We stayed in the hotel for 4 days in January. Rooms - nice, staff - relaxed and friendly, but it is Africa, so service is pole-pole. The best in the hotel is restaurant and its amazing food - very delicious!!! The beach is very nice, but you need to keep in mind high/low tides. The water goes away at 8am and comes back only at 3pm. The shallow line is very long (check on Google earth) and difficult to walk to the water. So we had to enjoy the pool during low tides. If you look for fun (disco, dance, bar) it is wrong place. Barmen don't follow recipes of cocktails. Each time we ordered "Caipirinha" or "Sex n the beach" it was different from previous one :) Sometimes very tasty, sometimes not. After dinner all guests went to ... So at the bar - lounge area we were the only one looking for a fun. Barmen were welcoming us and we could dance, drink cocktails and enjoy nice view to the ocean from cozy sofas.

Great Hotel, fabulous beach, wonderful food, when you find the three of these together thats special. My wife brought me to Pongwe Beach Hotel a place she had been before and always said I had to see. I was not disappointed it was all she had described and MORE. After checking in and you walk from reception to the bar or dining room area you get the WOW effect. From the beach where it often felt that you had this bit of paradise to yourself, to the dining room and the amazing food, fresh, local and irresistible and then of course the management and staff smiling,friendly,efficient and always with time to talk which gave that personal touch to our stay. The Hotel has 20 rooms, we stayed in Beachfront and Garden rooms (5 nights in each) both lovely. We had a look at their 4 new rooms each with its own plunge pool, they were more like suite's (definitely next time). The ten days flew by and we returned recharged in body and soul from this bare foot paradise. Thank you Pongwe.

Very high-quality hotel, with beautiful setting in Zanzibar. Swiss-trained managers from Zimbabwe do a superb job of making guests feel comfortable. Cottages are attractive and most have gorgeous views of the extraordinary beach. Gorgeous infinity pool provides shady seating and a very scenic view of a dhow anchored on the beach. In mid-December, we actually found the pool more refreshing from the ocean, which was really too warm for our taste.

The large shamba provides very comfortable dining and lounge. Food is very good. As noted on the web site, the shower water is brackish, which can present hairwashing challenges. Do note that except for walking on the beach, there is not a lot to do at the hotel. Snorkeling is better elsewhere. We did day trips from the hotel to Jonzai to see the Red Colobus monkeys and the mangrove forest, to go on a spice tour and for a trip to Stonetown.
Trips are not cheap, but driver was excellent. I would recommend spending at least one night in Stonetown to take in the Night Market rather than doing the tour from Pongwe.

My only other question re this hotel is whether there is much connection with the nearby village. I did not get that sense. Bottom line: A lovely hotel and very good value. I understand why it won a 2012 TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Award.

This has to be the most beautiful place in the world. Everything was excellent and I simply couldn't fault one thing. Firstly, the location is out of this world....the beach is pristine and ocean view epic. It is also amazing how they've managed to create a huge feeling of space throughout the grounds so you never feel that it is busy, not that it can ever really be busy with only 20 rooms. Secondly, the staff are the most welcoming I have ever come across and they must be commended for how kind and attentive they are, a really unique quality in Africa. The general staff and management know you by name and go the extra mile to really make you feel at home. Finally, the food......the food is simply to die for. I never met the chef but I couldn’t believe how incredible it was night after night.....the best seafood I’ve ever tasted.

It was so good that we are coming back next year......and bringing the family.
See you in December Pongwe.