Upendo Beach Boutique Hotel Zanzibar

Hello Francesca and team, What a wonderful experience we had at your excellent boutique hotel with my family. Our staff members Geof and Theo were amazing — congratulations to all the other team members as well! The private dinner was truly special; your Italian chef pleasantly surprised us with everything he created. This is not a goodbye — we’ll definitely be back! Highly recommended to everyone. Asante sana! Marc & Christine

Incredible position, with mesmerising sea views/reefs and of the Rock restaurant. The hotel was not busy when we were there, which was a shame. The lounge needed, we felt, more relaxing seating if you just wanted tea/coffee, it would have made it more inviting. Our room was spotless and brilliant (all day crisps in a jar...) views, plenty of lounging areas around the two pools. Everywhere was well maintained, always being cleaned, even half a coconut on a handle that you dipped into water to wash the sand of your feet. The hotel is 45 minutes out of Stone Town and. it does of course have the sea/ Indian Ocean. Very quiet area, excellent for a big chill out. All the staff were exceptionally helpful, smiley and happy to do anything you needed or required. The manager Francesca, was brilliant and went out of her way to chat with the guests at anytime to ensure they had whatever they wanted. Thank you to everyone for making the stay memorable and happy. Ray & Susanne HG

We had a lovely and memorable stay at Upendo Beach Boutique Hotel. The location is simply beautiful, with breathtaking views and a peaceful ambiance. The staff were exceptional—especially Theo, who was incredibly helpful and welcoming throughout our stay. Although I made an error in my booking by reserving the two-bedroom villa for only two adults, the hotel management showed great understanding. They kindly offered a generous solution by asking us to cover only 50% of the additional amount, which we truly appreciated. The villa itself was spacious, clean, and beautifully designed. The entire property is well-maintained and provides a wonderful boutique experience. One recommendation: it would be great if a pool heater could be added, as the water can be quite chilly in July. Overall, we enjoyed our time very much and thank the team for their hospitality!

We came here on our honeymoon and it’s been an absolutely fantastic experience. We’ve been brilliantly looked after throughout. We arrived at midnight to a cool, clean and gorgeous room (with excellent anti mosquito defences!). The food, team looking after us and location have been out of this world! My only complaint is about the amount of weight I’ve gained…!

My husband and I visited on the last leg of our honeymoon, following 6 nights on safari in Kenya. We were sadly not overly impressed by our stay here. We were greeted by the manager, who was very friendly and receptive, and did his best throughout our stay to ensure we were happy. We had no complaints about the hotel itself, rooms were lovely, the hotel was clean, and a lovely white beach / ocean view. However, this hotel / location is just missing something. We were on a half board catering basis, and although the food was really delicious at Upendo, it was the same small menu & cuisine every day, and we very quickly got bored of the food / had everything that we fancied over the 6 days we stayed. The restaurant has a very relaxed vibe / not a very romantic setting - it's more of a day time beach bar, which is fine for lunch, but we expected somewhere more formal for evening meals. We felt this was generally the same in all eating places along the beach, and we really struggled to find somewhere to eat each day, particularly Valentines day. There were a few issues during our stay including building work going on right outside our room (at the place next door), palm trees bashing against our room throughout the night, sewage smell coming into our bathroom, and the hygiene of the staff who came to turn down our room each day. This is not a reflection of the hotel itself, but sadly meant that our experience on holiday here was not what we had in mind. The hotel manager did do his best to rectify some of the issues and we were grateful of that. Another thing to note, is we were not aware before about the crime / culture / safety on the island - upon arrival we were advised not to walk right along the beach, but even walking left, we were harassed by children looking for money / staring at our pockets and felt very uncomfortable. We did not feel at ease to leave the hotel despite the multiple day trips on offer, which was a shame. Overall, the food offerings and variety let this down for us, and lack of formal restaurant / no atmosphere.

Very disappointing experience. We were recommended this place for Sunday brunch. We arrived at 11.30 as per booking, the place was empty, no vibe. The live music / DJ was meant to be playing from 11, however, when asked, we were told that “he has not arrived yet”. (He eventually arrived at 12:30 and started to set up - we didn’t hear him playing). The brunch food is very average, I ordered French toast - it was nothing like french toast at all, just slightly fried bread with honey drizzled on top. Service is quite poor as it takes long time to attract attention from the waiters who were preoccupied with their phones. Even when repeatedly asked to bring butter and jam (which was part of one of the dishes we ordered) - it only arrived when my son finished with his toast:) We were leaving at around 13.00 and the place was still pretty empty, with a couple of tables occupied. The good thing about the place is a view and the fact it’s so close to the Rock restaurant. View basically earned an extra start in this review. Spend your money and time at Rock would be my advice.