, the outside cab they arranged was $40, whereas originally they were charging us $95 for their own service. And the cab that came to take us didn't have much gas so wasn't able to turn on AC until we filled up. (2) WiFi was very spotty there was a power outage (3) Rooms are finicky / noisy

Stayed 3 nights in Feb 2025

10/10 Excellent

Ralph

31 July 2022

Liked: Staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities

We’ve been blessed to be able to stay at a lot of top hotels around the world but this was one of the best! An absolutely stellar hotel. From the architecture to the interior design, to the attention to detail to ensure you are as comfortable as possible (for example they even fumigate the property so that you don’t get mosquito bites!). The garden view room was beautiful, private, peaceful and gorgeous. The facilities are great - the suites come with a gorgeous bathroom designed to perfection, with a stand-alone bath tub with bath salts, a beautiful marble large shower, an outdoor “cold water” shower if you’re feeling adventurous, beautiful lighting, beautiful scents. There is a spacious living room with multiple seating. The bedroom is gorgeous, you wake up looking into the private pool terrace. The buffet was great - lots of options and I’m pleased that they also include local food in the African Buffet which was one of the nights on rotation (a lot of other top hotels abandon local food which is a shame). Great gym with well maintained equipment. Lovely spa, beautiful massages. There’s also a sauna and steam room. Golf buggies plus complementary bicycles are the modes of transport if you don’t want to walk around the resort. The team have thought of everything! Huge thanks to Masemo, Benjamin, Nuhu, Nubia and the entire team for making our stay incredible and allowing us to celebrate our wedding anniversary in style! Couldn’t recommend enough - peaceful luxury!

Stayed 1 night in Jul 2022

8/10 Good

HYUNG SUK

20 November 2024

Liked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Disliked: Cleanliness

Five stars? More a large 4 star resort.

Amazing property but has its flaws. It's more fourish. There are too many cockroaches and small insects in the villas for it to be an impeccable experience. The lamp shades need to replaced and are showing signs of wear-tear. There seems to be issues with communication as we never got the breakfast boxes we arranged prior through phoning the front-desk and room service. Asked for 0600am delivery but there was nothing the next day and there was no explanation from anyone. Just a poor no-show of service. The beach itself isn't particularly swimmable as there's too much low-tide. The movie night screen is way too small for anyone to enjoy. Much cheaper resorts do a better job at playing beach-side movies than The Residence. There was an issue with the key-cards, which didn't make sense as one could've lost its magnetism due to the phone, but the spare card was in the room. It just didn't work the last day. There were 3 power outages which was a first for me in Zanzibar, and there weren't any explanations for apologies from the staff. At check-out even though I made ample comments and complaints on things to be improved, they made no gesture at check-out as to ask me how the stay was or if they got any communication relayed about my issues. They just took the exorbitantly expensive drink prices in full (USD 200 in total for a few beers and mineral water). The rooms are nice with the pool, but there isn't much else here. Not really value for money. I expected more.

Stayed 3 nights in Nov 2024

8/10 Good

Guilherme

28 July 2025

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Estadia ok

Hotel fica bem longe do aeroporto, e das demais áreas turísticas da cidade. Acaba forçando que os hóspedes utilizem o espaço como resort e não sai do local. Pedi up grade de quarto, o qual tenho direito de forma gratuita pelo hotéis.com, e embora o hotel tivesse disponibilidade, pedir 90 dólares a mais por diária.

Stayed 4 nights in Jul 2025

10/10 Excellent

Christelle

29 June 2025

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities

C est magnifique acvueillanr et tres dépaysant.

Stayed 1 night in Jun 2025

10/10 Excellent

Shabbir

20 April 2025

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities

Our stay at your incredible resort was nothing short of exceptional. From the moment we arrived, we were welcomed not as guests, but as family—and that warmth remained with us throughout our stay. The facilities were outstanding, but what truly made our experience unforgettable was the team behind it all. We extend our deepest gratitude to Ahmed, the Front Office Manager, along with Benjamin, Edson, Rakesh, and every single member of your amazing team. Your kindness, professionalism, and genuine care went far beyond our expectations. You made us feel at home in every way. This resort has now become our home in Zanzibar, and we look forward to returning again and again. Asante sana and may God bless you all abundantly. Amen. Until we meet again—see you soon!

