The best accommodations Tanzania

A modern-day Ottoman sultan's palace has just opened in Zanzibar. This large resort, with its curved lines and Arabian details, is the latest luxury hotel located near the airport and in front of a newly landscaped and cleaned beach, in this area hitherto little frequented by tourists. Huge swimming pool in the central patio, multiple restaurants and services, ultra-luxurious rooms, gym, spa, conference rooms...: nothing is missing. Convenient for a night of luxury before or after a long-haul flight.

Run by Rashid (French-speaking) and his son Samir, this small, intimate hotel with a dozen rooms on the beach has just been completely renovated and a swimming pool dug at the end of 2023. It's still attractively priced for its location and the quality of the services on offer. Rooms face the small garden, except for those on the front line, which face the ocean. Some are ventilated, others air-conditioned, and prices are reasonable. The restaurant serves fine Swahili specialties. The hotel is linked to Coco Beach Agency & Tours.

This is the new trend in Zanzibar: offering private residences with all the services of a hotel. Breeze Résidence is a collection of 15 air-conditioned apartments with fully-equipped kitchen, sheltered terrace with outdoor table, living room and one or more bedrooms. It is located not far from the beautiful Kiwengwa beach, in the new Cairo Village. In addition to a superb central swimming pool bordered by a tropical garden, the complex offers a private area on the beach with deckchairs, a fitness club and even a padel club!

Pleasant bungalows near the beach, very cosy and decorated in a romantic afro-chic style, with cushions everywhere. We appreciate the finishing touches, the bright rooms, the pretty canvas ceilings as in a cocoon, and the terraces with armchairs inviting to contemplate the sublime view, especially on the sea side. The restaurant and the lounge bar also enjoy the view of a large swimming pool between palm trees in front of a micro-beach surrounded by mangroves. Fabulous breakfast and meals. Dive center offering the classic outings (Cholle, etc.).

From this ecologde in the middle of nature, the view over Kilole Bay is breathtaking. Cute "chalets" with makuti roofs and coloured rough concrete floors are furnished with Zanzibar furniture. You can rent a makonda chalet in oriental or mvuvi style with a stylish wooden headboard or the Harushi Suite with a wave-shaped bed. It has a beautiful swimming pool, important because the island is bordered by mangroves. The lodge cultivates its own organic vegetable garden to cook its meals and composts its waste. Warm welcome from Marco and Francesca.

This hostel is close to the center of town, yet surrounded by greenery and calm. Its charm lies in its setting of lawns and fruit trees. The best deal is to sleep in a heavy safari tent, on cots with a comfortable mattress, at a low price, with shared showers (hot water). Other hard-standing options: dormitories with 4 to 8 beds (mixed) or double rooms with private bathrooms. Acceptable cleanliness, restaurant under a makuti shelter, chill-out areas under the trees. Great welcome from Simba and good breakfast. Wifi.

Simple, efficient and more than affordable, the Bright Star Hotel is the perfect address for those on a budget. A pretty, friendly pink house run by the warm-hearted Veronica. The rooms are pleasant and bright, with soft four-poster beds and mosquito netting, and clean en-suite bathrooms with hot water. What more could you ask for at this price? We appreciate the location in Sakina, very close to the center (5 minutes by dala dala from the road), the warm welcome from the staff and the excellent breakfast. Wifi.

This house converted into a youth hostel is very central without being in the middle of honking horns. The garden is very green and the space like an oasis of serenity in the city. Everything is beautiful and clean: the beds in the dormitories (mixed) are made of logs, the bedding is impeccably clean and really cosy, and the prices are really reasonable. The whole place is new and well kept. The breakfast restaurant is outside, facing the vegetation, which is very pleasant. An excellent address for small budgets. Wifi.

A beautiful house not too far from the center of town, carefully decorated and with a friendly, cosmopolitan atmosphere. Ideal for chatting over a meal, or around the campfire. Small garden with swings, communal lounge, outdoor terrace for meals. The double rooms (with or without bathroom), family rooms and bandas bungalows have been designed with upcycling in mind, with pallet bed bases, local sisal carpets and a pleasantly studied decor. Small structure, excellent breakfast. Wifi. Bicycle rental.

Eric and Sophie realized their dream and Baobab Africa Lodge was born, splendid and fascinating, inserted in a forest of gigantic baobabs next to Mtende beach. There's a choice of family bungalows, whose terraces plunge into the vast pool via a ladder. There are also pool-view double rooms and triple bungalows with private whirlpool baths. The restaurant, perched in the canopy of a baobab tree, serves mouth-watering dishes at all hours, including delicious plump lobsters.