Travel reviews by Mr & Mrs S from Winchester
Review Distribution
Total number of trips
1
Countries visited
1
Lodges stayed in
2
Excursions taken
0
Aim Achieved
Zanzibar between 20 Sep 2008 and 5 Oct 2008
"We achieved everything we set out to do. 7 days of rest and idleness, followed by 7 days of researching my past ,from the age of a few months to about 4 years old., and going on Town, spice, forest and dhow tours.
The highlight was a visit to the extraordinarily well -organised Archives Office, where we were quickly able to read a full dossier on my father, who was Deputy Commissioner of Police 1926-1939, together with the record of some riots in 1936 when my father was injured.
We also identified two houses near the lawcourts, one of which must have been our home (one is now the Egyptian Consulate, and the other is a government office"
The highlight was a visit to the extraordinarily well -organised Archives Office, where we were quickly able to read a full dossier on my father, who was Deputy Commissioner of Police 1926-1939, together with the record of some riots in 1936 when my father was injured.
We also identified two houses near the lawcourts, one of which must have been our home (one is now the Egyptian Consulate, and the other is a government office"
Arranged By Claire Scott
Matemwe Lodge
"Matemwe Bungalows review"
7 nights
Arrived
21 Sep 2008
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Average
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Beyt al Salaam
"Beyt al Chai review"
7 nights
Arrived
28 Sep 2008
"This hotel is ideally situated in a safe area of the Town. It has a friendly, informal atmosphere with an unusual layout for a hotel, and a comfortable sitting room for reading.(not air-conditioned) The restaurant is well-recommended.
We were faced with a minor, but unresolved, plumbing problem, for which we were compensated by a free meal!
The manager, a Swedish lady, who had only arrived a month before, after 3 years in Zanzibar in some other capacity, is inexperienced, but trying hard. I am not sure she expected that some of her job would be answering naive questions from tourists, which elicited rather vague replies!. She provided us with an excellent town and tour guide (Salum).As a matter of interest, when I asked about Agnes Veillard,the manager thought I was talking about someone from the last century, so I presume that there has been another manager after Agnes
In the Bradt Guide the hotel is rated alongside the Serena. We would not agree."
We were faced with a minor, but unresolved, plumbing problem, for which we were compensated by a free meal!
The manager, a Swedish lady, who had only arrived a month before, after 3 years in Zanzibar in some other capacity, is inexperienced, but trying hard. I am not sure she expected that some of her job would be answering naive questions from tourists, which elicited rather vague replies!. She provided us with an excellent town and tour guide (Salum).As a matter of interest, when I asked about Agnes Veillard,the manager thought I was talking about someone from the last century, so I presume that there has been another manager after Agnes
In the Bradt Guide the hotel is rated alongside the Serena. We would not agree."
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location
Excellent
Service
Good
Facilities
Average
Rooms
Good
Food
Excellent
It is extremely well run by the new (arrived in June 08) manager (Mr Stritter ?} who came from Namibia with a German wife.. The bungalows are ideal, with a permanent breeze, lots of well-designed space and always something to see outside, with dhows going in and out, the reef in the distance , the fishermen on foot in the shallow water at low tide, and the changing light.,
The bar and restaurant are excellent, and the manager is doing great things in the gardens , which I suspect got rather overgrown.
Snorkelling is not available from the doorstep, and this means taking a dhow to the reef."