Bluebay Beach Resort

We stayed in Zanzibar for three weeks in February and March 2020. One week at the Zanzi Resort on the west side of the island, two weeks at the 'Bluebay Beach Resort, which we already knew from last year. We had booked a Junior Suite there. The Junior Suites are highly recommended. In the Wifi distribution list they are not called "Luxury suites" for nothing. You enter them through a living room that has two doors to the terrace. The terrace is covered and well furnished, the same applies to the living room. Separated from the living room by two steps is the bedroom with a huge bed. From the living room one gets to a dressing room, a kind of walk-in closet. The most beautiful room is the spacious bathroom. Through a window and a French door it is flooded with light in the afternoon. It has two wash basins and a huge triangular bathtub. Separated from it are a shower and the toilet. From the bathroom the French door leads into a (not very useful) private garden, which has two more showers. The sanitary installations of the bathroom are in need of improvement. The washbasins are missing single-handed mixers, even more so in the shower, where an additional hand shower would also be appropriate. The walk-in wardrobe has far too few clothes hangers (you have to ask for additional ones) and no reasonable suitcase rack. Apart from that, the suite is very spacious, quiet, good for working and generally comfortable. The hotel staff is, as generally usual in Zanzibar, very friendly and obliging. A special praise deserves Simona, the Italian vice-manager, an example of practical thinking. The beach service is good (deck chairs, towels, mattresses). The catering is also good, but could be better, especially with regard to the fruits on offer. Wifi is often very weak. The guests come mainly from Poland (they are rather stuffy and not very polite) and Italy (very extroverted); occasionally also from France, Germany, the Netherlands, Scandinavia. The range of special performances and the musical offer with changing bands is generally good (one band, however, plays every song to death by repetition). But there is no dance floor in the true sense of the word; of course there is enough space in the lobby with a nice smooth floor where you can dance well away from the crowd. The hotel shares a fitness room and a water sports offer with the neighboured hotel Sultan Sands. (However, it is better to avoid the kayaks because of insufficient back support). A place for volleyball is not available. For about 30 $ you can takeone of the outrigger boats towards the reef and snorkel there. The malaria prevention is very good: Around the beds mosquito nets are stretched everywhere, the walls have an anti-mosquito coating which is incredibly efficient. This is also expressed in a strong reduction of bird life. One year before there were two extremely lively colonies of weaver birds that disappeared (another one at the hotel entrance still exists). Now the omnivorous crows dominate among the birds.

Had a few days to relax in Zanzibar and found this great hotel. Manager went out of his way to ensure we were comfortable. Food was excellent. Nightly entertainment. Hotel was clean. Great Stay. I highly recommend this hotel.

We've just returned from 8 nights at the Bluebay where I celebrated my 60th birthday. The hotel was lovely, the room large & comfortable, probably the biggest most comfortable bed I have ever slept in! The location is stunning but what really makes this hotel 5 star is the staff. Everyone is friendly, helpful & nothing is too much trouble. It seems a shame to name just a couple but Joyce in the main bar and Mudric in the restaurant were outstanding. The management also deserve a mention. The managers in the restaurant were always available & again nothing was roo much trouble. The general manager, Jonathan was also highly visible, always around making sure the guests are happy and the staff are on the ball. The smooth running of this hotel is no doubt down to him. A huge thank you to all the staff for making my birthday memorable.