Tropicana Kendwa Beach Hotel

The walk to the beach is very short, the staff are good, and there's evening entertainment. Breakfast is okay and the rooms are spacious, though the balcony isn't much use: its view faces other buildings, and you can see into a neighbour's room. Poolside and beach sunbeds could use more TLC. Keep an eye on your women, the boss may try to slip her his number in front of the whole family, and he got slapped for it. You might also end up here after booking the garden.

The price is attractive, but the quality made this the worst stay I've had. We spent 8 nights with two babies, and the AC worked only 3 days. Electricity kept cutting out, sometimes for the whole day, while nearby hotels had lights on and evening shows running. Even when power was on, the AC sometimes still didn't work. It was unbearably hot inside, and the babies couldn't cope. We repeatedly asked reception to fix things or move us, but they kept saying the electricity was low and would be fine in 5 minutes. For 8 days they said they'd check room availability with the reservation manager, but never came back with an answer. One particularly bad night they tried fixing the AC, then moved us to another family room for just one night. They also suggested two separate rooms, but one of those had broken AC too, and separate rooms wouldn't work for us with two babies. There's a pool, but I never saw anyone relaxing there: no comfortable seating areas, and the sunbeds had no mattresses. The terrace by the pool and pool bar had nowhere to sit, and the bar wasn't operating. There were no places to relax at the hotel.

The room was spacious and nicely decorated, opening onto the garden pool, and the hotel has tried to make good use of its space. But water and electricity supply were poor. At check-in, after confusion about whether I was booked in the beach or garden section, I was asked for an extra 24USD for two people for 3 nights. This wasn't in the receipt for my direct booking, and it was more than the tax I'd paid at the previous two hotels. Paying by card added a 5% charge. I eventually found enough cash, but wasn't given an official receipt. When I asked on the last day, I got a handwritten one. The restaurant prices food in USD and uses a really bad exchange rate for local currency. I didn't try the other services because I was sure there'd be more scams.

We had a great holiday at Tropicana Kendwa Beach Hotel with a friend in February 2024. The ocean is a relaxed 3-minute walk away, and the staff were attentive, friendly, positive, and always ready to help. Manager Lukman is a great guy, very responsible and helpful with any questions. Breakfast was simple but filling and tasty, with something for everyone. We ordered grilled octopus more than once at the shashlik-mashlyk cafe, and I'd highly recommend it. If we return to Zanzibar, it'll be to this hotel. You guys are awesome, and we wish the hotel wellbeing and prosperity. You're always in our hearts ❤️❤️❤️ P.S. Send all the cool music to Lukman, he knows what's up.