TUI BLUE Bahari

I had an amazing time for my birthday last year at Dream of Zanzibar. From the check in with the wonderfully helpful Mwinyi who gave advice and helped us book our tours etc. The manager of the hotel spoke to us daily and on made my birthday even more special by giving us a private dinner with private chefs etc. The waiting staff are also top notch - Po was a gentleman and always helpful. The room we stayed in was big and comfortable. The food was good and the pool and watersports was lots of fun. The entire team there tries to make your stay something to remember and it feels tailored to ones needs. There are realities to deal with in Zanzibar, the people in the community are kind and caring and very keen to get money out referring a friends tour or some sort of similar thing. My suggestion is keep a couple loose dollars available on you. Its a beautiful place with really incredible people.

We stayed at the Dream of Zanzibar Hotel for two weeks of pure bliss back in December 2019 for our Honeymoon. We had such an amazing and relaxing time at the beautiful Resort. Apologies for the epic review, but we just loved this Hotel so much and wanted to share our wonderful experience here. There was a very warm welcome from the Reception Team with a beautiful refreshing beverage in a stunning Reception Area, with a typical African theme decoration, which we loved. As we arrived at the resort quite early (around 10am) the Reception Team advised up to pop down for breakfast. The breakfast room was beautifully decorated with a wide variety of choice to suit all. Regina was one of the Chef’s and we always popped to see her for beautiful freshly made eggs to your preference, as well as a sneaky freshly made pancake. The variety of fruits available was perfect and delicious! After breakfast we headed back to the Reception Area and although the rooms are not normally ready before 2pm, (which would not have been a problem for us, as we were aware of this before hand and packed our swimwear in our hand luggage to change and pop to the pool until the room was ready) however, the Reception Team came over to us and said that our room was ready, which was very kind of them, and greatly appreciated after a tiring journey. I did find the bed a little hard to sleep on, although my Husband thought it was ok (it’s just personal preference) but I went to Reception the morning after, who organised for another mattress topper to be placed on the bed, and then it was much more comfortable. All of the Hotel Team are willing to help ensure you have a perfect stay, but if other guests don’t tell them of any problems, then they are not mind readers cannot help you. IF you tell them, they will always try and help the best they can. Habiba, one of the many maitress for the rooms ensured that our room was beautifully decorated for our arrival, with a ‘Enjoy your Honeymoon’ written out in floral decoration on our bed. There was a beautiful fruit bowl and bottle of chilled bubbles in our room, which we thoroughly enjoyed after a very long journey. There was a beautiful letter from Porsche, the Guest Relations Manager inviting us for a massage in the Spa and an romantic evening meal on the beach in the A La Carte Restaurant, which was such a lovely gesture from the Hotel. The ladies in the Spa were very professional and offered a variety of massages, including couples massages. A welcome drink upon arrival to the spa, and use of the Spa swimming pool and cool jacuzzi bath. We made good use of these facilities, and the massages which really helped us to relax and unwind. There is also a good gym next to the spa, however we did not utilise this, as just wanted pure relaxation. There are a variety of options for lunch, including the Main Restaurant and several options along the beach front, which were based on grilled fish and meats, and a cute little sushi area too. As I am vegetarian we opted for the Main Restaurant for lunch, where my husband and I both found plenty to eat every day. For those reviews that say that there is no choice, I don’t know how they didn’t find anything. The Dream of Zanzibar is the best Hotel that I have ever been to which such a wide variety of choice for vegetarians! I enjoyed every single meal I had there, and never got bored of the food. We were greeted by Adam who made sure that all the guests were happy, and asked if everything was ok with the meals, which was really lovely to see. The whole restaurant team (who work extremely hard in extreme heat every single day) including, Paul, Betina, Khadija always greeted every guest with a warm smile. There is a choice of restaurant for you to enjoy your evening meal, including an Italian, Oriental, African and more, as well as the Main Restaurant. We were advised to book the restaurants in the morning, and there was always plenty of space available, as we wanted to try and utilise as many dining options as possible, which were all beautiful, and all of which catered for vegetarians. Elisifa was our waitress at a few of the booked