Reviews of Zanzibar Coffee House
Wildlife sightings and reviews
64 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Zanzibar Coffee House and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa
Mr & Mrs E
Sydenham
"Zanzibar Coffee House review"
2 nights Arrived 22 Jan 2010
"Our stay at the Zanzibar Coffee House was the conclusion to our whole holiday and we were pleasantly surprised to find such wonderful rooms above what is a very modest entrance. (Easily missable if you're not concentrating!) The rooms/suites are all named after types of coffee (not surprisingly) and are decorated with a distinctly north african feel around the centerpiece of an enormous four poster bed. The coffee house is situated in the very heart of Stonetown and, once you have familiarised yourself with the local streets, easily accessible from the popular eating/drinking areas.
The coffee house itself is a charming place to sit and relax away from the bustle of the streets. Breakfast is provided on the roof of the building providing great views of the town and comprising fresh fruit, pastries and cooked breakfast to order. We didn't eat lunch or dinner here and therefore can't comment but the menu looked varied and well priced.
This is by no means luxury accommodation but overall the rooms are large, beautifully decorated and excellent value for money. A perfect base for exploring all that Stonetown has to offer." See all these reviews: 8n in Zanzibar; 4n in Tanzania
The coffee house itself is a charming place to sit and relax away from the bustle of the streets. Breakfast is provided on the roof of the building providing great views of the town and comprising fresh fruit, pastries and cooked breakfast to order. We didn't eat lunch or dinner here and therefore can't comment but the menu looked varied and well priced.
This is by no means luxury accommodation but overall the rooms are large, beautifully decorated and excellent value for money. A perfect base for exploring all that Stonetown has to offer." See all these reviews: 8n in Zanzibar; 4n in Tanzania
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location:
Good
Service:
Good
Rooms:
Excellent
Facilities:
Good
Mr & Miss S
London
"Hidden Gem in Stone Town"
1 night Arrived 14 Oct 2009
"I am so pleased that I stayed at the Coffee House, even if it was for only one night. The location was perfect - just 5 minutes walk from the market and not much farther to the waterfront and many of the historic places of interest. My room - the Cappuccino Suite - was huge and, although I arrived early and well ahead of the usual check-in time, the staff ran around and cleaned the room so that it was ready within 30 minutes of my arrival. Just enough time to sample the fabulous coffee!
The Coffee House is 100% run by ladies who were all very helpful. They recommended an excellent (and very reasonably priced) local tour guide who I spent an extremely enjoyable and educational 3 hours with walking round Stone Town. Unfortunately I had to leave very early the following day, so wasn't able to sample the breakfast. However if their coffee and homemade chocolate cake is anything to go by, then it would have been delicious! My only regret about the Coffee House (and Stone Town itself) is that I didn't stay longer.
One thing to note for future travellers is that the room does not have a safe, nor is there a secure facility at reception. There is a small box in each room which you can use to lock away your valuables, however you'll need to have your own padlock." See all these reviews: 11n in Zanzibar
The Coffee House is 100% run by ladies who were all very helpful. They recommended an excellent (and very reasonably priced) local tour guide who I spent an extremely enjoyable and educational 3 hours with walking round Stone Town. Unfortunately I had to leave very early the following day, so wasn't able to sample the breakfast. However if their coffee and homemade chocolate cake is anything to go by, then it would have been delicious! My only regret about the Coffee House (and Stone Town itself) is that I didn't stay longer.
One thing to note for future travellers is that the room does not have a safe, nor is there a secure facility at reception. There is a small box in each room which you can use to lock away your valuables, however you'll need to have your own padlock." See all these reviews: 11n in Zanzibar
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Facilities:
Good
Honeymooners
London
"Zanzibar Coffee House stop over"
1 night Arrived 3 Oct 2009
"Very friendly and a good location to explore Stone Town.
Fairly basic accomodation was clean and comfotable. It was great to have air conditioning and the staff had made a special cake to celebate our honeymoon!" See all these reviews: 4n in Tanzania; 1n in Zanzibar
Fairly basic accomodation was clean and comfotable. It was great to have air conditioning and the staff had made a special cake to celebate our honeymoon!" See all these reviews: 4n in Tanzania; 1n in Zanzibar
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Good
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Excellent
Mr & Mrs ME
W London
"Zanzibar Coffee House review"
3 nights Arrived 19 Sep 2009
"The coffee house is full of character and the room was spacious and comfortable. The breakast in the morning was delicious and the coffee's were the best we tatsted throughout our holiday.
