After reading of the reviews, I as a little nervous about my trip to Cristal Resort, but was pleasantly surprised. We stayed in the deluxe bungalow which was wonderful. We had AC, three beds (three girls were sharing) all with mosquito nets and a huge bathroom. The place was clean and tidy and inviting. We did at one point have a friendly guest of a gecko, but that’s too be expected anywhere in Africa. The staff were lovely, and we always had fresh towel, both in our bungalow and for the pool. The restaurant had a continual change of menu for dinner every night, and always had a variety of good meals. We also enjoyed our free breakfast, which consisted of toast, spreads, lovely fresh fruit and we could order eggs and/or pancakes as well. Yes it was extra for bacon or cereal, but why would you want it with all that was available for free?

For those reviewers who complained about power-outages, no welcome drink, having to carry your own bags and unfriendly staff, I do not know what you are talking about. Also, people should do their research before coming to Tanzania. Power outages are common, even in major cities, and when our power went out, it came back on within ten minutes (instead of 5 hours later in Arusha). Also, for the price of $23/person (with three girls) what do you expect, the Hilton? I was very impressed with the quality of the place, the beach, the variety of food and the staff.

We are a family of 4 with 2 children aged 6 and 7 at the time of staying at Cristal in late October 2012. The location is great and the overall experience very good. Swimming pool is great for young kids and there are a variety of different rooms. We had a family room and it was very spacious - the air con did not work the first night and the bed squeaked every time we moved - this problem was solved the next day once we informed reception. The breakfast is OK but the hidden gem is the Thai restaurant next door owned by the same hotel - the food was excellent and we lived in SE Asia for 8 years.
After talking to a friend who looked at a variety of hotels in Paje he said that Cristal was the best value for money in that area.

I was worried about staying here after seeing the mixed reviews; however it was a lovely place to stay. The location was fantastic, we were right on the beach and the view was amazing from our room. It seemed very good value for money, although we did go in low season and got a last minute deal. The bungalow was very spacious and pretty and someone came in twice a day to ensure it was clean and make the bed. The kite surfers did become slightly annoying in the water but in general the beach was great. If you want 5 star luxury this is not the resort for you, the staff weren’t particularly friendly and knew very little about paje, also the towels that they provided didn’t always seem the cleanest. Overall a very nice place to stay, very good value for money.

The food in the restaurant was very good and HB is a good option (3 choices for starter. maindish and dessert). In the surrounding you can find also other restaurants. There is also an second restaurant (thai/japanese) connected with the crystal lodge.We had the eco bungalow. It is a simple bungalow not luxuari, but we didn't expected that for this rate, but stays very romantic on the beach with a nice big terrace viewing the sea. The bathroom gives a nice hot shower. the douchecurtain is a little bit dirty from the moisture. The bathroom/toilet is connected with the bedroom so gives less privacy then in the stone (more expensive) bungalows. There is a cupboard you can locked and a simple safe, we suggested that you use them. We stay from 26-9 until 4-10-12 and had very nice weather (no rain) The beach is lovely, we likes the low tide, then the water is gone and you can make a nice walk to the reef. later or earlier the water is back and you can make a nice warm swim. Diving with Mohammed and Ali (zanziworld diving connected with hotel) is a good choice, especially the dive in the north was lovely. The massage lady is superb and every dollar worth!