Absolutely gorgeous resort, loved every part of it

I was disappointed to see how little concern to the environment was given. 500ml water in plastic bottles, with no option to refill, so wasteful :( Also, I realise there are bugs on the island, but was disappointed to be sitting on the patio one evening and be witnessing a man dressed in full hazmat suit, spraying the whole resort. Really did not enjoy that

Everything was absolutely fantastic. Beautiful hotel with amazing beach, great big pool, big and clean rooms...honestly nothing we didn't like. Seafood BBQ on Wednesday dinner was lovely but we also recommend to book the private seafood bbq, romantic setting and tasty food! Location was perfect too, it was quiet to relax compared to the paje central, but also you can walk along the beach to get to the Paje central if you want local market or supermarket etc. Absolutely perfect in every way! After we checked out and went to another hotel, after spending a disappointing night there, we even decided to book Kisiwa again to go back as Kisiwa was exceeding our expectation in every single way, and they set the bar really high :) Most of all, the staff here is just out of this world. I've been lucky to visit 5 star hotels all over the world but have never experienced the service we received at Kisiwa. Friendly, attentive, all round really lovely people who's always ready and willing to help. They absolutely made our trip and we will be back this Christmas and New Year too! Absolutely recommend 10000% :) Sending our big big thanks to Julius, Bernard, Christopher, Omar, Ezra, Cornel, Rose, Mwambo, Hassan, Lucy, Salum, Salome, Steven-Francis, and everyone of the team of Kisiwa. See you again soon!

I have no complaint at all!

beautiful beach front hotel with spacious villas the staff is excellent, kind and efficient and they go the extra step to make the client happy the food is very good

bathrooms could be a little more cosy

the staff is always friendly and the facilities are always good.

the property is well kept and always clean

Everything was perfect

nothing

The staff was super friendly and always ready to help you. The villas are very spacious and well designed. perfect location for kite surfing!

nothing

Broad and sandy beach. I would recommend only if you need accommodation because of kitesurfing. There are many kite schools and beach in front of the hotel is cleaned every day from sea weeds. Very clean rooms and entire property as well; good security.

I visited Kisiwa in 2018 & 2019 and unfortunately this is not the same experience anymore. Room rates x2/x3 but food quality dropped, pleasant service became annoying and customer service deteriorated (you have to ask and challenge to get what should be the standard). Therefore my rating. 1. Annoying service - kindnesses got replaced with servant like service, some restaurant staff fawns over guests. You are literally harassed with tens of questions per day about your day, food, sleep, etc. by multiple staff members (luckily there were few exceptions). This simply sounds artificial and is annoying. 2. Poor food experience - limited local / homemade products incl. seafood (eg. in octopus salad you have to search for octopus). You have to ask to get fruits for breakfast which are locally easily available. breakfast is dominated by egg dishes, there is bread but not much to put on it to prepare a sandwich. 3. Seafood for lunch not freshly prepared- I’m seafood fan and I can tell that it was warmed up - overcooked/ dryed out. I gave the same feedback in 2019 without any effect. For 1 shrimp, tiny lobster for 2 bites and max. 100g of calamari with awful sauce and fatty onions on top in this quality for 40USD?! 4. Transfers overpriced - airport 1 way 65usd, 2 ways 100usd, any other transfer on the island 85usd regardless of end destination / even if the distance is the same as to the airport. What kind of logic is this? I challenged this and got an acceptable price but this should be the case at the first place. 5. Reception clueless - returning guest are not noted, reception staff has no clue whether you are there for 1st or Nth time. After 5day stay at Kisiwa I moved to another hotel and there are better boutique hotels on Zanzibar in the same price range and have much more to offer. Therefore I will not come back.

The custoner service and employees

The hotel offers exceptional service, food and accommodation.We were pleased with the staff and how friendly they were. Also, there was an excellent variety of food during breakfast and dinner. Great value for money. I would definitely recommend it!

The hotel is approximately 15-20mins away from the busy area of Paje beach. I wouldn't say that I didn't like this as this makes the area around the hotel very quiet and relaxing but if you consider going out for drinks in the evening it may not be convenient for you.

Very friendly and attentive staff.

Breakfast is more modest, everything is served. All the price lists in the hotel are misleading, everything is without tax, but below it is written in small print that the price doesn't include tax.

Breakfast and dinner were great.

Management adressing issues was poor

From the moment we first arrived we were treated like absolute family. Highly encourage this location to everyone. The breakfast and dinner is amazing, the staff is incredible and the views are incredible.

