Sunseabar Beach Hotel Kendwa

The balcony views were lovely, and my room was comfortable and clean. From the start, I felt safe and well looked after. I arrived on 20/05/26 and was welcomed by the head operation (AL PACINO 😎), a really nice guy. The hotel has a unique, great vibe, and the staff are very polite. Jonny and Jacob were 10/10.

I appreciated getting breakfast to take away before my early checkout, and the airport transfer was comfortable and reasonably priced. I made my return flight on time. The hotel is right on the beach, where low tide is less noticeable, with plenty of sunbeds that are regularly cleaned and close to the restaurant and bar. Staff quickly fixed the initial problem with my room and worked to keep me comfortable throughout. Breakfast had fruit, sweets, and plenty more, though the covered dishes had no labels. Power cut out at times, but the generators came on straight away and it didn't disrupt things. Daytime renovations in the old wing didn't bother me. My one other downside was that there were no beach towels, and they didn't replenish the room's water bottles after the first day. Thanks to the manager, Al Pacino (no relation), and receptionists James and Marko for everything.

The location is nice, and the staff were pleasant, but our room booking was a mess. Our Tanz friend had reserved it two months ahead, yet the room type we paid for wasn't available when we arrived. They gave us a poor alternative, then, after our friend pushed quite a bit, moved us to another room that wasn't much better. Management wouldn't refund the difference for the lower-priced, lower-quality room. Not good management, and definitely not 4 star.

The beach restaurant food was good, and the rooftop view was lovely. The rest of our one-night stay was disappointing. Both rooms had AC problems: in the first, the control panel was an issue, and in the premium pool room we switched to, the unit was so loud all night that we barely slept. The standard room doors were awful, and the photos gave a misleading impression. Even in the premium room, the bed was hard and a bad bathroom smell kept coming and going. The general areas were very dirty. At breakfast, ants crawled around the jam, the bread was dry, what was left when we arrived was just leftovers, and there was bird shit on the chairs. The manager told us that all people in Zanzibar is liars and said the manager wants to leave Zanzibar. That left us with the feeling the employees weren't getting along, though the manager was very nice to us. My partner was ready to look for another hotel in Kendwa or go back to our usual place in Uroa, where we stay at a 4-star hotel with a completely different standard. Maybe we're a bit spoiled, but I wouldn't recommend this as a nice hotel, and we wouldn't stay here for a two-week vacation. We did stay the one night as planned. Later, the hotel contacted me on WhatsApp to ask what I didn't like. When I explained, they said my review wasn't fair.