Pongwe Bay Resort

We have just had a fabulous week at Pongwe Bay Resort. This is more like a wellness retreat than a hotel. The layout is fantastic. Our chalet/villa was situated on the beach within 50m of the magnificent restaurant and pool. The beach area is idyllic with ample palm tree seated shelters. A 300-meter wooden pier leads to 'The Club' a further restaurant/bar within the Indian Ocean. OUR VILLA We were in 302, which had a seated verandah, a 4 poster bed with mosquito netting. Ample space for clothing and luggage and a spacious bathroom. It was cleaned daily and also visited in the evening to turn down the bed. THE RESTAURANT/BAR It is an awesome structure that is aesthetically beautiful. There is plenty of room for everyone. The food was both varied and plentiful. Some evenings were a la carte and some buffet. Every other evening, an event took place, including a beach bbq, a poolside gala dinner, and a Masai show. THE POOL Beautifully clean with ample sunbeds and parasols. No deep end, so really safe, too. THE SPA Predominantly for a large selection of massages, but what massages they were. The best I've ever experienced. If all of the above sounds good, they all come a distant second to... THE PEOPLE Tanzanian people have a reputation for being super friendly, and Pongwe Bay has delved deep into that gene pool when recruiting staff. Everybody and I mean everybody was an absolute pleasure to be around, and the teamwork was so good to witness. The resort is owned and managed by Italians, and they have assembled a Tanzanian workforce to be very proud of. Everyone was so welcoming, and smiles were in abundance from morning to night from all quarters, whether that be the cleaners, waiters, reception, and bar staff to management. There are far too many to mention them all but a big shout out to the following who left a lasting impression. Manjeet - The ever cheerful restaurant manager with a great eye for detail. Carolina, Irene, and Jennifer - just 3 of many waiting staff, but these in particular always stopped by to chat and make sure we were happy. Janenth- Cocktail maker extraordinaire Openda & Fatima - the girls with magic hands. Seriously good masseuses!! Davide - Fabulously attentive member of the management team and a Laziale too!! To conclude, if you are looking for an active break with plenty to do, then this may not be for you. On the other hand, if you want one of the most peaceful, relaxing, and chilled times of your life, Pongwe Bay Resort ticks all the boxes. 5* all the way. Asante Sana.

My husband and I stayed here for our honeymoon, which we took on our 1yr anniversary. We were welcomed so well there by the team. They helped arrange EVERYTHING for us. Our arrival was splendid. They welcomed us with this very tasty homemade passion fruit juice. Our first dinner was amazing, the portions were bigger than we'd anticipated. Their lobster pasta? In fact their whole seafood dishes! Every morning at breakfast, they had the freshest selection of fruits. We really loved our stay here and will definitely go back on our next trip to Zanzibar.

RACIST HOTEL STAFF & GENRAL MANAGER (Marcus) I am writing to express my disappointment with the poor customer service and overall experience. There were numerous aunts and insects on the premises and bed sheets which made our stay uncomfortable and unpleasant and wanted to leave hotel earlier in which they confirmed to us that refund for the rest of the stay will be completed upon check out .however later we received email that no refund The experience was extremely frustrating as as When we tried to communicate with the General manager (Marcus), which eventually learned that he is so Racist against arabs; he yelled at us and refused to make any refund as promised upon check out ! And hung up the phone as soon as he found out we were Arab as his behavior became blatantly disrespectful. He began to mock us by using Arabic words in a rude and sarcastic manner, as if he was making fun of our identity and culture. This conduct was not only unprofessional but also deeply discriminatory. Based on this experience, I would not recommend this place to anyone. The lack of hygiene and professionalism, poor service, and disregard and for customer satisfaction were beyond disappointing.

We had a great stay at Pongwe Bay Resort! As soon as we arrived we felt taken care of and comfortable. We got to Zanzibar quite late but when we arrived we were welcomed with cool hand towels, our luggage was carried to our room for us, and our bed had beautiful hibiscus flowers laid on it. It was the perfect relaxing getaway! Prices were really reasonable, AC in the room was strong, and they arranged airport transfers for us which was convenient. WiFi was a bit of an issue- we had to go to the front desk in the morning most days and ask for the new password as they had to keep resetting it due to poor connection. The WiFi didn't seem to work in our room either so when we sent messages we had to go the main communal areas. Another small concern was when we wanted to explore the beach during low tide, as there were quite a few locals who would come up to us and try to take us on "tours" to find sea creatures or monkeys etc. They were always friendly and listened once we said we were not interested, but we felt bad always turning them all down. I didn't think it would be an issue since the resort has a "private beach," but we didn't like being followed around so it kept us close to the resort pool most days. Other than that though, we had an excellent time and would be back! :)

The resort is quiet and an escape to relax and renew.

This was our first experience staying on Pongwe beach. The beach isn't comparable to what one gets at Nungwi or similar. It is quite rocky and the tide stays receeded most of the day. The resort was sparsely occupied and therefore very quiet and peaceful apart from Wednesday night when there was loud music until past 3AM at an adjacent property. The service staff were terrrific and catered for every need of ours without complaint or delay. Upendo, Abdallah, Leila and their teams were excellent with their service. The spa on the site is middling and could be much better in terms of the setup, ambiance and hygiene. One peculiar annoyance was that the resort leaves ALL their outdoor lights on at night including the half a kilometre long pier which causes unnecessary light polution which totally washes out the otherwise spectacular skies of East Coast Zanzibar. Even The Club, which is the restaurant on the pier, keeps all its inside lights on all night! That is a waste of power for an island that struggles with its power supply. Food was OK at the resort and we mostly ate at a local shack called Shashas Restaurant a kilometre down the beach. They were reasonably priced but be prepared to pay tourist prices for all food and drinks on this coast.