The staff were also very friendly and helpful." See all these reviews: 8n in Zanzibar; 4n in Tanzania
The staff were also very friendly and helpful." See all these reviews: 8n in Zanzibar; 4n in Tanzania
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location:
Average
Service:
Good
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Excellent
Ms S & Mr M
London
"Zanzibar Coffee House review"
1 night Arrived 10 Sep 2009
"This is a quirky little hotel in the centre of Stone Town. We stayed in the Cappuccino Suite which was a large room with en suite bathroom. The room has an usual layout, reflecting the age of the building, and the owners have furnished the rooms in keeping with this. The bathroom suite looked to be new and the rooms were very clean. As we stayed only one night, we probably didn't experience everything the hotel had to offer but it was very comfortable.
Breakfast is served at the top of the building with 360 degree views over Stone Town, which makes for a memorable experience. The coffee shop downstairs offers a welcome respite from the heat and bustle of the streets outside." See all these reviews: 1n in Zanzibar
Breakfast is served at the top of the building with 360 degree views over Stone Town, which makes for a memorable experience. The coffee shop downstairs offers a welcome respite from the heat and bustle of the streets outside." See all these reviews: 1n in Zanzibar
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Good
Activities:
Good
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Good
C family
Shrewsbury
"Atmospheric, clean and helpful"
1 night Arrived 12 Aug 2009
"It was a bit of a shock to be parachuted in to a crowded and busy Stone Town after days by the beach, andf so it took a few hours for us to get our heads around the fact that the hotel was a very clean and comfortable oasis in Stone Town.
The roof-top seating area is lovely - though we didn't find it until relatively late in the day.
As everywhere, friendly and helpf ul staff." See all these reviews: 6n in Rwanda; 4n in Zanzibar; 1n in Kenya; 1n in Tanzania
The roof-top seating area is lovely - though we didn't find it until relatively late in the day.
As everywhere, friendly and helpf ul staff." See all these reviews: 6n in Rwanda; 4n in Zanzibar; 1n in Kenya; 1n in Tanzania
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location:
Good
Service:
Good
Rooms:
Good
M family
Hampshire
"Wonderfully exotic"
2 nights Arrived 31 Jul 2009
"I wasn't sure what I had come to: and you have to walk from the market as the street is so narrow, but a lovely place. Amazing coffee, lovely rooms and I wish i'd discovered the rooftop sitting room earlier: I could have stayed there all day! Sitting on cushions having breakfast above Stone Town's rooftops: probably the best place to view it!
Situated between the market and the main Bazaar street: because it is a coffee house, you have to go out to dinner and return in the dark. I perhaps wouldn't have been happy to do this alone, but as a family of four it was fine although pretty dark. It would be easy and a bit scary to get lost, but much more interesting than staying in one of the main hotels.
the staff even got up at 5.30am to make us coffee and rolls before we left.
Wandering round Stone Town was fascinating, although you need to say "no" quite firmly. Nothing like as bad as India or anywhere though, and very few obvious beggars." See all these reviews: 8n in Tanzania; 6n in Zanzibar
Situated between the market and the main Bazaar street: because it is a coffee house, you have to go out to dinner and return in the dark. I perhaps wouldn't have been happy to do this alone, but as a family of four it was fine although pretty dark. It would be easy and a bit scary to get lost, but much more interesting than staying in one of the main hotels.
the staff even got up at 5.30am to make us coffee and rolls before we left.
Wandering round Stone Town was fascinating, although you need to say "no" quite firmly. Nothing like as bad as India or anywhere though, and very few obvious beggars." See all these reviews: 8n in Tanzania; 6n in Zanzibar
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Ms S & Mr A
New York
"Zanzibar Coffee House review"
2 nights Arrived 29 Jul 2009
"It's easy to get lost in Stone Town (practically impossible NOT to get lost) but we knew every time we walked out the front door that it would take an hour of wandering to find our way back to the Coffee House. Which is not the worst thing if you have time and enjoy a good wander. We stayed in a split-level suite with a large bathroom and a beautiful big bed. At first it seemed more high-end than Asmini (where we'd been previously), but there were no toiletries for guests - not even hand soap! Service was pretty poor - the female staff downstairs seemed bothered by our requests to make dinner reservations, give us directions or make a recommendation for dinner. We came back to the hotel with 45 minutes before dinner and our towels hadn't been replaced - I had to ask twice just to have a towel to take a shower. We also got to dinner that night and our reservation hadn't been made - we were given the worst table in the house (on the beach next to the boat loading dock - loud, bright and fume-y) which was unfortunate, because we only had one night for what we were hoping was going to be a romantic, relaxing meal. The innkeeper Jane was very sweet and helpful, and breakfast on the roof was lovely. Coffee was also, predictably, delicious. If service had been better we would have been much happier with the Coffee House."
