Sazani Beach Lodge and Tidal Lounge

Pretty house on the beach, surrounded by greenery and blooming shrubs. What's not to like? Right? Not quite... The sad truth is that to get the level of comfort we the privileged tourists who can afford traveling to Zanzibar are used to, the business needs to be run by those who understand that level of comfort. It doesn't look like local businesses know what's expected. Our biggest complaint was not having hot water. Ever. There is supposed to be a sun boiler on the premises, but no matter when we tried, there was no hot water. It might have appeared for a minute or so and then turned cold again. Some rooms were better than the others – somehow. We kept asking for water, the staff kept saying they’d do something, but whatever they did didn’t really work. The bathrooms are very rudimental. Don’t look at the photos – I don’t know where they were taken. There are no shelves, nowhere to hang towels – we had to dry them on the rails around the house – and not even a single rusty nail to hang something. The shower is separated from the rest of the bathroom by a short wall – that’s the only place where one can put anything. And the shower is not separated by anything else – just bare floor, which makes it impossible to leave the shower with clean feet, as the entire floor is wet and sandy. WiFi is very spotty – you get it in the dining area outside and in the sitting area on the top floor. Light in the rooms was very dim. Certainly not enough for reading, but before we asked to replace the light bulb and removed the cover, it was pretty much impossible to see anything in the room. Our stay included breakfast. However, if you’re staying at the lodge and need the breakfast around 8:30-9 – that’s fine. If you have an excursion and want to finish your breakfast by 8 – you’re in trouble. You can still get some breakfast, but you need to be very specific about time and what you expect for breakfast because everything is very slow, relaxed, and the manager won’t even understand why anyone would want to leave so early. The staff is friendly and helpful. They cannot do much, but they definitely try. If you’re looking for an authentic experience, then you might find this place charming. If you want to relax in comfort, try one of the hotels in the area; hopefully, it’s better.

Amazingly beautiful place, very friendly host, delicious breakfast, comfy, clean and stylish room, secluded sand bank and the most stunning beach you’ve ever been on, definitely would recommend staying here.