Leaving

The atmosphere and design of the hotel was spacious, private and very aesthetically pleasing. all the rooms were interlinked with small pathways and white sand surrounded the villas like little islands. The pool and beach are picturesque. The colour of ocean against the striking white sands were mesmerizing. The hotel was right across a secluded part of the beach, free of rocks and super safe to swim (unlike other areas of Paje, which are prone to urchins). The location was perfect, close enough to the popular area of Paje beach but, far enough to feel secluded and relax in the beach without feeling pestered by merchants. The staff were amazing! Friendly, happy and helpful at all times. They made us feel welcome always (special shout out to Antony, Cornal and two other very smiley women who served us at the restaurant frequently, sorry we can’t remember their names). The food was fresh, local and had enough variety every night to keep it entertaining. special nights like BBQ was the best and so delicious (there are also sufficient western options if you are not adventurous). The breakfast was simple with everything you need including a fresh fruit platter, live egg station, fresh Pastries and condiments. A true boutique hotel! Would recommend always!

We can’t fault the hotel much however, there is some improvements to be made at their spa. The spa facilities were beautiful, with the sound of running water from the nearby courtyard however, it lacked a few things. The quality of the massage was not up to par in comparison to my experiences around the world, considering the high price. I understand that this may be a cultural issue as, unlike Thailand, massage culture was not very popular in Zanzibar however, considering the hotel had a spa on-site I thought to take the risk. Unfortunately, for the hefty price of the massage I was left dissatisfied. No music during the massage and the therapist lacked some training.

The staff are excellent and friendly. The food is quite good and the facilities are clean and stunning. Having visited some of the other hotels for lunch, it was clear that Kisiwa is the best for accommodation. The villas are so lovely and well kept. The turn down service with the mosquito nets is a nice touch too! Thank you to Julius and the whole team for such a wonderful stay!

The strength of the Wi-Fi wasn’t great for me and it cut out each time my phone locked- I didn’t mind this because it helped me to switch off more - but I ended up using the Wi-Fi at ‘the nest’ nearby when I needed a stable connection.

Beach , staff

Water sport activities missed

Facilities clean and beautiful! Staff absolutely amazing and they really made our trip. Ensured we had everything we needed everyday. Special shout out to Antony, Solumi, Cornell, Odilia, Yusseph!! Chefs are amazing and the variety of food was great. Even got to experience the local cuisine. Would go back in a heartbeat!

Nothing

From the first moment you arrive you realise that they really want their customers to feel relaxed and happy. The little introduction chat makes you feel like you have a personal contact in case you might have any issues.

No real improvements. The small suggestions that we did have we have explained to our 'contact' at reception. Not big enough to mention at all. This place is fantastic!

Rooms are clean and spacious

Restaurant could be better ,

Perfect setting, beautiful rooms

nothing

We loved Kisiwa, it’s a beautifully designed and maintained resort, every detail thought through. The views are great and it is all very spacious. The staff is incredible, very kind and professional. We loved the food, also the dinner (we don’t understand the comments about the dinner in other reviews). The food was all fresh, local dishes and international dishes. We stayed in two other resorts on Zanzibar but Kisiwa was by far the best one and one of the best we’ve ever stayed in. Pajé is about a 10 minute walk on the beach, there are two kite schools much closer: one next to the resort and the other a 3 minute walk. Not recommended to walk on the beach in the evening, so for us it made sense to enjoy Kisiwa’s dinners instead of walking to Paje. You could take a taxi of course.

The prices are high, so anything you do additionally (food, drinks, excursions, massages) is at the same price level as in Europe and the US. Something we did observe throughout Zanzibar, but in Kisiwa it was even more extreme. The price of the excursions was insanely high, I wouldn’t book through them.

I like location: Paje beach is beautiful. My villa was even not that new, furniture and plumbing is old. But i had a good sleep and relax.

Breakfast wasn’t so good. For that price i was expecting 4 starts international breakfast. They should better cook eggs and pancakes. Also dinner wasn’t fantastic, very simple, all salads was full of fresh onion what was spoiled all the taste. Also in restaurant you will never see olive oil and other famous vinegar for the salads and food. Only after asking they can bring olive oil.

Great beach, the staff is very very friendly and helpful. The rooms are very clean and comfortable. The new year's eve buffet was incredible! In general, Kisiwa met and exceeded our expectations.