Travel reviews by Mr & Mrs M from Tadley

"We absolutely loved our time at Pongwe Beach Hotel, it definitey came up to expectations. The hotel was just as you had described: simple but with all necessary mod cons and we couldn't fault any of it. Staff were extremely friendly and helpful and couldn't have done more for us. Food was excellent: an uncluttered menu with everything cooked to perfection. Our little "cottage" was only just finished - I think we were the first occupants - and it included our very own plunge pool which was an added bonus.

There is no fresh water at Pongwe, as you know, and this is a problem which they will need to address. After a day of swimming, sunbathing, snorkelling, etc. it would be really nice to be able to get free of all the salt with a fresh water shower and at present this isn't possible. You never really get rid of all the salt! A very small gripe was that there are NO hair driers in the hotel - I could easily have packed mine but didn't because we were urged to keep our luggage to a minimum. They should think about this, too."

"Kholle House is a lovely, small hotel situated at the top end of Stone Town. It has been sympathetically restored and our room was lovely and had a small balcony overlooking the pool and restaurant area. The (small) pool was a godsend after a day spent walking around Stone Town in intense heat and humidity.

Management and staff were friendly, welcoming and very helpful. They pointed us in the right direction to explore Stone Town on foot.

The location is not perfect: it is quite a walk to reach the middle of Stone Town and it is very close to the Docks where (noisy)work loading ships goes on for most of the night. The Call to Prayer wasn't a problem: we are in an Arab town, after all, and this is a part of life there!

On our second night there, because we had an early (5 a.m) start, we opted to have dinner in the hotel and this was not brilliant, although served in the very nice garden adjacent to the pool. The so-called fillet steak turned out to be a very tough piece of stewing steak, inadequately cooked and fairly unpalatable. Having enjoyed some really delicious fillet in other parts of Africa, we were underwhelmed by this. We wished we had gone to the nearby Mercury (overlooking the harbour) which would have been much more fun and probably cheaper.

But, again, lovely friendly staff and a great blessing to be in an air-conditioned room so we could sleep properly."