Reviews of Tembo Hotel
(60%) From 5 travellersThey do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa.
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Tembo Hotel review
A very poor hotel.
We had a room that was next to a very noisy generator that was on all night. Next morning I immediately asked to be moved and they seemed very un-surprised by the fact. Our second room was ok.
Stone Town is filthy and has no buildings, sights, activities or cultural interest of note to encourage anyone to visit it. I would never recommend anyone to go there and wished we had been advised to travel to the airport from Matamwe.
Being next to the sea was a slight plus. The amount of debris and litter washed up and just left on the beach was not pleasant.
Disappointing and frustrating end to trip
These guys really got off on the wrong foot. The 'welcome' at reception consisted only of pushing an arrival card for us to fill in, having glanced in our direction only long enough to tell where to push the card.
They then put us in a twin room (on our honeymoon). We complained and were offered a 'double', in which only a pair of children could possibly have slept comfortably, it was so small. Their solution to this was to push the beds together in the twin, leaving a 3 inch height difference between the mattresses. Besides the beds the rooms are ill furnished, with non-functional lights, holey mosquito nets, sparking plug sockets and broken fridges. Overall they didn't really seem to care very much.
We were very much not alone in complaining at the front desk, having to take our place in a queue of disgruntled guests. Avoid.
Tembo Hotel review
The best location in Stone Town and near to all the sights and restaurantsThe position at the waterside was superb The only shortcomong and we did know about it ,was the lack of alcohol.This somewhat limited the occasion.Evening dining was a 'no,no!'.However,there is always a bright side and we found the most excellent restaurant opposite the Serena.London standards of cuisine.
Read more about the whole tripCharming- should have spent more time here
This hotel has a very nice colonial feel and is in a great location. It is clean and very quaint - the fixtures, fittings, electrics and plubing all seem to be 50/6s vintage but they work fine (the room aircon units are modern). It is a good location to tour Stonetown which is a very interesting place that we should have spent more time exploring.
We woud not risk swimming on Stonetown beaches. They look nice enough but the water must be very polluted.
Only complaint would be that the mosquite nets were 3+ inches off the ground and we did pick up 1 or 2 bites.
Nice swimming pool - shame about the beds
Atmospheric hotel with huge variation in quality of rooms. Childrens room was quiet, cool and spacious. Parents room was small, hot and noisy.
The swimming pool was greatly appreciated and we loved the town beach in front of the hotel which had all the life and more which we didn't find in Pongwe.
My problem with this hotel (and possibly every hotel on Zanzibar) was a very personal one in that I found the short Zanzibarian bed complete with bed-end a bit of a trial - at 6' 5" tall I come across similar problems all the time - but Tembo holds the record for the shortest and narrowest bed so far.
We have always believed that acting responsibly is the only way to approach tourism and we're one of
the few companies to hold AITO's original coveted 5-star status for responsible tourism. It's a lead
that others are now following.
