3 Luxurious Cottages ON the Beach in Zanzibar

Prime Location, Private Restaurant, Pool

Our personal review (visited 2012)

An ideal location for a group of friends, to spend a luxurious holiday sharing a pool, restaurant and bar in a well maintained beach garden with total privacy.

We drove through the local fishing village of Matemwe and arrived at the front gate of our private three bandas. On entering we were struck by the immaculately kept garden entirely covered in white powder beach sand. We were received with a very warm welcome by the co-owner & director Chichi and his brother. After a quick registration procedure we kicked off our shoes, which was the last time we wore them until our departure. We pondered through the well maintained beach garden past a sparkling clean private pool to our private beach cottage. The entrance to our accommodation is via a wooden deck that covers the whole sea front area of the cottage where we automatically stopped and faced the magnificent view of the Indian Ocean and a small island situated to the left on the horizon with crystal clear waters and bleached white beaches. Chichi consciously allowed us to absorb this moment. Thinking about it, I am sure he takes personal pride in the joy he sees on the face of every guest he invites into his home. We let ourselves in and were positively taken back with the tropical simplicity and environmentally friendly decor that both Tom, Chichi and their team have used to create this charming oasis of paradise.

We walked in and noticed this was luxury using tropical woods dominated by coconut. The entire room is furnished and decorated in coconut. The center piece of the room is a large four poster bed romantically decorated with tropical flowers. Behind the bed is the dressing area with a well designed double sink wash room zone, a separate toilet and a shower. In two of the three beachfront bungalows the large shower head is mounted to the side of a coconut tree which the wall of the shower room is built around. A welcoming gesture is high speed wifi internet, plenty of hot and cold fresh water and quality linen and fabrics.

This small eden of paradise is a unique venue for a small group of friends seeking to enjoy each others company but still have complete privacy when retiring to each beach cottage.

The garden also hosts a small restaurant which has started to build up a reputation for a creative small a la carte menu using fresh local produce, thus attracting the odd passer by. We had the luck of sampling various dishes and all were cooked to perfection.

On our second day Chichi invited us and another couple who were spending their honey moon there, to join him on a snorkling trip to Mnemba Coral Resort. A 45 minute ride in a traditional Swahili Dhow with an outboard engine brought us to most intense spectrum of bright turquoise and pastel blue colours. We dived into the clean 27°C warm waters and snorkeled, accompanied by zebra fish, discovering coral gardens and colourful marine life. After an eventful adventure we climbed back on deck having just missed passing dolphins but still seeing them play in the distance. Whilst we soaked up the warm sun, Chichi and his captain prepared each of us a delicious platter of cold tropical fruits and soft drinks. A splendid way to finish a memorizing snorkeling trip included in the stay.

Chichi is a passionate kite surfer and has a kite surfing center just a 5 minute stroll down the beach. Conditions are great and Chichi is a fantastic teacher, so even if you don't know how to kite surf, here is the perfect chance to learn it. For the amateurs or professionals he will be more than pleased to surf with you in undiscovered areas.

If you wish to have a lie in, you can have your breakfast served on your deck directly overlooking the beach or in your room. Service is attentive yet un-intrusive but professional.