Kibanda Lodge and Beach Club

We stayed at Kibanda from the 24th Nov until 3rd Dec. It was me and other three girlfriends, and we were celebrating two birthdays. The staff at both the Kibanda lodge and the beach club went out of their way to make our stay wonderful. Upon check-in we were offered a complimentary upgrade to the deluxe bedrooms, located on the upper floors. On the day of our birthdays they set up our breakfast and dinner tables with flowers and decorations, and they all came out singing and dancing and brought cake and drinks on the house. Even the playlist in the background was birthday themed, and when we went back to our rooms, the housekeepers had also set up the bedrooms with flowers, it was very touching. Everyone, from the front desk team, to the bar and restaurant team, housekeepers, beach club staff, night shift security, chefs and even their beach police was so friendly and helpful. A big shout-out to Margot, Francesca, Ieva, Matteo and Iddi. Our trip wouldn't have been the same without you! A shout-out to the breakfast chef too! I woke up in London this morning and nobody was there to make me my avocado toast with one fried egg 😭 The rooms were lovely, with comfortable beds and both fan and AC. All windows had mosquito nets and I believe the housekeepers sprayed the rooms and balconies with repellent every day. The food was to die for, especially at the beach club, even though it was so hot and humid we could never finish any meals, but that's just us not being used to the tropical weather. There were plenty of options with fresh fish (catch of the day and tuna tartare were some of my favourite) and seafood. We definitely stocked up on omega 3. Hats off to their chefs! They also use filtered water for their ice and to wash the food, so you can drink as many cocktails and eat as many fresh salads as you want without any worries. Definitely Hakuna Matata! Their Masai Matteo was always looking after us and made sure we were safe at all times. He is an absolute gem (and he loves a good party 😁). Their beach police also looked after our belongings whenever we went for a swim, and would come and stand closer to us whenever the beach sellers became a little too insistent. The beach club is within walking distance from the hotel, about 10 min walk, however the roads are very run down, especially after it rains. The hotel provides complimentary beach towels every day and offers a complimentary taxi service to the beach club and back. Most of the times we had the same driver which we only know as Big Boss, he was also very friendly and made our short trips more fun! The hotel also offers complimentary sunset cruises every day from 4.30pm-6.30pm. It was so much fun! Even though everything in Zanzibar is very pole pole, the staff at the Kibanda was very quick and prompt with any request we had. We met some wonderful people and had the most amazing time. I'm already planning to come back hopefully next year. Thank you guys for an unforgettable stay

Nice place to stay . Friendly management and staff. The property is well maintained. 5 minutes walk to beach. They also have a club on the beach which is 10 minutes drive . Free shuttle to the club. The food was good. We were vegetarian and the chef prepared it.

The best in Nungwi. Rooms are very beautiful and food is amazing. Very close to the beach just 1 min by foots. The organization with activities was perfect and the stuff and the owner of the resort are really kind and hospitable. Love love love

Amazing stay at Kibanda Lodge!! All the staff were fantastic and very welcoming especially Shakira, Francesca and Margo. I booked my Snorkeling excursion with them with the dive company they are linked with, very good day!! Nice location near the beach, shops, bars and restaurants. Lovely breakfast in the morning with a hood selection. From Michele room 4.

We usually stay 5* everywhere but we thought we'd give Kibanda Lodge a try as it looked nice in the pictures and it was such a reasonable price to stay full board. We stayed for 8 nights. It is a 3* hotel which was built around 4 years ago. We really enjoyed our stay. It was very clean and had a wonderful atmosphere. There are only 21 rooms so for most of our stay it felt like our private hotel. Totally different experience to the usual large hotels we stay in. It is run by Italians and because of this the food is INCREDIBLE. Absolutely delicious and different every day so you don't get bored. You order in the morning so they only cook what is needed to reduce food waste (which is important to us too for sustainability). The rooms had very clever mosquito nets on the windows so we didn't see a mosquito in the room the whole time we stayed which was brilliant! All of the windows/door were double glazed to prevent noise coming in too. The WiFi wasn't super quick but you only needed to log in once at the start of your stay which was great! Hotel WiFi can be hit and miss so we were very happy with the quality of this. All of the staff were brilliant without exception, our favourites were: Francesca - manager (Italian) with owner Margot Shakira - front desk Naima, Dina, Alice & Francis were amazing waitresses and waiter and made us feel so special. Any issues we had were resolved immediately, such great service. Plus they arranged a special anniversary cake and song for us which was lovely. They also had a sunset cruise free during our stay which was fun! See picture, there was music, singing, swimming and drinks. It is near Nungwi beach, go early if you don't want to be harassed by the beach boys, it's so so beautiful. I also did a walk through the local residential streets every morning at 8am which was lovely. The only areas for improvement we would suggest are thicker towels and curtains which open and close easier, but these are very minor complaints, no hotel is perfect. Overall a well deserved 5* review and we would happily stay again.

The staff was very nice and attentive from the very beginning. I appreciated the shower, which was detached from WC. The pool in front of the hotel was beautiful. The only thing to be improved is Wi-Fi which was quite slow and being interrupted.

We loved and enjoyed every day there. The stuff are absolutely amazing, kind, hardworking people. They helped us with everything and provide amazing services for us. We highly recommend this place, also very well situated 2 minutes from beach.

Kibnda Lodge is situated in the heart of Nungwi, only 3-5 minutes of walk from the beach and you can also find many shops and restaurants nearby. When you enter through the gate it feels like you have arrived to an oasis. It has a beautiful garden with swimming pool and a jacuzzi. You never have to fight for sunbeds as there are more than enough. The lodge has 21 rooms and we have stayed in a deluxe room. The room is simple but nice and very clean. We are hard sleepers but found the bed to be very comfortable. The water pressure in the bathroom was mostly very good. Having said that when there is an electricity blackout there is no water but whenever that happened it did not last long and blackouts are very common in Zanzibar even in high end resorts. The owner of the lodge, Margo was born to do this. She did everything she could to make our stay memorable. She came to talk to us whenever she saw us and had a few minutes to spare. She always smiles ans lifts your mood. She even surprised us for our honeymoon with room decoration and a plate of fruit. Margo's right hand, Francesca who is usually at reception is also very friendly and would help you in any way she can. The staff at Kibanda Restaurant has made us feel like home. They remembered from day 1 which room was ours (for seating) and always welcomed us with a smile. The only downfall for us that I should mention was the breakfast. It's not the quantity or the quality of what you could have but the selection. There are no cereals or croissants which I think would have made it much better instead of some of the cakes they had. We never left hungry though. All in all I would recommend Kibanda as the hospitality made up for any small issues we might have had.

bad hygiene, washing dishes as in the Middle Ages . the first days we eated only in the hotel, we got salmonella. too much chemistry in the pool . the local staff is great. the management is just resting and absolutely do not nothing. Never more