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Traveller reviews

Travel reviews by Ms A from Kilburn

Review Distribution

Excellent
Good
Average
Poor
Terrible

Total number of trips

1

Countries visited

0

Lodges stayed in

2

Excursions taken

0

Great diving, great food, great people!

Trip rating: Excellent
"Overall, our trip was fantastic. I'd definitely recommend a traveller do the following:
1. Go out into the sea - either on an organised snorkel or dive trip. We had a great time diving out there! It was our first time, and we saw beautiful things - like turtles!
2. Go on a spice tour - even if you're not interested in food or spices.
3. Walk around Stonetown, get lost & try haggling!
4. Have sunset drinks at either Africa House Hotel or the Serena Inn - although get there in time to get a good seat!
5. Go to the night market at Fordhani Gardens - even if you don't want to eat, just breathe in the atmosphere.

Things we'd wished we had known:
1. Taken smaller $ notes with us - everybody expected a tip! We don't mind tipping, but when you've only got £20 notes with you, it can become quite annoying/expensive!
2. One night in Stonetown is sufficient, just get there early and you'll be surprised how much you can pack in. We did two nights there, but we did our spice tour from Stonetown rather than from the NE coast, so in the end it was OK.
3. Going for drinks/dinner at 235 Hurumzi was a waste of time/money - there are much better places for food/drink/atmosphere!
4. Make sure you have enough space in your luggage for all the lovely stuff you will want to buy in Stonetown!"

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Mchanga Beach Lodge, Zanzibar (this camp has since closed)

"Great atmosphere, people & food!"

5 nights Arrived 20 Oct 2010
"We had no idea what to expect when we arrived at Mchanga, but the whole experience definitely exceeded any expectations that we had of how the place would be and how much we'd enjoy our time there.

Mchanga is perfect for anyone who would like to get away from it all, be in a serene environment, have good food and have access to all that Zanzibar offers. We stayed in Sea View Lodge #2 (personally think that it has the best view!), and it was such a simple yet complete lodge - with little things making all the difference; like large water bottles left for us and bed decorated with lilies every day.

The thing that surprised us the most was the food - it was absolutely delicious! We looked forward to each breakfast, lunch and dinner with joy - the flavours were amazing, and the variety of food on offer was great too. We kept telling the owners that if their chef had a cook book or offered cooking lessons in the afternoon, we would've signed up! The only feedback we'd give is that the dinner portions were massive, and we often struggled to eat all the food we were given. Half the amount on our plates for the main course would have usually sufficed.

Apart from enjoying the food, we really enjoyed being taught how to play Bao by the friendly staff, going for walks on the beach (where we were the only ones on the beach at times!), and just lounging around and relaxing. We were in Zanzibar primarily to get out PADI license, so we linked up with the nearby PADI centre at Azanzi and the whole underwater experience was great!

All the staff at Mchanga were wonderful and welcoming. Gloria & Thomas were always on hand and very helpful - they confirmed our dive days and pick up times, which was really helpful. They have a wonderful and well-behaved dog which we were really fond of, but we only saw her a couple of times a day as she hangs around the reception area. As for the staff - they were all brilliant. Mohammed and Hamis deserve a special mention as they made us feel really welcome and at home! Hamis also taught us how to play Bao, so we're very grateful!

We can't think of anything that we didn't enjoy about our stay, it was just pefect and what we needed: a calm and relaxing place with easy access to the water! If someone is looking for a large resort with all the mod cons, then this is not the place for them...

We think that whatever literature we read about Mchanga prior to our arrival definitely undersold the place and our experience - it's a really superb place and we wish them every success in the future! I would definitely recommend it!"
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Good
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Al Johari

"Avoid Al-Johari at all costs!"

2 nights Arrived 25 Oct 2010
"Let's start with the good things about Al-Johari:
1. The location is excellent and it's easy to find, so no worries about wandering around at night in tiny lanes trying to find it
2. The rooms have A/C and free wi-fi
3. The general manager moved us to another room when we complained about the first room's uncleanliness with no fuss

What we didn't enjoy/like:
1. The bathroom wasn't clean & the towels on offer were frayed and old (our room was changed when we complained but the next bathroom was equally repulsive).
2. All the rooms have an air freshener that comes on every 10 minutes or so, there is a smell in the rooms that I guess it was trying to mask but it's really off-putting having an air freshener on all the time!
3. We only had breakfast once at the hotel but we didn't feel anything was clean - from the seats to the tables to the food. We looked at the food on offer (the sorriest breakfast I've ever seen!) and decided that we didn't want to risk it.
4. Staff weren't very welcoming, we didn't feel that comfortable in the hotel. We wanted to book a specific tour and the man at reception tried very hard to convince us to do another tour (persumably he gets commission for the tour he was trying to sell); wasn't very professional.

The high point of our stay was leaving on the last day - honestly, wouldn't recommend it to anyone."
Terrible
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Terrible

Location
Excellent
Service
Poor
Facilities
Poor
Rooms
Average
Food
Terrible

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