Does Jafferji Beach Retreat have a pool?

Yes, this property has an outdoor pool.

Is Jafferji Beach Retreat pet-friendly?

No, pets are not allowed at this property.

Jafferji Beach Retreat doesn't offer parking.

What time is check-in at Jafferji Beach Retreat?

Check-in start time: 2 PM; Check-in end time: midnight.

Does Jafferji Beach Retreat provide a shuttle to the airport?

Yes, there's an airport shuttle.

Where is Jafferji Beach Retreat located?

This Matemwe hotel is on the beach, 2.7 mi (4.3 km) from Muyuni Beach, and within 9 mi (15 km) of Mapenzi Beach and Kiwengwa Beach. Mnarani Natural Aquarium and Nungwi Beach are also within 12 mi (20 km).

Jafferji Beach Retreat Reviews, Deals & Photos 2025

10/10 Excellent

Larno

10 July 2022

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

Good holiday option for this part of Zanzibar. Very friendly and helpful staff. Good food and options.

Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2022

10/10 Excellent

aisha

2 November 2024

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

Lovely place to stay. Food was ok. Room very spacious and beautifully decorated. Massage was absolutely beautiful. The staff were very attentive and friendly, the manager was a bit of an opportunist and will try get extra $$ when he gets a chance. Overall beautiful place. Would definitely recommend.

Stayed 2 nights in Oct 2024

10/10 Excellent

Arnaud

20 June 2023

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

We really enjoyed our stay in this hotel. The staff was really friendly and helpfull. Everything was easy there we book some trips with them and it was good. The breakfast is good and the restaurant part serve good food. The view on the beach from the pool is beautiful. I highly recommend this place to whoever want to go in Zanzibar.

Stayed 7 nights in Jun 2023

10/10 Excellent

Ileana

30 August 2024

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

We had a great stay and a wonderful time at J.B.R. The property is well kept, cozy and very pretty; our room was clean, spacious and comfortable. The restaurant is excellent! The service is a little slow (no issue for us), the staff is friendly, the food is delicious and not expensive. Cherry on the cake: 1. We loved the shampoo & body wash offered by the resort; 2. The live band on Wednesday was a great surprise and so much fun!

Stayed 4 nights in Aug 2024

10/10 Excellent

Sara

5 July 2022

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

I stayed in the hotel for two weeks in the off-season, I was able to fully enjoy the magical rest. I had a massage, swam in the pool and in the ocean with the dolphins and long walks on the beach every day. The staff always made me feel comfortable and never let me lack anything. Always courteous, smiling and helpful. The food was delicious. The room spacious, bright, with a special view directly over the ocean. I would highly recommend staying at Jaffery Beach Retreat to anyone who wants to get away from stress and enjoy days of absolute relaxation and hakuna matata! Thank you so much for your hospitality. Best regards from Italy Sara

Stayed 14 nights in Jun 2022

8/10 Good

Adriana

10 February 2023

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service

Good hotel.

Good hotel. Clean, very friendly and helpful staff. I think the description of Boutique hotel does not correspond to reality, a good 3 star hotel, well decorated, but which has had its day, at the moment well used. The location was good for our purpose, scuba diving on the island of Mnemba. The beach in front of the hotel is full of boats and (this may change) full of sea urchins. Not the most pleasant place to swim. For breakfast you get a plate of fruits, juice, water, coffee or tea and you can choose a dish: English or Omelette or Porridge, etc. If you want anything else, you will have to pay US$10.00. Few good options for lunch or dinner outside the hotel, 1 restaurant very close, and another one you have to walk about 20 minutes by the beach. We ate a few times at the hotel during our stay, the food was good. Drinks reasonably priced, not exaggerated like other hotels.

Stayed 3 nights in Jan 2023

8/10 Good

Toby

2 January 2019

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

Off the beaten path, but comfy and relaxing

The staff at Jafferji is fantastic. They go out of their way to be friendly and welcoming. In particular we had a local guide for a snorkeling excursion booked through the hotel and he was amazing. We were able to swim with a pod of wild dolphins because he knew their habits so well. The people are great. BUT. Jafferji really needs to work on nickel and diming. Things like charging two dollars for water with lunch or dinner really sends a negative signal. Thirty dollars for sunscreen is also pretty atrocious. Water and sunscreen are two things you can't really negotiate on and they seem to know it. I'm sure that these practices are par for the course in Zanzibar, but they left a bad taste in my mouth. Other than that, a great trip and I do recommend it.

