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Smiles Beach Hotel is located in the coastal fishing village of Nungwi, Zanzibar's north western coastline. Both Nungwi and the hotel boast the islands famous white sands and crystalline waters offering the picture postcard setting. Our family run hotel warmly welcomes all to come and enjoy Zanzibar's finest. With our resort on the beach, all of our 22 rooms face the ocean and our new swimming pool which stands as an oasis in the middle of our tropical gardens and the beach separating you with the azure waters. Our Oceanside restaurant uses the best ingredients Zanzibar has to offer. We use the Indian Ocean and constant sunshine to our advantage sourcing you the finest fresh ingredients daily. Serving well put together food with a touch of Swahili authenticity.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
HOTEL STYLE
Mid-range
Ocean View
Languages Spoken
English, Arabic, Swahili
Location
North Coast of Zanzibar, Nungwi 4222 Tanzania
Smiles Beach Hotel
4 reviews
Getting there
Good for walkers
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travelers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
Nice hotel overall (with things to correct). Room: we are a couple with a child (and we have 3 separate beds…) On booking, it says tumble dryer (there is nothing to dry the laundry in reality, not a line). Meals: there are 2 or 3 menu choices (you are entitled to one drink included). Be careful not to be in a hurry to eat (as long as there are 20 people at the restaurant in the evening, it takes a long time). Arrival at 7:30 p.m., dish served at 9:10 p.m.… In the morning, if you arrive at 8:30/9 a.m., there is nothing left for breakfast (photo). The electricity cuts out at least 10 times a day. Wifi: a disaster (if you need it) don't take this hotel. The dark tiles around the pool are a eyesore (you have to walk in flip-flops). The hotel provides pool towels in the room, which is very good. In the room, there is a safe and a mini fridge. The hotel provides a small bottle of water per day per person. I advise you to take adapters for French sockets. There is a shower between the pool and the sea (but only a trickle of water flows). For breakfast, it starts at 7:30 a.m. But at 7:30 a.m., there is nothing ready...you have to wait (for him to prepare), which can be restrictive in the event of an excursion. There are people who serve in the restaurant (you would have to change jobs). There is a pregnant woman, never a smile (not even a hint). We should do training for a smile, a little kindness (that changes everything). But the rest of the staff is very cheerful and friendly. The cleaning ladies are very very polite and smiling. The price of massages is exorbitant compared to prices on the beach. 50 euros for 60 minutes. The price of massages is negotiable (at €25 per hour). And they are very good. There is a Maasai who monitors the hotel (to avoid intrusions), which is reassuring (when you leave all your belongings). The beach is magnificent in this part of the island (and unlike Paje) here you can swim from morning to evening.
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Date of stay: February 2024Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Cleanliness of the rooms good, we had full Pension and ate very well to be in Tanziana . (obviously without drinking water , cocktails with ice and vegetables / fruits washed with water , to avoid nasty surprises ) . However, I would not recommend it for the following reasons : unusable swimming pool with dirty and murky water, mattresses on dirty sunbeds, very little water in the shower so as to make it difficult to rinse your hair. It could be a great hotel as it also has its own private beach where beach boys don't enter, but it's not fully exploited. We only stayed 3 days and so all this 'was not a problem, but if we had stayed a week maybe we would have changed hotel Here , I would not go back and would not recommend it.
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Date of stay: September 2024
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We had a pleasant stay. Very friendly staff who care about our daily comfort. Very good home cooked meals with fresh produce. Spacious room, clean. The present manager always comes in contact with the customers in the concern that nothing is missing. Attention for my very touching birthday. Again thank you to all the extremely kind staff who are attached. Just good times.
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Date of stay: August 2024
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
What can I say... 3 horrible points: 1. Arrived at the hotel we were told that our reservation was not taken into account because we booked from the Agoda site and that they have not worked with Agoda for 1 year due to a dispute between the hotel and Agoda!!! So be careful ⚠️ if you go through Agoda! We are offered to settle this with Agoda but no Agoda number is available for Tanzania! As a result, there is only one room left (3 single beds) which they want to charge us more for despite the inconvenience. We waited 5 hours at reception without any solution or proactivity from the hotel. The boss sees us in the distance but does not want to come to us or even meet us. 2. We finally took the only room available because we were exhausted but we were not given the basic necessities (the bracelet for dinner, towels, bottles of water, the wifi code) and they gave us the welcome sheet 30 min before Check OUT note the next morning LOL. 3. Mediocre breakfast, without flavors which gave us a stomach ache. Disgusting coffee... Bonus: the common areas, reception and catering do not have any ventilation, fan or air conditioning so we eat in the heat and wait at the reception in a sweat The only positive point: the view and the magnificent sunset which are the responsibility of nature and not the hotel... In short, we do not recommend at all
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Date of stay: October 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Traveled as a couple
Room Tip:⚠️ Attention si vous avez réservez depuis Agoda votre réservation ne sera pas acceptée par...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you Smiles for a wonderful stay. We travelled to Zanzibar as teachers from Dubai in our half term and could not have been more pleasantly surprised with our stay. Having read previous reviews, we weren’t sure what to expect but from the moment we arrived, we were so impressed with everything. The care and customer service of the reception team was amazing and they went above and beyond for our entire stay, Mohammed and Ahmed in particular were amazing and the kindest souls we have come across.
