The Sands Beach Resort

October 2024 Exceptional "Boutique Resort", located in a tropical colorful garden front side of the Ocean; the rooms are independent large bungalows/villas, provided with any comfort you may need in such a wild paradise; the cuisine is fine and generous, served with rich buffet and the best grilled fish (catch of the day strictly) any night; all member of the staff (no one excluded) is professional, smiling, polite and effective on his own job. To come back asap! Elisa and Gaetano

We had a 4 night stay here in October 24 and cannot rate the hotel highly enough. The accommodation and entire site are all spotlessly clean and well maintained. The food at the restaurant was varied and high quality and the staff without exception are both professional and friendly. Excellent job guys.

At the first sight, I thought oh we made a mistake coming here but after we finally settled in, the place grew on us. Very peaceful place and the staff were very helpful especially the manager, the tall dark guy. The sunset here feels like you are on some sort of sci fiction movie and the birds chirping early in the morning makes it even more pleasant. The coconut trees even makes it more aesthetically appealing. In all we enjoyed our stay and currently missing our time at the sands

What a find! This place epitomises Hukuna Matata - no worries. Great accommodation (we booked two bed villa with pool right on the beach), stunning location (away from main tourist area but all within easy taxi ride), great food, fabulous cocktails, beer and freshly squeezed fruit juices (thanks Hassa!) and a family of staff, led by the charming and charismatic Ally, who could not make you feel more at home and where absolutely nothing is not too much bother - including installing a brand new AC unit as ours wasn’t working so well! Good snorkelling off the main beach (be sure to explore under the nearby jetty - some of the best we did, even compared to the main excursions) and great snorkelling just a 1.5km walk (or short speedboat ride) at the well known Blue Lagoon. Top recommendations include chilling out at Barista Zanzibar at kite surf central Paje (10mins in taxi), lunch at The Rock (pricey but good), the magical Maalum Caves (so good the kids wanted to go multiple times) and just relaxing and listening to the waves and wind in the palm fronds… Christmas in paradise - hard to beat!

Great hotel right on the beach. Visiting with our two adult daughters we stayed in a two bed villa with private pool. Both bathrooms had a WC , shower , a bath and also an outdoor shower plus we had a separate WC off the lounge Even in August the hotel never seemed full and there was always space at the main pool or beach sunbeds if we wanted to use them. Mr Ali was really helpful and always around for a laugh. Big shout out to the Head chef his assistant and the ever cheerful Michael who were always keen to help explain what food in the buffets were suitable for gluten free . One of the chefs ( didn't catch her name sorry) even told us one night that she was going to make a gluten free cake dessert for the next night - she did and it was realty tasty . At breakfast there were plenty of GF options including bread and rolls that looked as good as the gluten options. Michael was always ready to cook GF pancakes too. The nightly fresh fish grills were out of this world. The location of the hotel was the other side of the island from stone town but tbh the taxi ride across never seemed too long. All the staff were ever willing to help whether it was printing boarding passes , arranging trips o chasing down missing taxi drivers at 4.30 am that weren't even booked through them. Wouldn't hesitate to stay here again , hope to be back.

The resort was excellent! We had the best time ever! All staff were very professional but at the same time very friendly. It’s a perfect place to spend your holidays with your family! Very peaceful with a beautiful sensational garden ! Unique place with a spectacular beach of white sand and the reef that will surprise everyone. The beautiful colours of the rising sun and sunsets mixed with a colours of the flowers, plants and the ocean remains forever… impossible to forget… The resort very clean and cuisine incredibly good with a delicious food. Our especially thanks to Ally and his staff for the friendly attitude and professional support in every need. We hope to come back and see you all soon!