I had two amazing weeks at La Madrugada during their re-opening of the hotel. Surely there is no place like this; it’s as close to paradise you can get. I have been travelling a lot around the world, and not often do you find a place like this. From the moment I set my foot at the resort I knew that I had come to the right place. If you are looking for a busy luxurious high-end resort, then move on. But if you are looking for a quiet, friendly, relaxing beach resort with a soul this is the place to be! The white sandy beach is clean, beautiful and quiet without any pushy salesmen. The water is crystal clear, and with a boardwalk out to the coral reefs. The pool area is beautiful offering a peaceful day in the sun. And if you need a refreshment Edwin - the bartender will serve you what you want. The management are very nice, doing everything they can to make sure the guests are happy and enjoying their time at the resort. The chefs are preparing delicious meals; either from the menu or from his amazing buffets. The staff is very friendly and trustworthy. The hotel is placed in Makunduchi, on the south part of the island. If you want to see more of the island Mmbanja is the man to talk to. He arranges tours and activities all around Zanzibar. My favorite was the dolphin safari. We went swimming with wild dolphins, and if you are lucky you might be able to touch one of them. Amazing! I also really enjoyed the spice tour where we got to taste spices and fruit straight from Mother Nature! A trip into Stone Town was also very interesting, getting to see where the slave marked used to be, and wander through the smells and sight of the local markets. I highly recommend this beach resort. It’s a hidden treasure that I almost want to keep as a secret. I am looking forward to come back to La Madrugada.

This is now known as Zanzibar blue. Quite simply, if you enquire about staying here, and you get a response from Annika, it means she is still there, so book, you won't regret it. All of the staff were very friendly, and the food was great (try the swahili vegetable curry for lunch). This is quite an isolated spot being in the south east of the island, but that is part of the allure, as day trips to stonetown involve driving through the island and seeing more of it.

You will be well looked after by Moody and Robinho, two lovely guys who seem to walk round with smiles on their faces all day. I can't praise the people that work there enough, they really were excellent, and the masai make you feel so safe and relaxed. I also spent some time on the island a week later at another hotel, and this only confirmed to me how great Zanzibar blue was by comparison.

People make holidays, and whilst there are no doubt more luxurious hotels on the island in the resorts in the north, I doubt there are friendlier ones, I wish I had spent my whole two weeks in east Africa here, a great experience.

Thanks to Annika and her team.

This resort is now known as Zanzibar blue, it is quite remote but that is part of the charm , there are no beach boys as on other parts of the island , so no hassle on the beach , just very friendly locals going about their work, at low tide we watched the locals picking seaweed or fishing for octopus , they all wave to you and are really approachable, at high tide the beach is great and totally safe. The resort itself is brilliant 2 pools to choose from and a well laid out resort, the staff are all really great and just want to make sure that you enjoy yourself . it is a quiet resort with games in the bar and on the beach and some entertainment laid on. We went in september which is their low season the weather was great and the resort was quiet , only my wife and myself for the first 2 days ,but despite this the resort was still fully staffed so we were spoilt, we were staying for 2 weeks as we wanted a total chill holiday, on the sunday a french couple arrived with a young girl , and on the monday a young english couple arrived , both couples stayed for 5 days then we were on our own again for 2 days , then a swedish couple arrived, all these people were really nice people , and we all commented on how chilled and relaxed we felt after our time at the resort, the food at the resort was very good, and the trips arranged by Annika were really good value and totally flexible , you just tell the driver what you want to do. Annika is one of the owners and she was always there , she is really fantastic and all she wants is for you to enjoy yourselves, she made our holiday special , she is very caring and let a group of young english medical students who work in Makunduchi clinic use the hotel facilities during te day free of charge.
To summarise people make holidays Annika made ours as did the hotel staff, the other guests and the medical students , the resort is great and this made for a totally relaxing holiday, we will be back.

We had a great week (after Kili hike) at Zanzibar Blue Resort (earlier called La Madrugada). It is located about 1 hour and half away from the Stone Town/airport (quite far away), in a remote beach (closest other hotels and restaurants are about 10km away).

In front of the hotel, there is ca. 1km "deep" reef area with load of eels, small fishes and other sealife (remember to take with you some shoes as there are loads of sea urchins). Great place to do snorkling.

The beach was also great for running and locals were friendly (you get around 5km run on the beach).

The hotel is nice, cosy and has relaxed feeling. The new Swedish manager took great care of us and the employees were friendly and helpfull. They even took us on local football match where our cook was playing - quite an experience. Having a Masai game on the beach with our "hotel guards" was great fun.

We did several activities: Spice tour -definately worthwile, Mnemba - good on diving, average/bad on snorkling, Stone Town - definately worth two visits. In overall, outside beach there is not that much to do in Zanzibar - so take it easy !

And then in Finnish...ehdottoamasti suosittelen jos haluat rauhallisen rantaloman mukavassa hotellissa ja hyvän palvelun.