What an amazing place! The rooms were lovely and so close to the beach - we had one of the round huts as we were there on honeymoon. The staff were excellent with a superb variety of food and attention to detail every night with the restaurant layout. The only negative I can honestly think of, apart from having to leave, was the terrible singers in the evening. However, this became more comical as the fortnight went on and now makes us smile when we think back. The rooms and entire hotel were very clean with excellent service from the gardeners to the Food and Beverage manager who made our stay so enjoyable. We were impressed to see Bernd Brandt and the F&B Manager present throughout the day - every day! The beach was wonderful and the pool clean. The only people who spoil places like this are those that can find something to complain about anywhere. It is not the UK (thank God!) and nor do you expect it to be - you are holidaying in Zanzibar and should enjoy the local culture and way of life - isn't that why you went?!!! All in all a perfect honeymoon destination and we hope it doesn't become too westernised - leave it as it is and enjoy!

The Ocean Paradise Resort on Zanzibar is a fairly nice place, but it is not Paradise, and it is not as great as most of the reviews suggest!

A friend and I paid US$152 per person, per night, half board, for a standard twin room. We booked directly. I've listed the most extreme of the positive and negative experiences we had there during our 5 nights:

Positive:
1 - Lots of space
2 - Interesting architecture
3 - Generally the staff was extremely friendly and helpful
4 - The breakfast is great, there is a lot of different choices and the quality of the food is quite high

Negative:
1 - The hotel insisted on full prepayment at checkin
2 - The color of the pool water was very green and didnt look right
3 - Half of the lights in the room didnt work when we first entered the room
4 - There is a constant smell of sewer in the area of the hotel which is furthest away from the beach. Same area as our room.
5 - The dinner buffet is okay for a night or two, but then it becomes quite boring. The quality of the ingredients is good, but the cooking seems very uninspired.
6 - There was consistently not enough hot water for 2 persons to take consecutive showers.
7 - The last night I somehow managed to separate the blanket cover from the blanket in my sleep. When I woke up I had about 50 bites all over my body from something that must have been living in that blanket.

I have lived and worked in East Africa for the last 7 years and I have been on at least 10 vacations around the Kenyan and Tanzanian coast and coastal Islands. I know what value you can get for your money around here. If this was a $80-$100 per person per night hotel, I'd be happy to give the Ocean Paradise Resort a neutral rating or slightly above average.

This hotel is not Paradise.... unless you are a bed bug!

Date: 29.02.2008
Viewer: Tourism Business Administrator from Holland
A Perfect Time
We enpjoyed peace and comfort at Ocean Paradise .
Personalized service, good food, well maintained gardens,
spacious rooms and a management with the eye for the detail.
We will definitely recommend this place to our friends as we got recommended as well.
Looking forward our next visit at the Ocean Paradise!
Thanks to the entire Team !

From walking into the lobby, with it's impressive architecture, we felt we had made an excellent choice. It was a long journey; the flights (Virgin Travel) with Kenyan Airlines, were cramped and noisy but the hotel was immediately calming. The staff were friendly, and the bungalow charming.

A stroll down to the pool and bar, with the palms swaying soothingly overhead massaged away the cattle-truck memories of Kenyan Air!

In June, the hotel was low capacity, but the standards were high. The food was excellent, and the Sri Lankan band, excellent musicians. So much did we enjoy the buffet and music, we never accepted the free dinner a deux in the a la carte restaurant!

The beach is perfect, and though some mention the little fence, it is not a problem - you have to really be searching for something to complain about if that's all you can think of!!

Zanzibar was beautiful, though the locals seem not to really have any concept of tourism and western consumerism, once you accept their poverty, you can enjoy the island.

Our most wonderful find was Selim Ali, from Fishermans Tours. He wasn't our rep, but was at the Hotel every morning, and had the best prices. If you can, double up with others to keep prices for tours down. It made for some interesting new acquaintences, too!

My other tip would be to take lots of single or small denomination $bills, for tips etc.

Overall, the hotel was wonderful. The staff and guests come from a wide international background, which adds to the atmosphere.

The staff though, were amazing, obliging and pleasant. We were made to feel very special, to the extent, on our last night, the chef personally served my favourite dessert with great ceremony and panache!

It is SO worth spending at least 10 days there, not just the 2 or 3 after a safari! Bliss!!