We have recently stayed at this beautiful hotel and we absolutely loved it. There really is so much to say so I'll try to keep it contained. Journey from the airport is "interesting" at night and about a one and half hour journey, with fairly bumpy roads and lots of people walking and cycling with no lights. However when you arrive at the gates of the hotel it is stunning. Well worth the journey. Great check in and hotel rooms excellent, the photos do not do the hotel justice. The bikes are perfect, I never thought we would use them but even my husband at 80 road around the hotel. Breakfast, lunch and dinner were excellent, the team work so hard to maintain an intersting buffet each evening, often with a theme, and with some beach nights, when they work tirelessly to move the restaurant on to the beach. If there is any negative point it would be only one restaurant. If you are staying longer than a week I think a second restaurant would make a difference. Evening entertainment was very good each evening. A big thank you to Aziza, Martha and Meshack in the restaurant for looking after us so well and Geofrey at the beach bar for the fab cocktails. Just a shame that so few people used the beach bar, this maybe due to the high cost of cocktails and drinks if you are not on all inclusive. The other highlight was sun downers on the jetty. A wonderful way to finish a day on the beach. I would definelty recommend all inclusive if you enjoy lunch and a couple of drinks as both are expensive. One of the highlights of our stay was a fantastic trip to a local village. Abuyu at the Boat House was so helpful in arranging this trip. The guided tour is a courtesy trip by the hotel but you do have to pay for the taxi there and back. We spent a very educational morning walking through the village, seeing how the families live and ending on a trip to the school and speaking to the children and seeing their school work which was amazing. PLEASE take the time to visit, and if you do, take some sweets for the children and we took some small $ notes to give to the locals when they were kind enough to show us their lives and take their photos. As we walked through the village the nursery children were leaving school, on their own walking home, fortunately we had enough sweets for them all as they crowded round us, eager for a sweet treat. Excursions from the hotel were extremely expensive, we hired a taxi independently to go to Stone Town and it was a third of the hotel charge. We were thinking of doing the sunset Dow cruise but again very expensive, as I think other guests thought as the Dow never left its moorings the whole week. This hotel beach does have a very very low tide and I think some boat trips are affected by this, it is also difficult to swim in the sea if you catch the tides wrong on your stay and you do need beach shoes. Thank you to all the staff for making us so welcome, always a friendly smile and hello as you passed on your bikes, a wonderful team. If you are thinking of staying here, do not hesitate, we had the most amazing holiday and would love one day to return. …
We appreciated the welcome, service, availability kindness and attentiveness of all the staff. In hands of a dynamic young management team, the Residence is a wonderful place and is promised a bright future. The Residence is for us an exceptional hotel in the middle of an authentic and preserved site. It is a real privilege to have stayed these few days in that hotel and to meet such a welcoming and attentive team. They did everything to make our stay exceptional, unexpected and fabulous. We have left them happy but also so sad not to be able to extend this exceptional stay. We are happy to recommend The Residece.
Very pleased with our stay in villa 200 and 202 from 28/2 till 8/3. Good service in general, beautiful villas. Superb interior. Special thanks to Helen whose kindness was very appreciated. We were very pleased to have the possibility to keep one villa for the afternoon on departure day. Congratulations to the chefs, also , who prepared beautiful meals, unfortunately the Pavillion was only opened two nights during our stay, but we appreciated the meal And the quality of the service. Two remarks for suggested improvements, it Would be nice if the beach could be cleaned on the right of the jetty. Also the price of the snorkeling outing 80$ per person is a bit much for what it is, maybe you could consider more time spent for the cost involved... But as a whole We are very satisfied and would warmly recommend your resort. Wishing you a good season Kind regards P Kelle…
This is the second time that we have visited The Residence and was looking forward to returning. We arrived late at night after travelling all day but they were expecting us and checked us in without any delays or problems. We started the next day with a wonderful breakfast in the beautiful surroundings overlooking the beach. The staff are always so friendly and helpful; Hellen and the rest of the breakfast team and Elsen driving the golf buggy taking us from our villa to the restaurants or reception; everyone made our stay a real pleasure. The individual villas, ours was 307, provide tranquility and beautiful surroundings, great with our own private plunge pool. The monkeys are regular passing visitors running over the rooftops and a lovely little cat came and made friends with us, hope someone else is giving him a bit of attention now. We had cycles to get around as well and a couple's massage was included in the offer in the lovely spa area. Table tennis and pool available in the library where you can borrow a good selection of books and a tennis court as well It was a wonderful stay and we hope to return soon. …
This is in a great location for the beach. The tidal range is large and goes out some distance. The road if that is what you can call it is terrible, but given the rest of the island not much surprise there. The hotel should do something about this in my opinion. The rooms are of a very good size, they could do with a deep clean as the maids did little more than the bed and bathroom. The monkeys can be an issue but you are in their territory. The food was of an ok standard not 5*, the dining room was not open when we were there and did not look as though it had been used for some time. The staff are friendly and attentive. Great swimming pool on site and with the room. We went to the yoga sessions at tea time. The young lad taking the sessions was good, friendly and inclusive. Drink of any kind is pricey. Had a game trying to get a late check out but persistence paid off. The hotel looks to be getting back on its feet after covid.…
Wonderful place, outstanding hospitality and very friendly staff. Our 9 days stay was just perfect. Even when we had a small problem due to miscommunication, it was handed professionally by the management. Delicious food and beautiful views.
We stayed at this Hotel in feb 2023. It was amazing! The hotel is very good and clean. The service was excellent. Everyone was nice and kind and ready to help. We were very satisfied with everything. The beach was very beatiful and the service on the beach was also excellent. The evening yoga were so relaxing and refreshing.
An amazing hotel in an amazing location with amazing staff .Our villa was lovely with its own pool and amazing views of the beach .The staff were all friendly and helpful but a special mention for Prasanta (restaurant manager ) ,Hellen who bravely tried to teach us Swahili supported by Farida .The food in the restaurant was impressive although during our stay there was only one restaurant (buffet style) and it would benefit from a second restaurant offering a La carte in the evening .The staff are without a doubt the hotels most valuable resource providing a very high standard of service.always cheerful and willing to help We will definitely be going back
Great hotel in an amazing location. Accommodation is spacious and well equipped, staff are friendly and helpful. A lively place to relax. Swimming pool is fascinating with its glass wall, refreshing with great area around it. Grounds are lush and well cared for, the monkeys being the only slight downside, they can be a nuisance, but they were here first!
Highly recommend! Our villa and the grounds were incredibly beautiful. The staff were so friendly and helpful, we felt very well looked after. We would especially like to thank Farida in the restaurant for such personal and attentive service, she’s very welcoming and works very hard. It was the perfect place to end our honeymoon.
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