Stayed 5 nights in Apr 2025

10/10 Excellent

Mohammad

6 March 2025

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Excellent, le meilleur hôtel de zanzibar

Le meilleur hôtel de Zanzibar. Très propre autant dans les parties communes que les chambres Les villas sont magnifiques, bien équipées, machine à café dans les chambres. Très propre. Piscine privée magnifique, avec les singes qui viennent vous rendre visite. Nous avons été très bien accueillis , le personnel est au petit soin . Ils veillent à ce que les clients soient satisfaits en tout point. La nourriture est excellente et varié. Possibilité de manger au buffet au bord de plage ou au restaurant à la carte avec un cadre très charmant. Petit déjeuner excellent aussi. Beaucoup d’activités pour les enfants , ils ne se sont pas ennuyés une seule fois. Mise à disposition de vélo, mini club, petite ferme, padle , canoé etc… tout inclus. Distribution de brochettes de fruits, de glaces tous les jours au bord de la piscine. Ils sont vraiment au petit soin avec leur clients ! Des spectacles le soir , cinéma plein air , chanteurs, une très bonne ambiance La piscine commune à débordement est juste magnifique. Seul petit bémol que je trouverai à redire est qu’il est dommage de faire payer l’eau à table 5dollars alors que l’eau est gratuite et à disposition des clients un peu partout dans l’hôtel et à la chambre. Mais bon ce n’est vraiment pas ce qui va nous empêcher de revenir .

Stayed 6 nights in Feb 2025

10/10 Excellent

Tahmina

26 February 2025

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities

Beautiful resort, great for relaxing. Ideal for honeymoons and celebrating anniversaries. Loved the facilities and staff.

Stayed 3 nights in Feb 2025

10/10 Excellent

Halit

27 January 2025

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities

Great place.

Stayed 4 nights in Jan 2025

10/10 Excellent

Gloria

9 January 2025

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities

Top notch customer service!! Well kept property. We enjoyed our honeymoon here!

Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2025

10/10 Excellent

Stuart

2 January 2025

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities

Our room was perfect, we had booked Luxury Garden Suite, which exceeded our expectations, we particularly like the privacy it afforded and actually were pleased to have not booked a Beach Villa. The main swimming pool does need a face lift, there are numerous tiles missing and also the entry to the pool is rather unsafe it would be much better to just have a step rather than the slanted tiles

Stayed 15 nights in Dec 2024

10/10 Excellent

Brian

28 December 2024

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities

Staff were very polite and friendly The rooms are very good

Stayed 4 nights in Dec 2024

8/10 Good

Courtney

23 December 2024

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

4 star experience for 5 star price

Beautiful grounds, especially oceanfront villas with pools. Large villa that's nicely furnished, however not really at the 5 star level with mould growing on lampshades etc. The ocean is beautiful but be aware there is a lot of seaweed on beach which is not pleasant for swimming. Food at buffet is just ok. Mixed service with front desk staff (servers and cleaners very friendly and helpful), big difference from welcome at check in to rushed check out. There are 1-2 golf carts that can transport you around property but may have a long wait or they may forget to pick you up (though they did arrive early when it was time to check out...). Overall slightly disappointed with experience compared to price.

Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2024

10/10 Excellent

Anne

5 December 2024

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

One week stay

Fabulous stay. Beautiful, relaxing and quiet resort. Particularily enjoyed the kindness of all staff. Will probably be back.

Stayed 7 nights in Nov 2024

10/10 Excellent

Anne

4 December 2024

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Perfect stay

Amazing stay in the Residence! Employees are very kind, the rooms are very luxurious, ans the a perfect service! I travel a lot and it is one of my favorite hôtel I will come back very soon for sure 😃

Stayed 7 nights in Nov 2024

10/10 Excellent

Peter

3 December 2024

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Fantastic stay. Great service

Simply put fantastic. We stayed in on of the Villas close to the beach with own small pool. Highly recommend

Stayed 4 nights in Nov 2024

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The Residence Zanzibar Reviews

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