Does The Residence Zanzibar offer free cancellation for a full refund?

Yes, The Residence Zanzibar does have fully refundable room rates available to book on our site. If you’ve booked a fully refundable room rate, this can be cancelled up to a few days before check-in depending on the property's cancellation policy. Just make sure to check this property's cancellation policy for the exact terms and conditions.

Is parking offered on site at The Residence Zanzibar?

Yes, there's free self parking.

Is airport shuttle service offered by The Residence Zanzibar?

Yes, an airport shuttle is available. The charge is USD 95 per vehicle one-way.

What are the check-in and check-out times at The Residence Zanzibar?

Check-in start time: 3:00 PM; Check-in end time: anytime. Check-out time is noon. Contactless check-out is available.

What is there to do at The Residence Zanzibar and nearby?

Have fun with onsite activities like horseback riding, kayaking, and snorkeling and improve your game at the onsite tennis courts. Additional recreation onsite includes yoga. Indulge in a treatment at the spa and enjoy a swim in the outdoor pool. The Residence Zanzibar also has 2 bars, private pools, and a sauna, as well as a steam room and a garden.

Are there restaurants at or near The Residence Zanzibar?

Yes, there are 2 onsite restaurants, featuring alfresco dining and garden views.

Does The Residence Zanzibar have any outdoor private spaces?

Yes, every room features a private pool and a furnished patio.

What's the area around The Residence Zanzibar like?

The Residence Zanzibar is located a short 7-minute walk from Mchangamble Beach.

The Residence Zanzibar, Kizimkazi: Hotel Reviews, Rooms & Prices

8/10 Very good

Nov 5, 2025

Pool im Front of Villa

Marlene, 3-night trip

10/10 Exceptional

Jul 18, 2024

Beautiful place. Great staff. Delicious food

Jorge, 3-night trip

10/10 Exceptional

Sep 19, 2022

Excellent Villas, service and food

ABDUL, 4-night trip

8/10 Very good

Oct 16, 2024

Beautiful property, with a nice layout. The staff was very friendly and helpful, the only issue we faced was complete power failure on the first day and Internet going off and on.

Ubaid, 3-night trip

10/10 Exceptional

Jul 2, 2023

Family holidays

Amazing localization and very well maintained gardens. Staff is very nice and always helpful.

boris, 2-night trip

10/10 Exceptional

Jul 4, 2025

This is an amazing property to stay in Zanzibar. We were upgraded to the frangipani villa which was spacious and well appointed. The private pool was great. The main swimming pool is huge and doesn’t get too crowded. The food options at the main dining room were good with a lot of vegetarian options for breakfast and dinner. Beverage options are nice and reasonably priced. The complimentary fruits at mid morning and ice cream at mid afternoon around the pool area are a great touch. The staff is polite and extremely helpful. We had to see the onsite doctor as one of us wasn’t feeling too well one day. The staff promptly arranged for the doctor to arrive who was extremely helpful and thoughtful in his advice which we highly appreciated. The doctor didn’t charge us for his visit and medication even when we asked if he was sure. As has been discussed previously in other reviews, most beaches in Zanzibar have big tidal ranges and at low tide, the sea retreats by a lot. We didn’t swim on the beach for that reason and there’s also a lot of sea weed that the staff tries to clean every day. Nevertheless, the main and private swimming pools more than made up for it. There are a lot of monkeys around the resort and the staff warn you at the outset to keep the doors closed. It is advice that must be heeded to. The resort is family friendly. That’s great if you have kids of your own but if you don’t, it can feel a bit like school nursery during breakfast / dinner time.

Mitul, 4-night trip

10/10 Exceptional

Oct 8, 2023

Really nice hotel, stayed in a one bedroom villa and it was beautiful and clean, food choices were good also but could have more options. Pavilion restaurant was really nice. The place is really big and because they are all villas it sometimes feel like there’s not many people around, when in fact they are sold out. Would stay here again only downside is the location, the road conditions are not the best on some areas, and nothing around the resort so you are forced to only eat and stay on the villa. However it’s not too far from some of the activities.

Estella, 3-night trip

10/10 Exceptional

Dec 22, 2024

A charming property

We had an unforgettable stay at The Residence and can’t wait to return—especially our three kids, who are already asking when we’ll be back! The hotel’s beautiful gardens were a highlight; we enjoyed walking through them every day instead of using golf carts. The staff were always friendly and eager to help, making us feel right at home. The two restaurants offered excellent food with daily themed menus and live performances, ensuring a fresh and enjoyable dining experience. The complimentary watersport activities were fantastic, with the boat house crew leading fun and informative sessions. Our beach-facing luxury villa was spacious, well-decorated, and offered great privacy, especially with its private pool although the kids also enjoyed swimming and playing with other kids in the main overflow pool. The monkeys occasionally made an appearance around the villa but kept their distance, adding a fun touch. The beach, while a bit seaweedy at low tide, was perfect after 1 pm. The tour guides were professional and made exploring the area a breeze. Overall, we had a fantastic time and look forward to returning soon!

