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Pongwe Beach Hotel
Pongwe Beach Hotel
Pongwe Beach Hotel
Pongwe Beach Hotel
Pongwe Beach Hotel

Reviews of Pongwe Beach Hotel

Wildlife sightings and reviews

93 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Pongwe Beach Hotel and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa

Showing 21-30 of 93
Duration
Arrival date
Mrs S
Leatherhead

"Stunning Beach and Wonderful People"

6 nights Arrived 23 Aug 2018
"After 4 days of safari Pongwe Beach was paradise.

Stunning white beach and beautiful clear water. Exploring the ocean bed when the tide went out, kayaking on the still waters of early afternoon then jumping in the waves in the evening - we had lots of fun.

The staff made us feel so welcome and we met some wonderful characters, by the end of the week they felt like friends. The food was fantastic and the main lounge/restaurant area a great place to relax, have a cocktail, play cards. The photos on their website do not do justice to this area of the hotel, it is much nicer than we expected.

The bungalows are right on the beach so you go to sleep to the sound of crashing waves. They are more basic than the public areas of the hotel, but are sufficient.

Highly recommend." See all these reviews: 8n in Zanzibar; 5n in Kenya
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Mr Peter P
USA

"Pongwe Beach Hotel review"

2 nights Arrived 15 Aug 2018
"We had a fantastic time there.

Should have stayed at least an extra day.

Very good food and pleasant staff.

Great place to relax after the safari." See all these reviews: 12n in Tanzania; 4n in Zanzibar
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Al & Jules
Australia

"Pongwe in the rain"

3 nights Arrived 29 Jun 2018
"Our feelings about Pongwe were coloured by the rain that seemed to persist for over half the time of our stay. Luckily the days here were mainly to wind down before the long flight back to Australia, so the weather didn't distract us totally.

As a beach resort, it's a bit limiting as for quite a few hours each day the tide is so low that swimming isn't possible. We also missed the options of nearby attractions, as the villages around had little except for their fishing/seaweed industries. Further to that, the cost of $US100 return to travel to Stone Town, or other tourist locations, was off -putting.

We enjoyed the menu and food options as well as the cheaply priced drinks." See all these reviews: 8n in Tanzania; 3n in Zanzibar
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Average

Location:
Average
Service:
Good
Activities:
Poor
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Average
Mr & Mrs D
Sydney

"Pongwe Beach Hotel review"

7 nights Arrived 9 Jun 2018
"Service was a bit amateur.

The staff all tried hard but there were many little things that just weren't quite right.

Lovely beach and location divine." See all these reviews: 7n in Tanzania; 7n in Zanzibar
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Poor
Activities:
Poor
Rooms:
Average
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Average
Mrs H
Bristol

"Returned after 7 Years - Even Better"

5 nights Arrived 11 Dec 2017
"We stayed at this hotel 7 years ago and really enjoyed it, so when an opportunity arose to return we decided to go for it - we were not disappointed. We stayed for 5 nights in December and had a great time.

During our stay we had a couple of chats with Heidi, the manager who is really friendly and was keen to hear how we were finding our stay compared to 7 years ago. We told her that over the 7 years Pongwe has got even better. The beach is just as lovely, but the bathrooms have been upgraded and the food and restaurant service has definitely gone up a notch (or 2!!). The bar has also been extended giving the whole place a more spacious feel. The staff are also really friendly and are always around offering to do anything they can for you. We loved it so much we didnt leave the hotel during our 5 nights there. We left feeling truly relaxed and pampered.

Hopefully it wont be another 7 years before we return" See all these reviews: 9n in Tanzania; 5n in Zanzibar
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Mr & Mrs R
Ashbourne

"Idyllic beach stay"

4 nights Arrived 21 Oct 2017
"Beautiful location, quite a distance if you want to visit island attractions but ideal for those, like us, wanting to relax and take in the stunning views.

Staff very accommodating and welcoming." See all these reviews: 8n in Kenya; 4n in Zanzibar
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Good
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Good
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Good
Mr & Mrs R
Aberdeen

"Another great stay at Pongwe Beach"

3 nights Arrived 14 Sep 2017
"This was our second visit to Pongwe Beach hotel. We were apprehensive about whether we would enjoy it as much as our first stay.

Our apprehensions disappeared when we were welcomed home and recognized from our first visit by reception. Our stay this time was in one of the hotels new sea-view suites that we really liked. We initially thought the suite's plunge pool was too cold until we learnt to appreciate it during the heat of the day.

The hotels location, beach and infinity pool were all still stunning. the staff were amazingly friendly and service excellent. We could not fault the standard of food and had an wonderful seafood platter on the beach on our last night
.
We will go again as this beach hotel really suits us" See all these reviews: 14n in Tanzania; 3n in Zanzibar; 1n in Kenya
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Ms I
Oakland

"Chilling on the beach in Pongwe"

5 nights Arrived 10 Sep 2017
"The food at Pongwe was spectacular. When you consider that they have a captive audience who they are distracting with a stunning view of the Indian Ocean, they could get away with much less delicious food. Everything - right down to the morning uji - was prepared with thoughtful attention to flavor, composition, and presentation.

The beach is lovely, and the rooms were beautifully appointed. The staff was a mixed bag - some fantastic, some irritating (say hakuna matata to me again and I'll scream!), and some a little checked out. We had understood that it wasn't an outstanding snorkeling location, and it was indeed pretty unimpressive.

Walking during low tide out to the sides of the resort and looking for shells was a fun adventure." See all these reviews: 9n in Zanzibar; 7n in Tanzania
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location:
Good
Service:
Good
Activities:
Good
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Ms J
Chester

"Pongwe Beach Hotel"

5 nights Arrived 23 Aug 2017
"Although this hotel was in a beautiful location and was extremely lovely, it was an hour away from Stone Town. I would have ideally liked Expert Africa to inform me of my choices and talk me through the merits of staying near/away from Stone Town to avoid the expensive cab journey to the main town!

The place itself was lovely and the staff were extremely attentive. However, we rarely received our food at the same time and meas were often cold!" See all these reviews: 5n in Zanzibar; 4n in Tanzania
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location:
Average
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Average
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Average
Facilities:
Good
Williams family
UK

"Pongwe Beach Hotel review"

4 nights Arrived 17 Aug 2017
"Pongwe Beach Hotel has a lot of character and charm and exists alongside an idyllic stretch of beach. It exhibits a Tanzanian/ Zanzibar vibe; more so then probably a lot of the newer, more exclusive resorts which are being built on Zanzibar. The food, particularly for the evening meals was creative and delicious and the service at all times was excellent. The beach front villas were lovely, but not luxurious. All guests are provided with a colourful cotton robe to wear around and these were certainly popular. As you opened the door of your bedroom, you are confronted by white sand, hammocks and turquoise sea - an idyllic setting.

This hotel was a fabulous, quiet place to simply relax. If you wanted to do lots of activities, then it would probably be better to stay in an area of the island where those activities took place as Pongwe is an hour East of Stone Town or be prepared to travel. However, we did go on a snorkelling trip which was well organised and professionally run to Nmemba Island, This was organised for us by Pongwe Beach Hotel.

We paid for half board which was perfect as Breakfast and Dinner were substantial, but be prepared to pay for lots of extras such as lunch snacks and drinks and bottles of water at the meal tables - it can mount up!" See all these reviews: 7n in Zanzibar; 4n in Tanzania
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location:
Good
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Good
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Good
Showing 21-30 of 93
95%
93 reviews of Pongwe Beach Hotel by travellers since August 2007
Overall rating by our travellers
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