The Zanzibar Coffee House Hotel, Stone Town, Zanzibar, Tanzania

Location:

This Swiss-owned hotel is centrally located in the heart of Stone Town, but is not accessible by car. The hotel is located on a street where only pedestrians, bicycles and motor bikes can pass, so you can only take your car or taxi up to a certain point and carry your luggage the rest of the way. (It's about a 5-minute walk from where the cars can drive to.) The street that the hotel is located on is not as busy as the surrounding streets; however, it can still get noisy from the people that pass by.  The main floor of the hotel is a popular coffee lounge and serves great coffee and snacks.

Room Comfort:

All eight rooms are air-conditioned and have traditional Zanzibar four-poster beds with mosquito nets, rare lamps, antique furniture and unusual details offering their own unique character and comforts. We stayed in The Espresso double room that had a separate but private bathroom. The room was spacious and comfortable, but tended to be a bit loud at night from the people passing by on the street below. We were also awaken early one morning (at 4AM) by someone from the hotel who was checking out who kept talking to the security guard in the hallway. Since our room was located on the floor above the coffee shop (or exit of the hotel) the sound seemed to have echoed directly into our room. Other than that, the room provided everything to make our stay as comfortable as possible and we truly enjoyed it.

Cleanliness:

The rooms and coffee house are kept clean and are well-maintained. The staff is outfitted in colourful clean uniforms.

Service:

This was one of the few places where we stayed where the staff consisted of only women. During our entire stay, these women were very welcoming, pleasant and provided great service. A turn down service was provided in the evening where they pulled back the bedding, adjusted the mosquito net and sprinkled fresh flowers on our pillows. Check-in and check-out were quick and efficient. A welcome drink was provided upon check-in and can be any drink from their coffee house menu.

Food:

Breakfast was included with the room and was served in tower top teahouse which offers some nice views of the city. Overall, we were really satisfied with the breakfast as it was simply delicious. They provided freshly made speciality coffee or tea along with a variety of pastries, fruits, exotic homemade jams, fresh juices, made-to-order waffles and eggs. We also purchased desserts from the adjoining Zanzibar Coffee House Café, which serves a variety of coffees as well as delicious cakes and a range of continental foods, that we were pleased with. It's not a place to have a meal but you can certainly enjoy a good cup of coffee and a light snack or dessert.

Overall Value:

Overall, we really enjoyed our stay at this hotel. We would recommend it and would certainly stay here again. It is a small hotel with lots of character and class. The hotel is very reasonable priced for what you get.

Other Notes:

The doors to the coffee house, (which are also your entrance to the hotel), close at a certain hour after which you are required to knock on the window to notify the security guard to let you in. Some of the streets at night leading to the hotel are poorly lit and felt a bit unsafe, so carry a small light with you to help you find your way back more easily, as it is not hard to get lost in the streets of Stone Town. The staff did a great job of trying to minimize the amount of mosquitoes in your room; however, our bathroom still had quite a few.

Our Rating: 4.2/5   Year Reviewed: 2009 

For the best possible price, please visit Expedia.ca. You can also visit the hotel's website at: www.riftvalley-zanzibar.com

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