Maharaja Boutique Hotel Zanzibar

The pool was wonderful, and the location made it easy to take walks along the beach. Our room was really spacious and kept spotless, including in the evenings. The food was delicious, with a different selection each day. The staff were so friendly. Special thanks to Anita, who was always there whenever we needed help. Thanks again to the whole team for making our holiday perfect.

I booked through the Agoda app, and the experience was awful. The hotel was under construction when I arrived and couldn’t take guests, even though Agoda had confirmed my booking and I’d paid in full. I had to find another hotel at short notice, and it cost much more than my budget allowed. Agoda and the hotel refunded my booking, but offered no additional compensation. Agoda handled its organizational mistake carelessly and took no responsibility for the trouble it caused.

Anita, the guest relations manager, was the one truly bright spot. She’s an angel. Most of the staff were nice too, though some didn’t understand English, which made it hard to order specific things. At times the service felt overdone, like filling grown adults’ water glasses or putting napkins on our laps. There was a constant push to tip during the evening shows. Local artists went from table to table singing and wouldn’t leave without a tip, which really doesn’t belong at a hotel like this. The tours sold by the hotel’s partner seemed mostly like overpriced tourist traps. On the beach, intoxicated beach boys harassed us to buy tours, and we couldn’t leave the property or visit the beach without dealing with that. The property also has a large bees’ nest. We worried about getting stung at breakfast, and my girlfriend was stung while in the pool. It got infected and needed medical treatment, ruining our vacation. The doctor told us this wasn’t unusual and that another hotel guest had been stung that same day. I hope the hotel removes the nest or at least teaches staff how to respond to stings. We later learned a simple salt-and-water mixture could have neutralized the venom. For more than 400€ a night, we were very disappointed, and we’re not even typical luxury travelers. The hotel is old and rusty and needs serious investment to reach a five-star standard. We had broken AC, repeated power cuts, no running water for a day, too few beach umbrellas by the pool, and only salt water from the shower. There are plenty more examples, but I’ll leave it there.

The sea view from our little verandah and its sunbeds was amazing, and we liked this place a lot. The staff did their jobs extremely well, especially Anita, the hotel manager, who was very responsible. The one thing to keep in mind is the long stretch of exposed beach at low tide. When the sea pulls back, it’s about 100 meters to the water. Everything else was exceptional.