Reviews of Pongwe Beach Hotel

"Great hotel in a brilliant location.

Staff in the main were excellent, but not getting this out of perspective, because you could give most of the staff 10 out 10, - there were a couple who gave the impression of being bored - this is not a complaint.

The food was truly outstanding and consistently so.

A stunning set up.

Things to do better - resolve the boredom - small issue in an otherwise great experience" See all these reviews: 8n in Tanzania; 6n in Zanzibar

"Our time at Pongwe was wonderful, a perfect way to relax of the excitement of the safari. The staff were so kind and welcoming, and out food was again top notch.

We loved the 'flag' system on the beach - all we had to do was place our flag in the sand and wait to be waited on. Wonderful" See all these reviews: 6n in Zanzibar; 5n in Tanzania

"Much more luxurious than I expected! Stunning location and gorgeous room, the food was delcious and the staff were just lovely. Not a huge fan of the singing duo on our first evening (Swahili night on Fridays), they did go on a bit and Rod Stewart would be very unimpressed with their version of 'Sailing'!

I loved the infinity pool, particularly as the sea completely disappeared when the tide was out, but you could then walk miles. Very quiet place so not suitable for anyone wanting a lively location but ideal for relaxing after a busy safari.

Beware the rather large bar bill at the end - wine isn't cheap and a 5% credit card surcharge is added. Wifi is charged at $10 for entire stay but it only really works near reception." See all these reviews: 6n in Tanzania; 6n in Zanzibar

"Came here for three days post safari rest and this was achieved.

Unfortunately visit coincided with very strong winds which restricted sea activities. Lovely walks along the beach when the tide is out.

Location is somewhat remote, however we were content just to use the hotel facilities. Service could have been better - eg some confusion over our rooms on arrival and it took a couple of days for morning tea to arrive! Food was reasonable but they were hampered by the storms which were restricting the sourcing of fresh fish." See all these reviews: 7n in Tanzania; 5n in Zanzibar

"Lovely beach and nice location.

We were surprised that the standard of the rooms varied - whereas some were adequately furnished, two other rooms were somewhat spartan, and relatively poorly decorated.

Management were very helpful but some of the waiting staff could sometimes be a little "off the pace". Overall we had a most enjoyable stay." See all these reviews: 8n in Tanzania; 4n in Zanzibar

"Pongwe beach Hotel is set on one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen. The hotel was a perfect retreat after 5 nights on safari.

Location
Pongwe is around an hours drive from stone town. Set in a secluded bay the hotel offers the perfect place to relax. Pongwe is not the place to go if you are looking for activities to do outside of the hotel.

Rooms
We were given Val's room which is the honeymoon suite. The rooms are fairly basic at Pongwe. They are clean and functional but offer fantastic views of the white sands and dream like blue shades of the Indian Ocean.

Staff
The staff at pongwe were extremely friendly and couldn't be more helpful.

Food
Perfect! We both really enjoyed every meal at Pongwe. We stayed on a half board basis with breakfast and dinner included.
Breakfast was a perfect way to start the day. We had lunch every day we roughly cost around 10-15 dollars each. We had a choice from around 5 different meals and always found something we loved.
Dinner was a set menu, consisting of 3 courses. Again we enjoyed every meal.
A must do is the sea food platter on the beach, 40 dollars each for all the seafood you could ever eat! Lobster, crab, slipper lobster, prawns and squid.

Activities
Pongwe is not the place to come if you intend to get out and see zanzibar. Due to it's seclusion most activities are fairly expensive.

Overall
we had a great time. A perfect hotel to relax in, set on the most beautiful beach. We would return but maybe for 4 nights next time.
We feel Pongwe is perfect to combine with a Stone Town hotel stay." See all these reviews: 8n in Zanzibar; 5n in Tanzania

"The beach certainly is absolutely wonderful here - beautiful and quiet. Food ranged from 'pretty good' to 'excellent', although the lack of choice was a bit annoying at times (in fairness the staff were very helpful if you wanted something different). A fish lover's paradise, not so good if you aren't. Dinner on the beach was very romantic, and the cocktails were excellent.

Staff and management were very helpful. Nice touches included a flask of coffee being left outside the room in the morning, and fruit being brought around in the afternoon (and also the bushbaby outside our room, though of course that wasn't down to the staff!). The pool is very nice. I think this place is great for honeymooners, but wouldn't be good for families. Five nights here were perfect, but we wouldn't have wanted to stay much longer as it is very quiet.

The advertised excursions mostly seemed very expensive (in fairness snorkelling, which we didn't end up doing, seemed reasonable). We were hoping for a massage but were told that their usual masseuse's certificate had lapsed so the only option would have been a spa that was more expensive than we would have paid in the UK, not including the overpriced taxi ride: we declined. I also think some entertainment (e.g. live music) in the evenings wouldn't hurt.

On the whole though we were very happy with this place and it definitely is a great honeymoon resort." See all these reviews: 7n in Zanzibar; 2n in Tanzania

"Car hire experience was not a good one.

Taxi booked to return us to the airport failed to materialise leading to a further hair raising experience on the roads of Zanzibar." See all these reviews: 9n in Zanzibar; 5n in Tanzania

"Great location a lovely 'private' white sand beach. Attentive staff and good food. Although popular you do not get the feel of a large establishment - other than at evening meal - when the dining room has something of a refectory feel.

Rooms are only very simply furnished - those on the (beach) front seem to have better options for relaxing, we only had a simple bench on the porch but we made use of the ample options of loungers, hammocks and rondovels on the beach itself.

Easy place to relax. Activities are limited unless you taxi elsewhere: snorkelling is an option, but very wind/tide dependent. 'Good' snorkeliing would be a bonus rather than an expectaion - unless you pay for the more expensive trip to Mnemba. Good pool though, and swimming from the beach is great too." See all these reviews: 9n in Zanzibar; 7n in Tanzania

"We arrived around 7pm to a really warm welcome from Kara. We were shown to our room (Vals room) which had such a perfect outlook & was just a few steps away from the Indian Ocean. The room had a fantastic outlook & was well equipped. The shower was a little weak but hey, who cares when you're in such beautiful surroundings! We liked the idea of complementary gowns & kangas & to have fresh coffee delivered in the morning was also a great touch (even though we were forgotton 1 day & only got 1 cup the next - the thought was there!!)

The dining & lounge areas were furnished in bright prints & every evening we took advantage of the various games available (dominoes, bao, scrabble etc) whilst enjoying olives, nuts & popcorn prior to our evening meal. The food was always very well presented, plentiful & served by smiling staff. They were happy to meet any request for variations in a meal (eg I used to ask for chilli omelette in the mornings!) We would possibly have enjoyed a little more 'spice' (Zanzibar - Spice Island??!) but appreciate that not everyone else shares our passion for this!!

It was great having a private beach as we rarely encountered more than a handful of other people during the day & even though once the tide had retreated the water was too shallow to swim, there were all sorts of interesting things to look at in the water such as urchins, sea slugs(!) & of course some beautiful shells to collect! We used this time to take advantage of the lovely infinity pool - again, this area was never crowded.

We took a trip on the dhow out to the reef & tried a bit of snorkeling & hand-line fishing - great fun, several different species caught! It was a perfect winding down place - everything we needed amongst the most fabulous setting. We only went out one day, up to Nungwi for some game fishing. There seemed to be a stark difference in the two places & we're so glad we chose Pongwe! No negatives - only the coffee blanking blip!!" See all these reviews: 7n in Tanzania; 6n in Zanzibar