Unguja Lodge

We had a great stay. There are a lot of things to like. The staff are very helpful (although things do sometimes get lost in translation). The food was consistently excellent. When one of our group has a birthday they provided a free cake and did a impromptu song and dance for her, which was a real highlight. The location right next to the beach and amongst the trees is stunning. The pool is good. The villas are very spacious. We loved watching the local wildlife: moneys, lizards, elephant shrews, dik diks and more. The monkeys seemed just as interested in us. We got very few insect bites. It is also small, quiet and secluded. We were the only people there for some of our stay. We liked that, other people might feel differently. On the minus side, it does feel a bit tired in places. Some of the seats in the dining area are broken, some of the fixtures in the rooms are corroded by the salt air and I got a shock off one of the light switches. And it is a bit of a drive from attractions such as Josani and Stonetown. However we felt the plusses far outweighed the minuses.

Stayed for 4 magical nights with my 6 year old daughter. Martien and staff are a family and welcomed us with love and incredible hospitality. Out of a a 10-night Zanzibar trip in which we stayed in a couple of 5-star resorts as well as Unguja (TUI Blue Bahari and Park Hyatt), the food, atmosphere, service and pristine nature at Unguja was unmatched by the resorts. Several times we had the beach to ourselves, and we were NEVER hit up by local “guides” and beach boys (this is rampant in the resort areas and Stone Town). At night all you can hear is the ocean and animals (at the resorts there was less of that and more man-made noise). We really appreciated getting a different paper each night explaining various aspects of our surroundings. All our arrangements for excursions and transport were done by Martien and his amazing staff. We encountered Dik-Diks, Elephant Shrews, monkeys, hermit crabs, and a bat, all happily living in the lodge. My daughter got the full princess treatment from the staff and couldn’t be happier. I had to tell her not to chase the dik-diks! We really hope to come back one day. Thank you so much Martien and staff for welcoming us to Zanzibar in your unique style. The love was received and I hope you felt it from us too.

Nice if you like solitude and being in nature, and don't mind "rustic". Big open air villas surrounded by trees (even a few baobabs), which are frequent by monkeys (including red colobus). Not so nice if you are used to excellence and attention to detail in everything. Resort is in need of TLC at a minimum or renovation at a maximum to make it worth the price. All of the cushions are either worn out or torn with the cotton pocking out or zippers not closing... I would not recommend booking any trips with them either, as all we had were mediocre at best. Not sure about diving, but would not recommend snorkeling unless you have your own equipment. My snorkel had to be cleared every 2 minutes. Our snorkel guide could barely swim, and the boat we were on had no basic safety equipment. The coral was nice but fish population is almost all gone due to overfishing. There was a fish trap on the bottom of our snorkeling area. Lots of trash along the shore. Our boat caught a fish line in the engine, and almost got into the exposed rocks during cleanup...Everyone working there was nice and trying to please us. Overall, wish we had better memories of the Zanzibar island.

We had an amazing time at Unguja. It really is a laid back, seaside paradise. Diving/snorkeling facilities are on-sight: we just stepped out of our house, into our diving suit and onto the boat. 15mins later and we were in the water! Martien is an excellent host who took care of us during you’re stay. We admired his passion for the lodge and the fact that he makes an effort to keep everything as local and freshly made as possible. We loved our stay and definitely recommend Unguja to other travellers.

The place is great for a retreat. The lodges are spaceful, with air and view, very unique. In addition, I especially enjoyed the service from the Manager Martin: I had told him I was arriving late and couple sandwiches were waiting at my room so that I wouldn't go to bed with an empty stomach. And I asked him to organize for me a fishing party which he did fantastically and for a very reasonable price. I went early morning an hour out from the coast fishing Tuna with good and experienced guys. We caught 2 big ones which was memorable for me. In two nights I felt I had a week break. Wonderful experience. And the double floor lodge would allow a good stay for a small family.