Stayed 4 nights in Dec 2018

6/10 Okay

Christian

15 November 2025

Liked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities

Nettes Hotel, nettes Servicepersonal, leider im Dachumbau, was den ruhigen Strandnachmittag etwas beeinträchtigt hat. Hotel verfügt über eigene Liegen und ist direkt am Strand. Dadurch ist man direkt am Strand und doch privat. Das ist auch nötig, da der Strand an sich zwar schön ist aber für die wenigen Touristen kaum nutzbar. Gefühltes Verhältnis Strandverkäufer zu Tourist 10:1. Das beginnt spätestens am 2.Tag zu nerven. Zimmerreinigung ist sehr gewissenhaft und sticht mit ihrem Arbeitseifer heraus. Preise für Essen und Getränke, eher hochpreisig und für die Region übertrieben. Es gibt aber kaum Alternativen.

Sicht vom Hotel über Privatstrand zu öffentlichem Strand

Stayed 7 nights in Nov 2025

8/10 Good

Maxime

15 December 2022

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service

Disliked: Property conditions & facilities

Hotel calme, personnels adorables, cuisine delicieuse.aurait besoin d un coup de neuf, eloignement important

10/10 Excellent

Renata

24 January 2022

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

The whole setup of this property is amazing. The staff from the manager to the wait staff were super welcoming and helpful. Best seafood pasta i have had hand down. The location is quiet remote however. If you're ok spending time with yourself totally do it. I will be booking again.

Stayed 4 nights in Nov 2021

8/10 Good

Verena

3 December 2021

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

Nice place, beautiful beach. Extra plus for reusable glass bottles for water!

Stayed 1 night in Nov 2021

10/10 Excellent

Chad

23 September 2021

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

Property is well kept. Pool looks a little larger in the photo than in reality but otherwise everything is as pictured on their site.

Stayed 4 nights in Sep 2021

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

6 August 2021

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

We were immediately upgraded to a huge suite with spectacular furniture with ocean view, because we booked with Expedia. MJ and the staff treated us royalty. As a boutique hotel, the menu was limited but fresh and the breakfast service choices were enjoyable.

Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2021

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

9 July 2021

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

I hadn't been to Zanzibar in many years and was afraid that the road from Stone Town (we took the ferry from Dar es Salaam) would be rough but it was a pleasant surprise to see the road was completely smooth, well maintained all the way to Matemwe. There were 6 of us staying at Jafferji Beach Retreat and were warmly welcomed on our arrival by manager "MJ" with a nice cool drink. Our rooms were very spacious and clean. The pool was very clean and nice to relax at. The breakfast each morning was excellent with a range of choices. We had dinner at Jafferji each evening and every meal we had was well-prepared - they have a great chef! Grilled octopus is a great choice as well as the prawns, if you like seafood. There are only small resorts bordering the Jafferji so this portion of the beach in Matemwe is very quiet. Most of the activity we could see were fishermen fishing with nets in the reef, which goes out several hundred meters. The reef is rough with a lot of sea urchins so if you venture out on the reef, make sure to wear thick diving boots or shoes you don't mind getting wet. If you head to the right on the beach, you will find a small fish market that is very active around noon. There are also a couple other resorts and restaurants down that way if you want to try lunch or dinner someplace else to mix it up. My wife had a pedicure and we all had a massage at the spa. Great massage! The masseuses come from Cinnamon Spa in Stone Town. MJ did a great job managing!

Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2021

4/10 Poor

Verified traveler

20 June 2021

nothing

Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2021

10/10 Excellent

Andriana

8 April 2021

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

The hotel has a great location and views. Spacious room, friendly staff, ready to assist with anything.

Stayed 9 nights in Mar 2021

10/10 Excellent

Alexander

8 February 2021

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

A place to recomend

Good location. Very nice room with wooden stylish furniture.

Stayed 1 night in Feb 2021

8/10 Good

Rasmus

4 January 2020

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

Cool, funky rooms in a nice hotel!

Big rooms, comfortable beds, nice pool and right on the beach. Quite small menu with okay food. Waiters were kind but a little bit to eager when cleaning tables which made us stressed. Otherwise very helpful!

Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

2 January 2020

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

One must travel a short distance on a bit of a "safari" road to reach Jafferji Beach Retreat, but this only adds to the charms of this remote gem! Once there you will be warmly greeted by Mr. Munisini (spelling?) who is the quintessential host--his answer to most requests: "Why not?" The room was splendid and the staff very attentive. The property is sheltered from a string of resorts up the beach by a coral outcropping and affords a view of Mnemba Island. The restaurant serves the best food in Zanzibar! I hope it never changes!

Stayed 1 night in Dec 2019

6/10 Okay

Verified traveler

23 October 2019

Liked: Cleanliness

Disliked: Staff & service, room comfort

Unfriendly management but very nice staff

Our trip was spoiled by an overbooking situation. This was then handled very poorly by the manager, Anna. Overbooking is just unacceptable, and worse, our second night was somehow the one overbooked. So the proposed solution was to kick us out of the room that we were already in. Everything could have been handled much better, but Anna was not the person to do it. While she did accommodate significantly, and give us a better room for the first night, and eventually "find" a room for us for the second night, she left a very bad taste in the mouth. Even after everything was agreed, she missed a detail in our agreement, and came to our dinner table to further accost us during our last night, after we had finally started feeling good about our vacation again. Accommodating, yes, but poor demeanour from Anna. The property itself is not worth the price. I would put this at the upper range of the mid-level properties on the island in terms of price, but it was not in terms of amenities and interior comfort. The beach was not cleaned and had loads of seaweed buildup, while other properties had this cleaned. Even the sand area that is raised and not part of the public beach did not have pristine sand as it should. The food was simply tasteless, and we tried it all because it was free as part of our agreement. Not to mention the shame on the owner, and honestly all of us staying there to have a place where we pay more per night than the locals 3 feet away may make in years.

Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2019

8/10 Good

Sherry, Dar es Salaam

22 October 2019

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

I really liked the property itself. The rooms were great, with an amazing aesthetic. I definitely knew I wasn't is some boring chain hotel! The grounds and pool were nice. The food was good and so was the service. Location was good but you are in the middle of a fishing village.

Stayed 2 nights in Oct 2019

10/10 Excellent

NEPTUN SOMAY

22 October 2019

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

All the hotel, the rooms, the restaurant, the pool and beach are very clean. The staff is friendly and try to help for all your Needs. We had excellent food in the Restaurant. Perfect holiday!!!

Stayed 4 nights in Oct 2019

10/10 Excellent

Cohen, Levallois Perret

31 August 2019

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

Le lieu insolite de ce boutique hôtel est un havre de repos. Ambiance agréable et conviviale. Personnel très efficace, gentille et serviable. Très bon restaurant.

Stayed 14 nights in Aug 2019

10/10 Excellent

Clinton

10 July 2019

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

Relaxing

The Jafferji Beach Retreat was a very relaxing place to visit. I was there for a weekend and it turned out to be an enjoyable experience. The retreat was quiet and comfortable, in fact at one point we were the only ones at the resort. The location was perfect, secluded and quiet. From Stonetown, it was about an hour and a half drive, costing roughly $45. Something to keep in mind as you go off the main road is that the road isn't finished at all and very slow moving, in most cases we were traveling 5 mph You travel through a village or two that's somewhat depressing and sets the picture from the have's and have not's. Once we got to the resort it was what we imagined -- tranquil and beautiful. The room was out of this world. It was what you dream of in a romantic, retreat sort of room. It was clean and everything worked perfectly. The dinning area was on the beach and the view while eating was amazing. Also, the food was great and there was nothing on the menu that wasn't appealing. If you want to venture out, take a right on the beach and head to Zanzibar Queen hotel, about a 10 minute walk. They also have great food. Lastly, Jafferji was unexpectedly amazing. I was blown away by the cleanliness of the resort and the rooms. The staff was always helpful and went out of their way to make the stay as enjoyable as possible. I highly recommend this resort and will stay in the future if we ever make it back to Matemwe.

Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

9 January 2019

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

gorgeous property right on the beach! We spent three nights here and loved it.

Stayed 3 nights in Dec 2018

Jafferji Beach Retreat

Choose dates to view prices

Photo gallery for Jafferji Beach Retreat

Reviews

Popular amenities

Get more when you're a member

Room options

Check availability for these dates

View all photos for Standard Room

Standard Room

Highlights

View all photos for Sea View Room

Sea View Room

Highlights

About the neighborhood

What's nearby

Getting around

Restaurants

About this property