5-night trip

4/10 Fair

Oct 4, 2023

5 star resort, 2 star sevrice

The food is below average, also the free water activities that the hotel provides were unavailable when we stayed there for 4 days. Similarly, the steam room was out of order. We had a half board stay and they would charge for water during dinner (but not for breakfast). Most of the vegetables were from the can although fresh vegetables are available in the market. For a five star hotel I would expect more.

Sachin, 3-night trip

6/10 Good

Feb 27, 2025

Overall, my wife and I had a nice stay for our honeymoon. However, there were several issues, especially given the $600 per night cost. Pros (1) Hotel is scenic: beach, villas and pools are nice (2) Service is good; staff is very polite (3) Food is good with a variety of options Cons (1) Logistics are poorly handled Issue A: We had two separate bookings. At check-in, staff said we would have to move villas between them because they would be giving us a bigger villa. They said they would call us around noon on move day. At noon, no one called. I called around 12:30, and was told someone would call me back. No one did. I called again around 12:50, and again was told someone would call me back. Someone called and said we would no longer need to move rooms.. Issue B: Day before leaving, we scheduled a car to take us at 10am to Stone Town, and from Stone Town to the airport. Staff said someone would come to our villa at 9:45am to collect bags. Staff completely forgot. Nobody came to get our bags until we called. And when we got to the lobby to check out and take our car, they informed us they forgot to book a car. They weren't able to get a replacement until 10:46am. Hilariously, the outside cab they arranged was $40, whereas originally they were charging us $95 for their own service. And the cab that came to take us didn't have much gas so wasn't able to turn on AC until we filled up. (2) WiFi was very spotty there was a power outage (3) Rooms are finicky / noisy

Mujtaba, 3-night trip

10/10 Exceptional

Jul 31, 2022

We’ve been blessed to be able to stay at a lot of top hotels around the world but this was one of the best! An absolutely stellar hotel. From the architecture to the interior design, to the attention to detail to ensure you are as comfortable as possible (for example they even fumigate the property so that you don’t get mosquito bites!). The garden view room was beautiful, private, peaceful and gorgeous. The facilities are great - the suites come with a gorgeous bathroom designed to perfection, with a stand-alone bath tub with bath salts, a beautiful marble large shower, an outdoor “cold water” shower if you’re feeling adventurous, beautiful lighting, beautiful scents. There is a spacious living room with multiple seating. The bedroom is gorgeous, you wake up looking into the private pool terrace. The buffet was great - lots of options and I’m pleased that they also include local food in the African Buffet which was one of the nights on rotation (a lot of other top hotels abandon local food which is a shame). Great gym with well maintained equipment. Lovely spa, beautiful massages. There’s also a sauna and steam room. Golf buggies plus complementary bicycles are the modes of transport if you don’t want to walk around the resort. The team have thought of everything! Huge thanks to Masemo, Benjamin, Nuhu, Nubia and the entire team for making our stay incredible and allowing us to celebrate our wedding anniversary in style! Couldn’t recommend enough - peaceful luxury!

Ralph, 1-night trip

8/10 Very good

Nov 20, 2024

Five stars? More a large 4 star resort.

Amazing property but has its flaws. It's more fourish. There are too many cockroaches and small insects in the villas for it to be an impeccable experience. The lamp shades need to replaced and are showing signs of wear-tear. There seems to be issues with communication as we never got the breakfast boxes we arranged prior through phoning the front-desk and room service. Asked for 0600am delivery but there was nothing the next day and there was no explanation from anyone. Just a poor no-show of service. The beach itself isn't particularly swimmable as there's too much low-tide. The movie night screen is way too small for anyone to enjoy. Much cheaper resorts do a better job at playing beach-side movies than The Residence. There was an issue with the key-cards, which didn't make sense as one could've lost its magnetism due to the phone, but the spare card was in the room. It just didn't work the last day. There were 3 power outages which was a first for me in Zanzibar, and there weren't any explanations for apologies from the staff. At check-out even though I made ample comments and complaints on things to be improved, they made no gesture at check-out as to ask me how the stay was or if they got any communication relayed about my issues. They just took the exorbitantly expensive drink prices in full (USD 200 in total for a few beers and mineral water). The rooms are nice with the pool, but there isn't much else here. Not really value for money. I expected more.

HYUNG SUK, 3-night trip

10/10 Exceptional

Oct 27, 2025

Room was immaculate with private pool and ocean front.

