Sunny Palms Beach Bungalows

Attenzione! Abbiamo un gruppo numeroso in viaggio per Zanzibar e abbiamo deciso di prenotare un soggiorno qui. Dopo aver discusso per diverse settimane con il responsabile della villa, siamo giunti a un accordo su quale sarebbe stata la tariffa del nostro gruppo. Hanno inviato un'e-mail di conferma e poi all'improvviso si sono raffreddati. Nessuna risposta o comunicazione di alcun tipo. Questo ci ha davvero scoraggiati perché le nostre altre opzioni sono ora prenotate e non abbiamo ancora un posto dove stare. Non so se mi stessero truffando, se abbiano trovato un'offerta migliore con un altro gruppo o se fossero semplicemente disonesti. In ogni caso, ci sentiamo molto maltrattati e offesi e non consiglieremmo i loro servizi a nessuno.

I think the most important answer is to the question of would I return. Yes. I would absolutely return. However, there is a but… And here it is…But I think it is important to manage your expectations. This may be five star for Africa, but it isn’t five star for Western Europe, Caribbean, Middle East or USA all of which I have extensively travelled, including living in Europe for a while. It is a charming place to stay, but you cannot expect it to be more than what it is or you will be disappointed. So what are the buts? Well…The electricity goes out in the entire resort, every day for a few seconds to minutes multiple times a day and night. The problem with the night is that you hear it go off and then a phone rings…so it wakes you up. The water pressure in the shower is not what you are used to. The WiFi is spotty. There are no lounge chairs on the beach. The food is ok but mostly buffet and a lot of flies. (Yesterday, the person making omelets just picked up a fly out of the feta and flicked it away and kept cooking omelets.) There is no alcohol allowed or sold (technically, you can buy some in town and consume in your room but you can’t take the drinks from next door over to this resort and you aren’t to have visible alcohol outside of your room). The beach is seaweed covered. It is Africa so there are a lot of mosquitos and there was either a huge worm that stood on its end or a small snake in our tub yesterday. It is also an hour drive or more from the main town and the more popular beaches, and transportation is expensive (there is no Uber and you must be careful to only ride with certified/registered drivers or risk your safety). Transportation costs were quoted to us as $100 or more each way, which could be divided by up to 6 people. However, Ali is amazing and makes you feel safe and comfortable. The water is hot in the shower. The bedrooms are air conditioned. The common sitting area in each villa is nice and spacious. The rooms have fridges and a coffee pot. They are generous with the bottled water. The beach is cleaned daily so there are periods where the seaweed is cleared. The hotel next door has alcohol and food by menu. The beach is safe and you can walk great distance safely. The pool is very nice. The aesthetics of the one street lined with beautiful villas is breathtaking. The rooms and beds are comfortable, especially with the mosquito net. The staff are nice and extremely hard working. The sunrises are absolutely amazing. There are not many folks on the beach trying to sell you things. So yes. I would come back.

Zanzibar is breathtaking and I’m so glad we were able to explore this beautiful island with the guidance of the Sunny Palms crew. The service, the room, and property all exceeded our expectations. We were provided excellent customer service by all but the trip wouldn’t have been the same without Saff. Saff is truly amazing. He not only provides the highest level of customer service but he makes every guest feel like a VIP. It was not easy managing different personalities and expectations during this group trip. Saff, however, did so with patience and humility. For every problem that was had, he provided a solution and resolved every conflict beyond expectations. He definitely went above and beyond to make a lifelong dream come true and he made sure that a milestone birthday was the best yet.