Travel reviews by Dav & Kay from Manchester

"This hotel was a good option for our short stop over, we arrived quite late and left early the next morning, so we didn’t really utilise the hotels facilities.

There didn’t seem to be many restaurants around, (although there was a Pizza Hut across the road, but we didn’t see it!) but we were quite happy to wander and find something local.

The hotel itself was clean and tidy, we enjoyed a drink in the bar before turning in for the night, the room was large, the bed comfy, and the shower really nice and hot, and the breakfast provided in the morning for us to take away was substantial and good."

"From the moment we were greeted at the airport we felt like we had won the lottery! Our guide did whatever paperwork was required whilst we made ourselves comfy with our chilled water bottles and biscuits! We couldn’t believe the animals we saw on our way from the airport to our lodge, our guide (Luca) took time to explain things along our journey so it felt like we were straight into it! It took about an hour to get to Ikuku but our arrival was lovely, Tommy and the staff were lined up waving to greet us with a drink and cool towel at the ready, it felt so nice to be met with such friendly smiling faces all waving.

Our lodge Ikuka was simply perfect, all the details in the room were beautiful, from the beaded lion on the table upstairs and a hippo stool to large tassels on the curtains and telescope waiting for us to view the night sky! The construction was interesting with sparkly granite stones packing out the walls for privacy. It was all absolutely beautiful and the view spectacular.

The bed was huge and it was so thoughtful of the staff to provide hot water bottles in the evening to take the chill off, although it was breezy in the evening, it really wasn’t cold.

The food was really tasty and colourful and left us feeling full, but not uncomfortable and seemed to be healthy whilst also being a feast for the eyes (presentation was beautiful), we enjoyed the feeling that the only decision we needed to make was what drink we wanted. Although you could choose to dine alone in your room, we enjoyed the camaraderie of dining together as a group in the evening comparing animal sightings from the day.

We did have our lunch one afternoon on our own so that we could enjoy the view and facilities in our own lodge as it was nice to not rush around and although we thoroughly enjoyed our breakfasts whilst out on our treks, we also enjoyed watching the sun come up from our bed and a leisurely breakfast on our last morning.

The staff could not have been more helpful or friendly.

Our guide Habibu was just amazing. He was so considerate of both the animals and us that we felt very honoured, his knowledge of animals and the birds was outstanding. Habibu took care to take us to places where we would see the animals that we had mentioned, and we loved seeing the hippos and crocodiles at The Hidden lake. We didn’t pay extra for a private guide but by chance seemed to get one most mornings, however even when we went out in a group we were lucky to be with other couples who enhanced our trip. Sunset drinks and nibbles were enjoyable with others.

Overall, our experience was amazing, obviously you go out on the safari drives, twice a day, unfortunately you need to drive out to make the most of your visit because of the height of the lodge, but this gave spectacular views, so we were happy, although this might not suit everyone."

"We enjoyed our stay at Emerson Spice, it was very central, but that meant that it was quite busy, and it was strange to go out onto the balcony and have lots of tourists looking up at you and taking photos. Also the mosque across the road meant we had a very early wake up call, but that wasn’t the end of the world for us.

The building was historic and interesting, which made a change. The bed was very, very tall, we had to move a box for me to climb into it and did worry me slightly.

Although the restaurant is highly recommended (and has views across the rooftops) it turned out to be a set seafood menu, and as neither my partner or I like seafood we gave this a miss, but we got to enjoy the rooftop view in the morning for breakfast, where we got all of our five a day in one sitting. Trying to guess the fruit was an interesting game!

We visited the Forodhani Gardens night food market and ate there, which was fascinating.

Overall the hotel was quaint and interesting, and ok for a couple of nights.

In hindsight It was so easy to walk into and around Stonetown that a hotel overlooking the sea would not have been an issue."

"Wow! What a hotel! From the spice garden to the beach barbecue, to the different restaurants and the spa treatment, we loved our stay at The Zuri, it never once felt crowded, the rooms are so private and secluded due to the expanse of vegetation that we felt like we could have been on our own desert island.

We had a room with a separate hot tub. Which although we appreciated, took us a while to find a temperature that we could actually sit in for any length of time. We loved the outdoor shower and the shaded deck with hammock.

The design of the room was beautiful, it had lovely details with beaded screens and beads falling over the mirrors, the bed had a wonderful AC system which meant you were guaranteed a good nights sleep, and the TV had a piece of artwork over it, that slid back, all credit to the designer. The finishing touches by the housekeeping team were also incredibly considerate, with them providing bug spray and mosquito burner etc.

We went half board which was perfect as you could eat enough at breakfast to see you through for a week! The staff were all so friendly and really made our trip special."