Sensations Eco-Chic Hotel

We stayed here as part of our stay in Zanzibar, and this was our third hotel to see different areas of the island, so we choose this all inclusive hotel. When we arrived we were greeted in the reception area, where they took ours flip flops and bagged them up, as we were told we wouldn’t need the for the rest of our stay, and had a little foot massage. We were shown to our room by Ester our butler which they allocate you when you arrive, and as they said, along the powder white sand pathways to our bungalow. Our room was beautifully made out and smelt amazing, we had a large king bed with nets around to protect you from the mosquitos, ( which we didn’t see any of at all) . A large walk in shower, and a separate door to lead outside to an outdoor shower If required. Toiletries provided we minimal, no moisturiser which i did miss to be honest. The outside areas were lovely, everywhere is on the white sand, the bar, the restaurant and around the pool area. The restaurant has a lovely feeling to it and serves all the meals for your stay, breakfast was offered from a carved wooden board which has plenty of choices available, a large selection of fresh fruit was brought over and coffees offered etc. We did have a couple of days when the order some times got a bit muddled up, so always be super clear with the orders when being placed. Lunch was a different choice every day, and being a small hotel and being sustainable the choices were fairly limited, but still always very nice. Pool snacks are also an option if you need extra. Drinks are served around the pool area, and water will be brought to you. Dinner we had one night in the teriyaki restaurant which is available for one night of your stay, very entertaining and good food. They went out of there way for myself and another guest who couldn’t have fish, so the accommodated both of us as well. Dinners overall were nice, again the menu changed daily, there is a lot of fish on the menu, but being being allergic the menu always included a non fish option. Drinks from the bar area in the evening were good on the most part, but did end up waiting 30 mins for a glass of wine one evening as they took a party of 5 orders for cocktails, the cocktails do take a long while to prepare and depending who makes them you can get two very different drinks from one to the next. There is an outside bar, but we found this only open once in our 5 day stay, and this was clearly the managers private guests, who they trying to up there game, this would have been helpful to be open more as there was limited seating inside. The beach area was affected greatly by the tides and was mainly out for most of the day, and this left the shore to be pools of water, but you are warned not to walk out without being accompanied, as there are sea urchins you can step on and beach shoes are also recommended. The guys who walk along the beach will tout you to take you out for boat tours and walk with you on the low tide areas, check wit

Lovely holiday, perfect location- no shoes needed - staff were super friendly our butler was great, couldn’t do enough for us, our villa was beautiful, we had a separate bathroom, plunge pool and decking area- perfect to chill out with a glass of wine before dinner

This holiday was amazing. The resort is small & intimate, with only 20 bungalows. The staff are the best. Special shout out to Greb & Emmy, our butlers, who both went above & beyond. They were only let down by management lack of communication on a couple of occasions. The food was very tasty, with a good selection everyday. The sharing is caring concept for dinner was new to us, but worked very well. A good variety every day of veggie, fish & meat options. The Tepanyaki option was both entertaining & a delicious mixture is steak & seafood. The supposed daily wine options were sometimes more limited than they should have been. This was over promised & underdelivered. The bar staff were mostly very nice & friendly, although on occasions it could take 20 mins to deliver a round of 4 cocktails! Pool attendants also very efficient & friendly, sweeping sand from the sunbed regularly. Management were usually on site. It would’ve been nice if they had engaged with their guests more especially given the small numbers. A very lovely holiday, giving Maldives vibes for approximately 60% of the cost! Highly recommend!

Beautiful hotel, friendly staff, excellent food. Quiet, relaxing. Just perfect. The meals are not buffet style but set menus with two choices each course at lunch and 7dishes at dinner. The kitchen don’t mind adapting meals if needed. It was a fabulous holiday we intend to repeat!!

You know that rare situation when you look forward to a trip so much and the anticipation and expectations are so high that you imagine it can't possibly be as good as you hoped it could be......well this place is even better than I could have dreamt! Seriously, it's quite wonderful, go if you can, you won't regret it , I promise you!

We noted that there were some less than perfect reviews before we arrived. We need not have worried. Either any teething issues had been ironed out, or perhaps those that left them were looking to criticise unnecessarily- I cannot say which. From the moment we arrived we received exceptional care from the staff, sparkling wine (maybe not Champagne but Zanzibar is a long way from France and frankly who cares), a foot massage and your shoes swiftly taken away. You won’t need them again (until you leave). And there we met Janet, our Butler- who was always on hand.[ More about her later…] We stayed in a superior bungalow. It is correct that there is not a huge amount of wardrobe/ shelf space, but you honestly don’t need to take much (we did and regretted it) pack light! The room was as per the photos on the website, cool, clean, minimalist. The “hotel” is just stunning. The pictures on the website are exactly as it is. Effortlessly cool but with lots of locations to Instagram if that’s your thing. As to the food, we had no complaints whatsoever. Breakfast is lots of fresh tropical fruits, juices, breads, cold meats, cheese, then eggs of various descriptions. Lunch normally (we had Chris**as so that was a little different), 2 courses. But as we don’t do dessert often had a starter to share and main. Dinners of small plates was perhaps not always perfectly aligned in terms of how they worked together, but they are catering to worldwide visitors and no doubt wish to showcase various cultures. There was always fresh fish and seafood on the menu. Those critical of a lack of variance have obviously not really been to the Indian Ocean much and completely overlook that Zanzibar is not “first world”. As to drinks, those included in the AI package were all very drinkable. There was Champagne and there was sparkling wine. There were mocktails and non-alcoholic wine and sparkling wine. All of these would be delivered to you, whether breakfast, lunch/ dinner or pool/ beach/ room. Now, the people who make the experience complete. From the groundworkers who diligently sweep and keep the grounds pristine, to housekeeping, the Masai, the “pool boys”, waiting staff and Butlers- they are just exceptional. We were lucky to have the exceptional Janet as our Butler, she made sure we always had our favourite table, she was there when we needed her, knew what we wanted when we wanted it- and already had it ready. Other waitresses who looked after us and always wanted to improve our Swahili- Frida, Cecilia, Shihdja. All brilliant. The ”pool boys”, not only did they bring water, drinks (including to your lilo and passed you drink/ sunglasses as you struggle to get onboard!), they sweep your sunbed of sand, remove your wet towels/ move sunbed when the sun moves etc). The pool boys we most interacted with were Eesa, Ramadan, Enoch, Yasim. They are super attentive and friendly. We did daily yoga with Adrianna- a wonderful, exotic Yogi. Sunset yog

Sensations in Zanzibar is an amazing hotel, and I’m not exaggerating when I give it a perfect score. When we arrived, we were welcomed with a relaxing foot massage – such a unique start! We left our shoes behind and enjoyed the barefoot luxury for our entire stay. Then, we were taken to our villa, which had its own private pool, a real treat! The hotel is right next to a dreamy beach, and the main pool, bars, and restaurants – oh, and they have a real teppanyaki – are not just beautifully designed but also serve delicious food. Everything about Sensations is impressive and unique, and it made our stay in Zanzibar unforgettable