Was visiting Tanzania on honeymoon and had just come from a Safari and was so excited about having some relaxation and pampering in this resort.

We arrived in Zanzibar airport (well more of an air strip than an airport) and had arranged for the hotel to pick us up, after waiting ten minutes we had to ring the hotel as there as noone there to meet us - we were assured someone was on their way so we said no more, a couple of minutes later someone arrived - we were greeted by a very nice dirver who offered us warm hand towels to refresh and some very much appreciated cold bottled water. This was indeed a good start. We then set off on on way to the resort. Zanzibar is a very poor island and this is very clear as you are diriving by - its also very unsafe and we were told that it would be best to stay within the resort compound unless we were going on a guided tour. This we kind of knew so did not put us off.

Arrival at the hotel was good and check in was friendly and efficient.

We were shown to our room which was a Terrace room, nice and big although i must agree with some of the other users on this site the floor could do with a good scrubbing, it was very off putting to say the least it just looked plain dirty. Bathroom is very impressive with a two wash basins, indoor and outdoor shower and nice big tub - could not ask for anything more there.
Room was serviced daily and everything was replaced daily and nightly.

We were on a half board basis, breakfast in the morning was good and plentiful and dinner in the evening was buffet - it had themed nights so you were not getting the same kind of food day in day out. Standard of food was good - not exactly 5 star but tasty enough. Drink is a complete rip off - soooooo expensive - especially the wine so be prepared - i ended up paying €50 for a HALF bottle of wine - i nearly pi**ed myself when i realised this - with the wine in me there was nothing i could do - i just did not calculate the money difference correctly - needless to say my husband did it from there on out when i ordered something.

We decided to book a couple of tours through the concerige desk - girl there was incredibly friendly - again any tours are very expensive as they can afford to charge whatever they like as its not as if there are many competitors. We went on a tour of Stone town and then to Prison Island to see the giant tortise. This was a full day out. We were collected from the hotel and it went downhill from there. The guides barely spoke to me (woman and all that i am ) when i asked a question they told my husband the answer - seriously i just found this funny and they were then horrified nearly to find out that they let women drive in Ireland - The sin of it..... I totally respect other cultures and beliefs but i also believe in manners and this was lacking here. We were dropped of on a beach an the guide told us to stand were we were and not talk to anyone and he would be back in a a few minutes, he went around all the local fishermen to try and hackle a boat to take us to the island - i mean i thought this was a joke - as a tour company they did not have a boat to take us to one of the only attractions that there is to see. After agreeing a price with the dodgy fisherman and handing him and brown bag with something in it,........ (later i found out it was cake - but my imagination was running riot at this stage so you can only image what i first thought it was). When i got into the boat (or wooden box) i thought this is it - I am seriously going to see more of the indian ocean than i bargained for - THE BOTTON OF IT.
Our not so talented guide and very toothless learing fisherman then proceeded to take us to the island where i thought the beautiful tortise were able to roam free around the beach - so not the case - tiny encloser and very smelly. But incredible animals and worth the trip over with out new toothless friend.

Ok back to the hotel really as this is what its about.

No entertainment as such in the evening - there is a house band (singers) first night they played it was quite nice and was kind of getting into the spirit of things, Next night it was italian night - where the same band dressed up in Italian wear in an very deep African accents sang italian songs to us - the next night it was Indian night - you can see where i am going with this - it was just funny but not in the enteraining way it should have been.

The Antara Spa - aaagghh my second home - I literally spent my whole week holed up in there - great value for money - the treatments are amazing and is a little oasis. Defintely a 5 star - even convinced the new hubby to a couples massage - this is my and trip advisors little secret though, would not want any of the lads to find out this...

The pool was great, the jetty was beautiful no problems there at all. Very beautiful to sit and have a drink at night and watch the sun set on the jetty.

Private beach not so private - there is a security or beach guide down there - but the locals convince him with a few bob to let them hassle the guests and thats just what happended. Cant even lie on the beach without being hounded so we only visited the not so private beach once.

In fairness we had a good time - was ready to go after the week as the boredom had well and truly started to set in at that stage as there is not really much to do.

Check out - hhmmmm - not very good - our bill was wrong - they charged us for accommodation - which we had paid for it all in advance - when i told them this she made out that obviously i must be mistaken - EH i dont think so - i would kind of notice the hefty sum coming out of my credit card when i had booked it. She fixed this - did not apologise and then over charged us for the pick-up and drop off to the airport.
You really do need to watch them on that one. Check your bill.

All in all we had a good stay - it is a beautiful resort.

I would not return as there is nothing to do there, would recommend the hotel if someone was set on going there but would not recommend Zanzibar to anyone to be honest. Stick to mainland Tanzania - less corrupt (not by much though) and do a Safari or something which was definitely the highlight of our trip.

We arrived for a brief getaway. The resort is classic in nature, the staff are very friendly. We did stay in the "cheaper" accomadation - garden rooms. The rooms are large with a huge bathroom. The resort is beautiful, but very large! The jetty is every bit as breath taking as the photo's show, and the infinity pool is beautiful. The only gripes we had were the food, and watersports. The menu is quite small for dinner, but a buffet is provided (at a cost!). I was disappointed at the variety (also apparent at the private beach bar). As i'm allergic to fish, and their chicken was "unavailable", I unfortunately was left with pizza as my meal options. Food and drinks are also very expensive, as a South African, so we had to hold back on the poolside cocktails. Also we were told kayaking and snorkling were available. However the low tide present for most of the day prevented kayaking, and families would rent the snorkling gear in the morning, making them unavailable the rest of the day. They only had about 5 snorkling sets. Also organizing diving must be done two days in advance. But otherwise it was beautiful. Don't expect any local cuisine (apparently seafood is just that), and the locals sell items that are not typically zanzibarian (i mean your friends won't know if you bought that in Zanzibar, Kenya, or at the flea market around the corner from your home). And beware, all these item are "hand made" by the seller (even though ever single store sells the same thing) and from the base of kilimanjaro. Great if you're gullible, annoying if not.

However i would definitely recommend zanzibar, the safari blue and stone town/spice tour. If you're staying outside of stone town, then Kempinski is definitely the best. Even the locals know that much.

This is one of these great places..!
I booked with Cliff from Savannah Tours and followed his tip to choose one of the Junior Suites as they're just amazing with 2 spacious rooms, oversized bathroom, outside rain-shower... After a delicious dinner I enjoyed a glas of good wine on my rooftop terrace watching the clear stars on top and the Indian ocean in front of me. I appreciated the pool not being the "Standard" version, as well as the great Jetty out in the Indian ocean, an amazing Spa and the beautiful private beach - not in front of everybody. Anyway, you don't feel like being in a big resort but always find just the right place to enjoy.

I had a really nice weekend stay just in front of the Indian Ocean. The staff is superfriendly. The suite gives you privacy and the Kempinski beach club is generous and picture-like.