The facilities were clean, well maintained and managed and in comparison to other hotels in the surrounding areas, ours was by far the nicest and quietest. There was security at all times which was comforting being right on the beach. Every morning for breakfast, the team were super friendly and accommodating. Despite it being quite basic, whatever we requested we were given - we enjoyed fresh crepes every morning.
All in all, ignore the terrible reviews of people being so picky for the price they’ve paid. We would highly recommend this beautifully peaceful hotel to anyone wanting to stay in Nungwi. We are used to living luxury, high standards of living in Dubai but we were not disappointed by this place. An incredible week away in a stunning place!
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Date of stay: October 2024Trip type: Traveled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Once we arrived there, the hotel informed us that the room that was to be allocated to us had already been allocated to someone, due to a double booking. The hotel did not call us to warn us, even though it has been aware of this fact since the morning and we arrived at noon.
The hotel wants to accommodate us in a lower standard room two minutes' walk away, without a sea view (even though we had booked a sea view). We refuse.
After a long delay and without being able to speak to the manager, the hotel finally agreed to reimburse us, but not the entire amount.
Depending on the hotel, there are taxes that cannot be refunded.
After endless discussions, the hotel finally agreed to reimburse us in full.
Then ask us for a free transfer to another hotel booked by us. The hotel acceded to our request. Then once in the taxi, the taxi tells us that it is up to us to pay for the transfer....
Brief. A disaster which caused us to lose half a day of vacation.
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Date of stay: October 2023
Value
Service
Trip type: Traveled as a couple
Room Tip:A fuir. Des escrocs.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The hotel is located on a beautiful beach, a little isolated from other hotels and clubs (which in my opinion is very positive) but can still be reached in a few minutes on foot. It is close to the fish market and in the morning you can watch the fishing boats returning, instead of jet skis and tourist boats. The staff is very helpful and kind. We had a small problem with the air conditioning and they promptly replaced the room. At the restaurant they are a little slow but the food is good. There is no alcohol. Bottles of water are provided in the room every day. For us it was a decidedly positive experience.
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Date of stay: March 2024
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Traveled with friends
Room Tip:Gli armadi per riporre gli abiti non sono molto spaziosi.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I have been a customer of Smiles for several years and I even wrote very good reviews here. However, over the last two years, things got extremely terrible. I always preferred to spend at smiles because of its wonderful location but this beautiful place has been just left to the management of an irresponsible, reckless and unprofessional guy named Hamis. I don’t understand why the owner lets his property be managed by this guy for this long despite negative comments here. He could overbook the hotel and in the last minute, tell you that he doesn’t have rooms despite your prior bookings. You write to him and doesn’t respond or take responsibility for mishaps that may occur. So I don’t advise anyone to book in this hotel until the owner puts someone who is more responsible and professional.
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Date of stay: September 2023Trip type: Traveled on business
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The Smiles Resort in Nungwi,is the best resort I ever stayed in Zanzibar. It has given me a memories of a lifetime. I stayed few days in this resort for a vacation and all I can say, it was an absolute incredible. The hotel is suitable for all ages! from family with young children as well as couples and Soho. Stepping into a reception,we were welcomed by a friendly staff and we were given a refreshment drinks. After,we were escorted to our room whilst glanced at the beautiful views of the surrounding hotel. Employees throughout the hotel were very helpful.We were looked after in friendly and professional manners. The room that we stayed was very spacious and well equipped with all essentials including toiletries and towels. Moreover, the hotel has recommended us to do day activities including, the sunset cruise, swimming with turtles and other island activities for reasonable prices. I thank all the management teams and the employees for the hospitality they provide to us.With all due of a respect, I have no hesitation in recommending this hotel to the tourists who want to go to Zanzibar. It has given me a memories of a lifetime.Definite I will go back to this hotel soon..!!!
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Date of stay: March 2022Trip type: Traveled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We never even were able to check in to this hotel. They completely were unreachable days before our booking and left us to find a new hotel at 3am while already in Zanzibar because they wouldn’t answer phone calls, emails, WhatsApp etc. It has been a week now and they still haven’t even replied to my messages. Even our booking agent tried to contact them and they were unable!
We lost 100USD due to Hotwire cancellation fees and we were never even able to check in. What a waste of money.
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Date of stay: October 2023Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
the above mostly answers your question... if you look on the smiles beach reviews photos you can see some of the high and low tide pics. I would definitely recommend staying here rather than with the huge tourist hotels further south, although the swimming would be better south. smiles pool is not really one that you'd spend time swimming in. however the further south you are the more people there will be so it depends really if you want to be with the tourists. from smiles you have quite a lot to see and do including the nungwi village - which is interesting in itself.
dont forget that wherever you are staying the locals will be selling their packages, ie snorkelling trip to the islands for the day, which is relatively good value ($25-$30 US including lunch and snorkel gear) so you can always go off swimming elsewhere on a day trip.
zanzibar is a lovely small island so do try to see stonetown and do the spice tour too, that was very interesting!
There are more places to choose from in the Nungwi area.
PRICE RANGE
$130 - $180 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
LOCATION
TanzaniaZanzibar ArchipelagoZanzibar IslandNungwi
NUMBER OF ROOMS
22
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
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