Reviews of Pole Pole
(94%) From 84 travellersThey do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa.
| 
Great place to chill out
Pole Pole was a wonderful spot to chill out for a few days - the lodge is simple and rustic, with a small but very pleasant beach in front, excellent food (highlights included ceviche and a traditional Tanzanian dinner) and friendly staff.
Any time in the room was mostly spent on the wonderful veranda, which boasted a mosquito-netted day bed and lovely views of the lush gardens and the sea. Bathrooms are rather dated, however, and detracted from the overall quality, which is a shame.
I loved having tea delivered to our room each morning before breakfast, and in the evenings, the bar whipped up some seriously good cocktails, too. There's wifi by the pool, which mostly worked well.
The dive shop - a high-quality operation - is just a ten-minute walk long the beach and diving was very good, with some very impressive coral reefs.
Amazing stay!
Very relaxing stay at this very special place. It all felt very intimate/private, almost like we had the place to ourselves.
Hosts and staff were super friendly and very accommodating/flexible (e.g. changing the menu to our taste, arranging a romantic candle light dinner away from the other guests, dinner on the beach).
Diving and excursions were lots of fun and super easy to organise the night before.
Really enjoyed our stay! Highly recommended.
Tide can be a bit of a pain if you want to swim in the ocean.
Relaxing paradise at Pole Pole
Lovely location by the beach, with views over to Chole Island. Rustic rooms with balconies to enjoy the views. Very hard bed - like sleeping on planks.
Our showers was in need of maintenance - weak flow and poor heating controls. Nice old propeller fans to provide some temperature control, negated on several occasions by power cuts.
Mosquitos were a problem in the reception area, where we were given the welcome briefing.
Food generally good, and restaurant service speed and delivery improved after we implemented breakfast orders on the night before - the only way to get through breakfast in time to enjoy the inclusive activities.
The watersports/dive centre team (David and Mateis) were excellent - the complimentary activities much enjoyed - snorkelling on the reefs, dhow sailing trips, visit to Chole Island, BBQ on the sandbar, etc
We did fill in the feedback form at PolePole, and they responded helpfully, which should benefit future guests.
Total relaxation at Pole Pole
We had a totally relaxing break at Pole Pole following our safari - a well earned rest! The facilities were great and the bungalow well equipped, but possible a little dark especially the bathroom. The staff were friendly and professional and always on hand when required.
The pool was great with plenty of shade to get out of the sun if required. The beach was a little disappointing, mainly because of the tidal nature, however the staff did an excellent job of clearing the seaweed each morning.
The food was good, but some of the dishes were a little dry and some a little too highly spiced for my wife's palate. Having said that, we were offered alternative options.
The activities were good and it was particularly helpful having time with the dive centre staff each evening to plan our activities. The massage at the spa was excellent and a great start to our relaxation.
The only criticism is that they allowed smoking in the restaurant area - this made our final evening meal rather unpleasant.
Relaxed post safari stay
Mafia Island is unlike Zanzibar and is not touristy at all. The island boasts just a few lodges of which Pole Pole is reputed to be the best, and we would certainly not argue with that. With just 7 bungalows, the atmosphere is relaxed, the service impeccable (they cannot do enough for you), the food amazing with lots of seafood but other options too.
One activity was included every day within our room rate. Every evening before dinner the guests congregate for pre-dinner drinks, a chat, and discussion with the manager of the local dive and excursion centre with whom the activities take place to decide what to do the next day based on tide and availability. Other activities are available in addition to those included.
The bungalows are a good size with mosquito nets (necessary) and a deck to sit out on. The bathroom has twin basins, toilet, bidet and shower. My only gripe would be that there was only one UK style plug (the norm in Tanzania), a couple of unexpected European style plugs, and a number of Italian style plugs! There is a pool and a spa on site for massage and manicures etc which was also very good.
Overall we had a great time, enjoyed all the activities, and felt it met our expectations all round. Our thanks to Paola, Marina and Mussa who are very hands on and make sure that everything runs so well.
Peaceful, relaxed Pole Pole
V. welcoming manager & staff; we had a lovely cottage; delicious food; great snorkelling.
Read more about the whole beach holidayWonderful place to relax
We stayed at Pole Pole for 5 nights after Safaris in Selous and Ruaha.
We wanted somewhere to relax and recuperate after the rigours of 8 days on safari and what a great choice this was.
Everything about Pole Pole was excellent, the accommodation, the staff, the service, the food and the location.
We were made to feel very welcome on our arrival by Marina, the manager. We shown round the resort and taken to our Bungalow (Number 1).
The bungalow was a wooden construction with a thatched roof and sides. It was a good size and included a separate en-suite facility with two hand basins, shower, flush WC and even a bidet plus complementary toiletries. The bed was large and covered with a substantial mosquito net. A large wooden verandah overlooked the palm trees in the garden with views of the beach and bay towards Chole Island. On the verandah there were a couple a chairs and small table plus a day bed (just big enough for 2) with a mosquito net – perfect for an afternoon snooze.
