Spent one night at the residence with a group of friends. We had been all over Zanzibar and decided we were ready for a secluded resort where every need was taken care of. Our rooms were amazing. Everything was well prepared for our arrival by 11 am. Private pool at your villa allows you to choose between joining others at the main pool or having a romantic hideaway swim. The villa comes with 24 hour butler service. Great for replenishing ice, renting a DVD when the rain came for an hour or so, and a beautiful breakfast in bed.

The food was very well done. Many options to chose from. The seafood BBQ was wonderful. The staff were exceptional. They took care of our every need.

For those looking to save some money on their trip to the residence, I would suggest bringing your own drinks for those cocktails by your pool. A local beer was 6 usd. A bottle of water was 5 used.

Things to remember: This is still Zanzibar. There will be power outages, which only last a few seconds as their generators kick in. The beach is secluded so you won't find any wild beach parties here. Get a taxi from the airport. They are safe, they should know how to get there, and it will cost you far less then the price the hotel charges.

I would highly recommend the residence and look forward to booking at their other hotels outside of Zanzibar.

I had previously stayed at the Essque Zalu Zanzibar and I travelled another hour and 15 minutes to get the Lovely Residence Villa's. We drove down a 4 kilometre stoney , uneven drive it could not be very good for the suspension of vehicles that go back and forth to the hotel everyday but when we arrived what a sight.

We were greeted by Michael and Lucy and staff members again with a lovely cool face towel and refreshing drink in the lovely reception area where we could clearly see the stunning beach ahead of us.

We were all given our Villa Key's and ths time we all had a Villa each , I was Villa number 100 and we were taken to them in a little buggy as it is a good twenty minute walk to get there . As soon I walked in the lounge area all I kept saying was Wow , there was a lovely big lounge with sliding doors out on to the deck where I had my own swimming pool and ahead of that the beach with two sunbeds for my use whilst I was there.

There was another slidiing door from the lounge to my bedroom with a big kingsized four poster bed with all the mosquito nets around it facing out on to the deck and beach again, then another sliding door going in to the massive big bathroom with his and hers sinks a lovely free standing big bath again in front of the window so you can take a bath with amazing seaview and because it was on the westcoast you could watch the amazing sunset from your bath, in addition to this there was a glass fronted massive walk in shower again could fit four people and opposite that was a glass fronted toilet with bidet , then it had a glass door to go outside where there was an outshower it had a tall wall around it but I did feel a bit vunerable that when you were in the shower or bath or toilet that someone could be peering over the top but that was just the way I felt I had never stayed in anything as stunning as this before.

At each villa there are two bikes depending on the occupancy of the Villa and this is to get around the resort with ease as you can imagine the accomodation is all made up of individual one and two bedroomed private villa's with their own pool's so the resort is quite big and it enables you to ride around at your own leisure or you can call the lobby for a staff member to come and get you in the buggy.

The Hotel had kindly organised us all to have a one hour body massage to sample the amazing spa that they have there so we were asked to meet at the restaurant at 1900 for pre dinner drinks, we were greeted by Lucy who took us down on to the beach in which they had some lovely comfortable seating and the tables was set up where we were going to enjoy our dinner under the stars, they had dug some holes out all around the table in the sand and had sunk some little candle holders and it looked stunning, we had champagne and cocktails then we enjoyed our amzing dinner under the stars, it was truely an amazing experience and I had wished that it could have been shared with my husband but they can arrange this for couples etc so well worth doing if you can.

We all went back to our Villa's where our Butler had been in and had turned the bed down and had closed all the mossie curtains ready for our return, I must admit I did feel a bit nervous of being on my own in such a massive big villa and I was the end one and it only had a low wall between the resort and a plantation but I am sure I felt this way because I am used to staying in Hotels where your room is contained in one building and the fact that I was there without my husband made me feel a little more uneasy,

I eventually fell asleep after shuttimg all possible doors and leaving a light in the bathroom and the lounge area and woke uo at 6 the next day and opened the curtains and windows to that amazing view again , I didn't have anyone to disturb so I jumped in the shower and went out along the beach to take some photos, it was just so peaceful.

