We stayed at Matemwe Bungalows for a week, over New Year. This is a lovely rustic-style hotel - with the emphasis on rustic! Don't go if the first thing you look for is a mini bar, Air con and a TV. The rooms are large, palm thatched villas with a fan. A big comfortable bed is set up on a plinth, surrounded by substantial mosquito nets. The bathrooms are clean and have hot water most of the time - water is solar heated so on on very cloudy days there can be a problem.
In the evenings staff will light joss sticks and incense in the room. This really kept the mozzies out of the bedroom most effectively.
The rooms have one of the best balconies I have ever seen. A massive hammock and a home made day bed/sofa with a lovely view of the sea. At high tide the sea crashes against the small cliff face below the rooms - a sound I love.
It is not practical to swim from the beach at any time other than the highest tides. There are lots of sea urchins in the shallow water at low and medium tides. So the two swimming pools, although small, are really nice.
The bar is great - with excellent cocktails and fresh fruit juices. Try the bungo juice (similar to passion fruit) with a shot of gin -really addictive! The mozzies lurk about in the bar so make sure you wear repellent - particularly on feet and ankles
The food at breakfast and lunch is very good indeed. The plated evening meals are more hit and miss - some outstanding others cold or a bit tasteless.
New Years Eve was brilliant. Dinner was out on the beach with candles tucking into the cliff face and a big bonfire to light up the proceedings. Big platters of stemed shellfish with dipping sauces were the highlight of the meal.
My husband is a keen and very experienced diver - so he was very excited about the Mnemba Atol on the doorstep. However he was disappointed that there was not a great deal of variety - neither in fish or in coral. Most divers were beginners, doing only one or two dives, who were having a great time.
To sum up. We had a very good holiday. But the lack of swimming stright of the beach and the quality of the diving mean we are unliklely to go back again.