The pace at Pole Pole is slow and relaxed. Early morning tea/coffee was delivered to our room at our request. Meal times were flexible. There was a good choice of goodies available for breakfast including fruit, pancakes, muffins, yogurt, eggs, bacon, tomatoes and toast along with fruit juice, teas and coffee. Lunch was a fixed 3 course and dinner 4 courses with a choice of main course (usually fish or meat of some sort). The quality of our meals was always excellent as was the service in the restaurant; the waiting staff were attentive, efficient and friendly.
At about 6pm each evening a waiter arrived at our door to take our order for a ’Sun downer’ to enjoy on the verandah as the sun set, watching the masses of bats fly across the sky from their roost on Chole to feed on Mafia.
Over pre dinner drinks in the bar David from ‘Mafia Island Diving’ would discuss the excursions that were available the following day. We did a couple of snorkelling trips (saw a Whale Shark) and a boat trip to see the ruins on one of the other islands. The trips were well organised, the snorkelling was great, the boat trip was enjoyable but the ruins were a bit disappointing.
Many thanks to Marina, Mussa and their team for making our stay at Pole Pole so memorable.
I widh I were back there, right now....
Marina and her staff did their best to make our 8 days at Pole Pole as enjoyable as possible--and they never disappointed. The food was the best we had in Africa. Italian-based, but I was delighted that they had a weekly Swahili menu too. The presentation of the food, too, was exemplary.
Some of the staff are not familiar with western table/service etiquette, and would forget what was on the menu, etc. Having said that, they were all wonderfully kind and friendly, and did their very best. Thus this is not a complaint, and I urge guests to cut some of the younger waiters a bit of slack if they need it. The setting and environment was delightful and aesthetically very carefully crafted to be as beautiful as possible--while integrating into the local landscape.
The bungalows were beautiful: absolutely beautiful. We did have problems with mosquitos in our screened area around the bed, despite the staff and I doing our best to find out where the little devils were getting in.... Drink prices were too high. Way too high. The highest we experienced, by a considerable %, in 5 weeks in Rwanda Kenya, and Tanzania.
We were at Pole Pole for the scuba diving, and David, from Mafai Island Diving, came by every evening to detail the next day's adventures--and typically picked us up and dropped us off right on Pole Pole's beach. Not bad...... The diving was fabulous!
Wonderful Location at Pole Pole
Pole Pole is set in beautiful gardens right on the beach.
Our Bungalow had an amazing view overlooking the bay and surrounded by palm trees. Inside there were lovely homemade touches including shower gel and shampoo in handcrafted glass bottles. As there are only 7 bungalows, the place is very quiet and you feel quite secluded form the others. We had a wake up tea/coffee each morning and a sun-down drink brought to our room each evening!
The food was lovely, with some Italian touches and you could choose which courses you wanted each day. They would even make something else for our daughter when she did not fancy what was on the menu. She also has a peanut allergy; we had no worries as they were very aware of this and able to cater for her.
We had some great trips arranged including snorkeling and turtle hatching on a nearby island. We had a fantastic Sunset Cruise where we went on a Dhow boat, and had a lovely drink as the sunset and the fruit bats flew overhead. One of the waiters from Pole Pole accompanied us and told us lots of information about mafia and the local people.
We visited the local village Utendi on our last day with one of the waiters who comes from there. He was full of information about everything in the village. We saw the local schools, and visited the NGO (non government organisation) located in the village which aims to improve education and healthcare through projects they arrange. If you have time this is well worth doing, as you get to see the local people.
A lovely place to unwind
The accommodation at Pole Pole was very comfortable, albeit a little dark inside. The outside verandah had a wonderful view, comfortable chairs and a day bed which my husband found very hard to leave!
The linen and towels are changed as frequently as you request, via a board in the bathroom. The laundry service was excellent, and the housekeeping was also excellent.
The staff were very friendly, and really appreciate any attempt at Kiswahili, however poor. Tea or coffee is delivered every morning to the verandah, but make sure the crows don't beat you to the biscuits!
The gardens are uninteresting, mainly laid to grass amongst the palm trees. Other than the crows, we didn't see much bird life or nature. Squirrels and ants don't really count.
The beach is beautiful, and the sun loungers are comfortable. Drinks orders are taken on the beach and also from your bungalow for a six p.m sundowner. The pool is well appointed, in full sun and with a pool side bar. The verandah on our bungalow did not get the sun, but was a perfect place to relax.
The breakfast was comprehensive, including fruit, toast, muffins, a cooked choice of eggs, bacon, pancakes - as much or as little as you want. Lunch and dinner were both plentiful and varied, but I found the food fairly bland and tasteless, with no condiments to be able to add some spice other than salt and pepper. Only a complaint, as I enjoy cooking and was slightly disappointed, not in the quality of the ingredients, just in the lack of flavour.
The excursions were very good and organised the evening before in the bar before dinner. They are run by Mafia island diving, and the staff were very friendly and knowledgable. The trip to the blue lagoon is not to be missed, tides permitting.
We didn't have a massage.
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.