I went on the local Dhow arranged by the hotel to go snorkling off a reef , it was a bit overcaset but the sea was lovely and warm and the majority of the group went in , I then wanted to make the most of my private Villa and pool and went back to just laze and swim and laze and swim.

The atmosphere at the Hotel Restaurant is lovely and I also enjoyed the hour long relaxing body massage , they have a lovely childrens nursey where they have qualified staff that even teach them how to cook so with this resort I would recommend it for children they even have a little pet corner with a donkey and rabbits which was sweet.

After getting over my fear of being on my own in the Villa I thought it was the most amazing accomodation that I had ever stayed in, I love everything about it , the spacious villa's the lovely Restaurant, the gardens, the spa the little touch's with the bikes and your butler comes around at night and gives you lttle gifts like bath salts , soap, beach bags etc , I would definately recommend The Residence as a get away from it all holiday to enjoy after maybe going on a safari and you just want to chill out in pure luxury , Thank You Michael and Lucy for making our stay so memorable

We stayed for just one short night at The Residence Zanzibar, during our trip to the island.

The property is easy to get to from Stone Town, so within a couple of hours you can be fully relaxed in what can only be described as a truly palatial villa. The experience starts when you are taken to your villa by a little buggy - emphasising just how large the manicured green grounds are that surround the property! You enter into a spacious, light lounge area, complete with stocked mini bar (soft drinks only), and a DVD/CD/TV system, and sliding doors that open out onto your private wooden deck, complete with a small wicker table and chairs, sun loungers and a comfy lounging seat. Every villa has a private pool, which is large enough to actually have a sensible swim in if you feel the need to work off some of the wonderful food that you will be eating here (more about that later!).

The bedroom does not disappoint either - huge open windows that open out onto your private verandah as well, and a massive en-suite bathroom, complete with a gorgeous deep bath, and an outside and inside shower. If you book an Ocean Front Villa, you can lie in bed with uninterrupted views out (apart from the odd palm tree) over the ocean - so they really do live up to their name!

Every villa has a private butler, and you simply dial up housekeeping and put in your request, and shortly afterwards, your butler brings your drinks/food to you - but do check the price list carefully, we misread the cost of the wine (we read the by glass price rather than the by bottle price - good job we realised this before opening what turned out to be a US$150 bottle of Cloudy Bay wine!).

I would describe the style of the villas as very contemporary, rather than authentically African - the decor would actually not be out of place in a New York penthouse suite! Until you look out of the windows, however, and see the pool, the verandah, the palm trees and the ocean of course!

Because of the private pool and the verandah, the fact that the beach is tidal so it does disappear at high tide did not worry us - in fact, we did not even leave our villa from when we arrived early afternoon until we headed out for dinner in the evening.

The food is OUTSTANDING - at dinner, you have the choice of a set menu or a la carte (for which you pay extra for but if you are on the Full Board basis you do get US$50 offset per person against the total cost). The service was outstanding too - attentive waiters around, but not at all intrusive, and extremely efficient and oh, so so polite and courteous! Dining here was a complete joy (even the rather cheesy 4 piece band that were playing during dinner added something to the occasion, though it was not the best rendition of ‘Lady in Red’ that I have ever heard, I must admit!). Breakfast was buffet style, with an incredibly good choice of fruit, breads, pastries, and a hot selection too.

The Spa is lovely - a good range of treatments are on offer, and somewhere where I could have imagined enjoying a treatment or 2 had we been staying here for longer.

The reception area is welcoming and open, the main pool area is beautiful, and overall, this is truly a 5* property in every respect - accommodation, service, food, location. It is a luxury oasis, and perfect for anyone looking for something exceptional and top-end.

We spent 7 days at The Residence following a safari. This is by far the best hotel we have stayed in. The service was immaculate. We were late arriving but were given room service on our arrival on our patio. A great start. The grounds are well maintained. The villa was and the private pool a really good size.
All the staff were exceptionally polite, friendly and happy and made a real effort. We went snorkelling with dolphins (which we would recommend) and visited Stone Town (disappointingly run down) but otherwise spent time in the hotel to enjoy it all.

Dinner on the beach was a real treat.

The Residence was perfect and we would certainly go back.