We stayed at Sultan Sands/Bluebay hotel for 8 days in January 2013 after a week of safari in Tanzania. They have really deserved the "Traveller's choice award 2013". Here you will find everything you need in order to relax after a week of safari.
The rooms are very clean and spacious and the staff very friendly. The resaturant offers a variety of food and ín the evenings there is entertainment and themed buffets.
The pool and beach areas are clean and you can choose between sand, grass or pool area in order to relax during the day.
I can really recommend the entertainment during the day, which is interesting and not the kind of typical "egyptian tourist hotel entertainment" as we know it. You can for example study some Swahili, participate in the village walk or learn more about the importance of the coconut tree on the island.
The SPA area is also very neat and you can listen to the waves while getting a massage :)
The hotel is only one out of 10 hotels on the island which is opened all year long. In January it is not overcrowded, so that we had a lot of "space".
The only challenge is that the hotel is far away from the city and transportation/taxi is quite expensive. The same are the beverages. I was a bit disappointed that a hotel with that kind of standard did not even offer free water during dinner.
For excursions we can really recommend the spice tour and to go snorkelling.
Enjoy your stay there! You defintly will :)

I booked this resort for a time of relaxation after a safari. There was some confusion upon our arrival but after some time and negotiation the Manager set us up in a room that was very enjoyable with two entrances - one from the beach and one from the main walkway with a waterfront patio. After a lot of contemplation and research we decided to go half-board (breakfast and dinner included). However I didn't realize that ALL beverages (including softdrinks and water) came at a cost. Lunch at the beach grill was costly. An order of fries which consisted of perhaps one medium sized potato was US$5. We decided to venture out to try to acquire some beverages from the local store (just through the entrance and up the driveway) and were successful in purchasing soda ($1.00 each) and Kilimanjaro beer ($2.50 for large bottles). As for the food I would honestly say that it was adequate but never hot or cold. With the exception of the food at the cooking stations everything was just warm and variety is very limited. On New Year's Eve they put a hugh spread of traditional as well as international foods and I am sure it was very good however my husband experienced food poisoning the night before from the Marsala chicken so we were unable to partake of the festivities. We welcomed an offer to cut our stay short by a day with an offer of exchanging privileges at the Beyt el Chai in Stonetown. In closing I want to mention a particular server, Jonathan, who went above and beyond his call of duty to ensure that we were taken care of during meals and even when we were confined to our room on New Year's Eve. So sorry we didn't get a chance to say goodbye to him. Thank you Jonathan for your excellent care.
In summary I would say that this resort is overpriced for what it offers.

A very nice hotel near the beach with very good buffet and food. Every day the restaurant changes theme e.g. asian, libyan, arabic food. The service is in top, the rooms are big and hold in natural wooden materials.

In Sultan Sands Hotel we got the holiday of a lifetime.Nice rooms,perfect service,verry friendly staff.Nice setting,right on the beach.and the resort has a lot of trees,and flowers.The food was verry good,with a wide spread to choose from.We apreciated the Seafood BBQ buffet on the beach(verry romantic,with candellights)Also the entertainement after dinner was verry good.