See all these reviews: 6n in Tanzania; 2n in Zanzibar
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Average
Location:
Poor
Service:
Poor
Facilities:
Good
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Good
The H family
Sweden
"Zanzibar Coffee House review"
3 nights Arrived 10 Jul 2009
"The wonderful roof top terrace was our oasis where we had a very good breakfast, then a nice cold beer in the afternoon and at last a pleasant time late in the evening in the cooling breeze."
See all these reviews: 5n in Zanzibar; 4n in Tanzania
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Dr & Mr G
Bangor
"Zanzibar Coffee House review"
2 nights Arrived 5 Jul 2009
"This had a very authentic feel, with huge rooms, comfortable beds, fabulous coffee and cakes made on the premises, and very friendly staff. It's certainly quirky, but it felt a bit down at heel - the room had a lot of bare floor without rugs, the bathroom was small and pretty basic, the window netting had holes in it - not major problems, but it didn't quite live up to its description on the website.
The rooftop sitting area had spectacular views, though the breakfast itself was a bit disappointing in terms of choice, by comparison with the safari and beach lodges. We didn't get a cooked breakfast on our final day because we had to leave before the kitchen opened at 6.00 am, so they gave us coffee, fruit and muffins.
It's a 10 minute walk back from the waterfront area, but it's fairly easy to take a wrong turning, and pretty dark at night, so you need a torch and a good sense of direction! It felt perfectly safe though." See all these reviews: 7n in Tanzania; 5n in Zanzibar
The rooftop sitting area had spectacular views, though the breakfast itself was a bit disappointing in terms of choice, by comparison with the safari and beach lodges. We didn't get a cooked breakfast on our final day because we had to leave before the kitchen opened at 6.00 am, so they gave us coffee, fruit and muffins.
It's a 10 minute walk back from the waterfront area, but it's fairly easy to take a wrong turning, and pretty dark at night, so you need a torch and a good sense of direction! It felt perfectly safe though." See all these reviews: 7n in Tanzania; 5n in Zanzibar
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Average
Location:
Average
Service:
Good
Facilities:
Average
Rooms:
Average
Food:
Good
Holiday styles & special interests in Zanzibar
From birdwatching breaks to walking holidays, find great ideas for your trip in Zanzibar.
Other lodges in Stone Town
Alternative places to stay in this same area.
Serena Inn
Now trumped by the nearby Park Hyatt, the Serena Inn, in its historic building, was formerly Stone Town's only international-style hotel.
Zanzibar Palace Hotel
The Zanzibar Palace Hotel is a highly regarded boutique hotel with very personal service and just nine rooms, all of them Zanzibari in style.
Beyt al Salaam
The Beyt al Salaam is a pleasant, boutique hotel with only six rooms and atmospheric and stylish Zanzibari décor.
Dhow Palace Hotel
The Dhow Palace is a very good-value, mid-range hotel, full of Swahili character, and the pool makes it appealing to families.
Emerson Spice
Emerson Spice is a beautiful small hotel in the heart of Stone Town with individually designed rooms adorned with gorgeous fabrics.
Kholle House
Kholle House offers an atmospheric Stone Town stay in a historic building, and is very good value for money.
Jafferji House
Jafferji House is a converted old house that blends modern facilities with traditional style. The ten, unique rooms are show great attention to detail.
Swahili House
Swahili House is a traditionally styled boutique hotel furnished to a high standard with a convenient location in the centre of Stone Town.
Tembo Hotel
The Tembo Hotel is a good-value, family-friendly hotel right on the seafront in Stone Town, with 36 rooms and a good-sized swimming pool.
Emerson on Hurumzi
Emerson on Hurumzi was Stone Town's first boutique hotel, featuring antique furniture, unique, stylish rooms and a superb rooftop restaurant.
Mbweni Ruins Hotel
Mbweni Ruins Hotel is very convenient if you want to stay on the beach, but very close to Stone Town, or visit Chumbe Island.
Park Hyatt
The Park Hyatt Zanzibar is a high-quality example of this group, with excellent facilities and service.
Maru Maru Hotel
In the heart of Stone Town, Maru Maru combines contemporary style and creature comforts with a Zanzibari twist.
Seyyida Hotel
The Seyyida is a characterful old hotel near the seafront in Stone Town, with the rare bonus of a swimming pool.
Kisiwa House
Kisiwa's central location in the heart of Stone Town's Shangani area makes it a great base to explore this fascinating town.
