Reviews of Pole Pole
(94%) From 97 travellersThey do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa.
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Pole Pole - A Perfect End to Safari
What a great way to wrap up after 15 days in four safari camps. Flying from the bush to Mafia Island and winding down in the comfortable, laid back and delightful atmosphere of Pole Pole resort was a blessing. You could do nothing, something or fill your days with island activities. - snorkeling, scuba, sail, cruise, explore, lie around the pool, or get expertly performed massages rejuvenating body and spirit.
Julie, the relatively new hostess/manager, already had local contacts in the community and a perfect working relationship with Mafia Island Diving who make it easy to schedule your water activities by coming each evening to the bar and meeting with all the guests individually, explaining tidal influences on timing as well as coordinating how to fit in the most experiences during your visit. Julie knew what was going on in every square foot of Pole Pole and her pleasant demeanor made everything run smoothly. She frequently gave us special "treats" simply because she is a generous, nice person.
Food was delicious and you chose your menu ahead of time. Spirits were fairly priced and the service was very good. The cottages were lovely with outside day beds and in our case we had a 2nd bedroom. The bed in the main room was strewn with flowers when we arrived and overlooked the jungle and ocean. Tea or coffee and biscuits arrived on the patio each morning at whatever time you requested. (So did a crow that wanted his share and managed to break numerous glasses and crockery making us look like the clumsiest couple in the world.)
We met people from around the world staying there and we truly did not want to go back to the states, but when we had to Pole Pole packed us lunches so we could eat them on the plane and arranged to get us to the airport with no stress or worry.
Blissful, living up to its name
One long stretch of relaxation, beautiful beach and bungalows, amazing tides, all staff very caring and kind.
Snorkelling was fabulous, as was the trip to Chole island, extremely interesting to see how people live and hear about their daily routines.
Pole Pole was blissfully quiet as a surrounding, food very good with interesting choices and some local foods on offer. Wireless access only in reception area, which made it very relaxing.
So relaxing!
This was a lovely place. The staff were very friendly, but also did not intrude.
It was so relaxing - we spent lots of time on our balcony just gazing at the sea and doing not a lot. We also went snorkeling and saw lots of amazing underwater life.
Strongly recommended.
Wonderfully relaxing and laid back hotel
Great staff
Fabulous rooms and wonderful pool
Great location and food
Loved the excursions
Very peaceful and relaxing
Great choice for last stop
Pole Pole was not as laid back as I expected but that was in part because it was nearly empty.
On my five nights there I was the only guest on two and one of 3-5 on others. The staff were great , Paula and Mleica in particular. The free excursions were good, sunset cruise in a dhow and a trip to Chole Island also by dhow
I also made 5 scuba dives with the adjacent dive centre Mafia Diving out on the reefs . All were excellent on pristine coral with much to see. Transport again by outboard and sail in a dhow
If I hadn’t done the diving I think I would have been disappointed by the Pole Pole beach and large tides which render the beach submerged for much of the day
My hut was great No5, clean, good fan and excellent bathroom and also near the pool and massage areas which I used. I would return but probably choose a busier time for as a solo traveller company and atmosphere in the evening is importent
Peaceful Retreat
Pole Pole is a very relaxing, peaceful place to stay. They have a spa and massage room, which was very good too.
The rooms are built from wood and palm leaves and blend into the scenery, so it is almost hidden . A real hideaway. I loved the sundowner trip on the old wooden Dhow....very special to see the sunset from a boat. The staff were very helpful too. If I had to make a very small complaint.....my lodge seemed to have a family of resident squirrels which I could hear running around in the roof all night. Actually, it was quite sweet to see them, but they were very noisy at night.
A lovely place to stay right by the sea.
Fantastic resort
Pole Pole is a beautiful hotel. The bungalows are clean and comfortable with a verandah that overlooks the sea. We loved the swimming pool and the bar area. The food was of an extremely high standard. The staff were charming, helpful and very friendly. The Swedish massage, Emerald Cruise and snorkelling trips were excellent.
Species seen.
Zebra fish, Parrot fish, Unicorn fish, Angel fish and various other fish and jellyfish during the snorkelling.
Birds included Black Kites, African Paradise Flycatchers, Southern Flycatchers, Pied Kingfisher and African Fish Eagle.
Pole Pole review
We enjoyed our time here. Fortunately we were in bungalow with a permanent foundation ( I think #6), I am not sure we would have been happy with the thatched ones as it appeared they did not have proper windows and natural light. The beach was small and not conducive to swimming as it was basically a reclaimed mangrove area.
Read more about the whole beach holidayGreat relaxation at Pole Pole
Beautiful facility with excellent food with an Italian influence. Manager Alex was very good as were the well trained staff. The rooms were very good only let down by mosquitos getting inside the bednetting and getting extensively bitten. Could be cured by earlier lowering of the nets before dusk I think.
The grounds were excellent but swimming in the sea not really viable due to lack of depth.
Representative from the local dive centre visited every evening at 7 pm to advise on potential activities in the following day. We went to see turtles hatching on another island and also visited two villages on tours, just ourselves and a guide... most interesting.
Pole Pole review
A comfortable, boutique type hotel with a lovely swimming pool and lots of small places to sit and read or watch the sea or simply integrate all the sounds and sights of our safari.
The food was plentiful and what was really good was the system of choosing what you wanted to eat for lunch and dinner at breakfast time as it meant you were not automatically served four courses if you only wanted two. The english of the staff is a bit patchy and I had made the mistake of saying that I would eat fish. At home I stick to a predominantly vegetarian diet but will eat fish if it makes someone's life easier. The staff at pole pole interpreted this as being that I would eat fish for every course, other then dessert, at lunch and dinner each day. When I said I didn't want to eat fish every day and could I see a vegetarian menu they said there wasn't one. I did speak to the customer relations manager to say I didn't think they had understood that I wanted to eat vegetarian food and could he just make sure that the restaurant staff knew, but again this was lost in translation and there was no supper for me the first evening. I stuck to my guns and they gave me some curried vegetables but thereafter I was offered vegetarian food.
Against this, however, they were incredibly helpful and went out and bought flipflops for my husband as he had forgotten to bring his - so I am sure the mix up was a language issue.
There is good diving as it is set in the Marine Park and is a good base if you don't want to be surrounded by too many people.