Michael, 4-night trip

2/10 Poor

Sep 2, 2025

Be cautious and cynical

Some wonderful hospitality staff and spacious rooms. However lots of issues: Cockroach in room Room wasn’t serviced every day Poor a la carte experience with long delays and very limited menu inc a lack of vegetarian options A real lack of integrity with some of the front of house staff. One of who said that the hotel was fully booked so couldn’t provide a complimentary upgrade (there were rooms available on their website that night) - my status indicated that I should be offered an upgrade at VIP properties. They then vociferously claimed that they had never agreed to that with hotel.com They did however offer 20% off food and drink. On check out this was not honoured and i was told that this would never have been offered. Exorbitant prices on some of the food and drink… $33 for a double gin and tonic and €10 for a bowl of chips that had come from a freezer bag. Be cautious booking this hotel… some strengths but the mis truths left a very sour taste in my mouth upon leaving. At over £500 per room per night this shouldn’t be the case

Alison, 5-night trip

6/10 Good

Aug 8, 2025

Not Solo Traveler Friendly

For a solo traveler I wouldn’t recommend this place. The staff were not very accommodating & not friendly. They wanted to charge me double for any excursions because I was a solo traveler. Which was very odd & no one could explain why. I ended up leaving after one night after feeling dismissed by the staff. The property is beautiful although no one was on the beach not sure why.

3-night trip

8/10 Very good

Jul 28, 2025

Estadia ok

Hotel fica bem longe do aeroporto, e das demais áreas turísticas da cidade. Acaba forçando que os hóspedes utilizem o espaço como resort e não sai do local. Pedi up grade de quarto, o qual tenho direito de forma gratuita pelo hotéis.com, e embora o hotel tivesse disponibilidade, pedir 90 dólares a mais por diária.

Guilherme, 4-night trip

10/10 Exceptional

Jun 29, 2025

C est magnifique acvueillanr et tres dépaysant.

Christelle, 1-night trip

10/10 Exceptional

Apr 20, 2025

Our stay at your incredible resort was nothing short of exceptional. From the moment we arrived, we were welcomed not as guests, but as family—and that warmth remained with us throughout our stay. The facilities were outstanding, but what truly made our experience unforgettable was the team behind it all. We extend our deepest gratitude to Ahmed, the Front Office Manager, along with Benjamin, Edson, Rakesh, and every single member of your amazing team. Your kindness, professionalism, and genuine care went far beyond our expectations. You made us feel at home in every way. This resort has now become our home in Zanzibar, and we look forward to returning again and again. Asante sana and may God bless you all abundantly. Amen. Until we meet again—see you soon!

Shabbir, 5-night trip

10/10 Exceptional

Mar 6, 2025

Excellent, le meilleur hôtel de zanzibar

Le meilleur hôtel de Zanzibar. Très propre autant dans les parties communes que les chambres Les villas sont magnifiques, bien équipées, machine à café dans les chambres. Très propre. Piscine privée magnifique, avec les singes qui viennent vous rendre visite. Nous avons été très bien accueillis , le personnel est au petit soin . Ils veillent à ce que les clients soient satisfaits en tout point. La nourriture est excellente et varié. Possibilité de manger au buffet au bord de plage ou au restaurant à la carte avec un cadre très charmant. Petit déjeuner excellent aussi. Beaucoup d’activités pour les enfants , ils ne se sont pas ennuyés une seule fois. Mise à disposition de vélo, mini club, petite ferme, padle , canoé etc… tout inclus. Distribution de brochettes de fruits, de glaces tous les jours au bord de la piscine. Ils sont vraiment au petit soin avec leur clients ! Des spectacles le soir , cinéma plein air , chanteurs, une très bonne ambiance La piscine commune à débordement est juste magnifique. Seul petit bémol que je trouverai à redire est qu’il est dommage de faire payer l’eau à table 5dollars alors que l’eau est gratuite et à disposition des clients un peu partout dans l’hôtel et à la chambre. Mais bon ce n’est vraiment pas ce qui va nous empêcher de revenir .

Mohammad, 6-night trip

10/10 Exceptional

Feb 26, 2025

Beautiful resort, great for relaxing. Ideal for honeymoons and celebrating anniversaries. Loved the facilities and staff.

Tahmina, 3-night trip

10/10 Exceptional

Jan 27, 2025

Great place.

Halit, 4-night trip

10/10 Exceptional

Jan 9, 2025

Top notch customer service!! Well kept property. We enjoyed our honeymoon here!

Gloria, 2-night trip

10/10 Exceptional

Jan 2, 2025

Our room was perfect, we had booked Luxury Garden Suite, which exceeded our expectations, we particularly like the privacy it afforded and actually were pleased to have not booked a Beach Villa. The main swimming pool does need a face lift, there are numerous tiles missing and also the entry to the pool is rather unsafe it would be much better to just have a step rather than the slanted tiles

Stuart, 15-night trip

10/10 Exceptional

Dec 28, 2024

Staff were very polite and friendly The rooms are very good

Brian, 4-night trip

8/10 Very good

Dec 23, 2024

4 star experience for 5 star price

Beautiful grounds, especially oceanfront villas with pools. Large villa that's nicely furnished, however not really at the 5 star level with mould growing on lampshades etc. The ocean is beautiful but be aware there is a lot of seaweed on beach which is not pleasant for swimming. Food at buffet is just ok. Mixed service with front desk staff (servers and cleaners very friendly and helpful), big difference from welcome at check in to rushed check out. There are 1-2 golf carts that can transport you around property but may have a long wait or they may forget to pick you up (though they did arrive early when it was time to check out...). Overall slightly disappointed with experience compared to price.

Courtney, 2-night trip

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