restaurants, and two other evenings a week when the evening meal was a beautiful buffet around the poolside. She always had a smile on her face and ensured that we had everything we needed. The whole Team go to so much effort to prepare the poolside for a beautiful buffet, and weather depending on the beach for one theme evening a week, and the set up always looks beautiful. You are greeted by various Hotel Team members offering you a choice of welcome beverages, and it is lovely to see the different members getting involved, including the House Keeping Manager too (who also ensured that everything was ok with our rooms and we were enjoying our stay). Most of the reviews mention the stairs to get to and from the Reception Area and rooms, down to the beachfront and swimming pool. This is advertised on their website, so we knew about the stairs, but actually quite enjoyed the walk up and down, especially after all the food on offer there. The Gardening Team ensured that all the resort was kept spotless (and there is a lot of floral decoration) and always greeted you with a warm ‘Jambo’ The Bar Team work tirelessly day and evening to ensure that everyone’s drinks are topped up, and the Recreational Team even bring a beautiful cool face cloth around each day for a mid day refresh, which was very welcome. Koba, one of the Recreational Team kept us busy with a few activities such as Table Tennis, a walk down to the Local Village, which we both took part in. We didn’t take anything with us, but along the way there is a chance to buy some books, pencils and sweets to take to the local school at we visit at the end of the village walk. Other guests came prepared with books and pencils, as well as clothes and shoes which the headmaster gave out to the children, and their faces lit up. It is very eye opening to see the local village, just a 15 minute walk away along the beach from the Resort, but we are glad we did it. Sabrina and Stefano are the in-house Italian Entertainment Team who offer various exercise classes, aqua gym and volleyball. I enjoyed the aqua gym when it was on, and even got my husband to join in too, and they do make it really fun. We even got involved in the Volleyball too which was a great game, that started around the time the sun was starting to go down, so it wasn’t too hot. We both felt perfectly safe at the Resort as there are plenty of security around 24/7, not that we ever had any problems, but it is reassuring the know they are there. Even along the beachfront grounds to the Hotel. As many other guests have written about the locals that wait on the beach outside the Hotel and as soon as you go down the steps the locals are there trying to sell something or walk you to the reef for money, but if you tell them no thank you and keep walking or swimming, the will soon leave you alone. We used to wait until high tide, where practically the water is at the bottom of the steps, so you can just have a relaxing swim in the beautiful waters. We had a few ideas about excursions in mind, but weren’t quite sure if they would be suited to us or not. We met the TUI Polish Rep, a lovely lady called Agnieshka who went through a couple of the TUI excursions. We chose the Stone Town and Prison Island, as we really wanted to see the Giant Tortoise sanctuary, and a snorkelling excursion. Agnieshka recommended the snorkelling excursion as it was closer to the Hotel and a lot less busy than the Safari Blue. We were so glad that Agnieshka recommended the snorkelling excursion as there were only around 12 of us in total, with three guides and the captain of a beautiful traditional wooden boat. We had a BBQ lunch on the beach, with free time to explore the local area, where there was not another soul to be seen, but beautiful white sands and luxury clear waters. Thank you Agnieshka for recommending it and for all your help. We are not one for getting up crazy early to put towels on sunbeds, but once we finished breakfast, we always found space either at the poolside, the beach area, or even the garden pool (right outside our room, making for a beautiful view each morning) or even the spa when we had a treatment, so there is always plenty of choice. For those looking for a purely relaxing holiday, wanting to spend quality time together relaxing at the Hotel, or out on the few excursions available on a small island, this is the perfect Hotel for you Lastly we would both like to say a huge thank you to Reda (the Hotel Manager who runs around the Resort all day ensuring organisation from behind the scenes) Maniche, (who we saw on many occasion ensuring that we were having the perfect honeymoon) and all the Hotel Team in every department. You truly made our honeymoon such a wonderful, special and relaxing holiday at the beautiful Dream of Zanzibar.

I loved the hotel all way round. Lovely grounds easy access to the Beach. Very helpful and friendly staff.The entertainment was amazing. I enjoyed the buffets and the restaurant. The Sunday disco was fine,but I would recommend you extend the music time.