Reviews of Mnemba Island Lodge

"It really is as described: bare foot luxury.

White sand, turquoise ocean, delicious food, comfortable and spacious accommodation, and a great deal of pampering.

The snorkelling is excellent and if you are not a diver, I would recommend the introductory course." See all these reviews: 7n in Zanzibar; 5n in Tanzania; 1n in Kenya

"We absolutely completely loved it.
We loved the room, the activities, the food, the people.
The turtle hatchings, the conservation, the eco feel etc etc etc
No words can describe how much we loved it!
The dive master was amazing, snorkeling with baby dolphins, the thousands and thousands of fish, the perfect sands" See all these reviews: 8n in Tanzania; 7n in Zanzibar

"excellent place and structure. service perfect and very good food
perfect place for relax and rest. snorkling in front door also amazing" See all these reviews: 5n in Tanzania; 3n in Zanzibar

"A stay at Mnemba Lodge is a great way to end a safari holiday. The accommodation is of a very high standard and the island is beautiful. However it is very expensive and does not quite deliver the whole package.
The transfers all worked like clockwork and we were allowed late checkout without even requesting it.
The snorkelling was excellent and there were numerous activities on hand.
Unfortunately the food and beverages were not up to the same standard. All the wine was mediocre and could be bought in a super market for around £6/£7. Not good enough when paying this sort of money! The food sounded good at times, but was actually quite dull. We were offered the same two types of fish for lunch and for dinner on the same day. It was simply grilled, beautifully, at lunch and was then presented as a dried shrivelled lump in the evening! There are other ways of cooking fish! The only desserts were sorbet at lunch and ice-cream at dinner. It is a 15 minute boat trip to the mainland. There is no excuse for this sort of lazy cooking. Sayari presented varying desserts at every lunch and dinner and they are in the Serengeti!" See all these reviews: 8n in Tanzania; 3n in Zanzibar; 1n in Kenya

"An unforgettable experience in this little piece of paradise.

The island and location are simply stunning. Our expectations were completely and utterly surpassed.

The staff were both professional and knowledgeable and a true credit to andBeyond." See all these reviews: 9n in Tanzania; 4n in Zanzibar

"Simply stunning all round. We basically inhabited our own slice of the island- it really was a true dessert island experience without another hut or person in sight. The huts are beautifully designed, very spacious and open to the elements; again adding to the Robinson Crusoe feel. The staff were fantastic and did everything possible to make our stay memorable including performing a guitar jamming session, arranging romantic candlelit dinners on the beach and in a hidden clearing in the trees, putting on a wine tasting evening, releasing baby turtles into the sea. The food was absolutely exceptional and the chef will cook pretty much anything on request. The lobster and prawn dishes were beautiful. The whole place and all the touches had such a high end quality- truly a top destination in the world." See all these reviews: 9n in Tanzania; 7n in Zanzibar; 1n in Kenya

"Boring, everything was truly excellent!

From the moment you arrive you are in a different world. The colours, beach room, food,service and the whole experience. The staff really do go out of their way to make your stay memorable-and they succeed. We were lucky to see the turtles going down to the sea and also all the other rare birds/animals on the island. make sure that guests are aware of which way the wind is blowing when they go as it makes a vast difference as to which rooms are sensible.

Obviously we have no complaints - however, I should point out that if there is a gale blowing all the mainland tourist snorkelling boats use the home reef, which is only about 100 metres in front of your room. Contrary to general knowledge, Mnemba will go out of their way to let you leave later depending usually on when their new guests are arriving. We left at 1.30 pm" See all these reviews: 4n in Tanzania; 3n in Zanzibar; 1n in Kenya

"Absolute Heaven!!

Spoilt from start to finish. Best snorkelling/diving in the Indian Ocean, swimming with dolphins. Witnessed turtles hatching and laying eggs on the island. The food was out of this world. A wonderful place, it just does not get any better!! The staff are amazing as is the management.

Well done all of you we can't wait to come back!!" See all these reviews: 8n in Tanzania; 7n in Zanzibar

"Mnemba most unexpectedly provided us with two viewings of a turtle hatching which were a fantastic experience, and made our stay unforgetable. It was also very nice to be able to stroll to the home reef and snorkel, which provided a wonderful variety of animals and made up for the fact we were not going to be able to take advantage of the diving opportunities.

This was an extremely relaxing part of our holiday helped by the facilities and attentiveness of our bulter Amore. The staff were welcoming and we were impressed by the chef - the food was excellent. The island seemed to benefit from not having quite the same climate as the mainland which we could see just across the water often suffered from cloud and rain. The sunsets with sundowners provided were beautiful. We did not wear shoes for most of the holiday as the white coral sand was never too hot, although it took some time for my muscles to get used to walking in it.

Our room was extremely spacious and the fridge well stocked with drinks. Each room has its own shaded beach beds. You could be very private if you wished and we certainly enjoyed the evening meal on the beach outside our room. (we could have done this every day if we had wished)

The room was well serviced except that our room (apparently the only one at that time) had mosquitoe problems and because the room staff had been instructed not to intrude when guests were present it meant that our mosquito net was not in place at the correct time of day. We are not used to averting mosquito attacks and therefore would have preferred a more proactive approach from the staff. Certainly after some one had been brought in to spray the area there was a decrease in mosquito attacks.

The other problem was the last part of the road transfer which was incredibly rough (even compared to our game drives) despite a luxurious vehicle with a careful driver. It was an odd start to a luxury holiday. We also had a more difficult entry to the boat for the crossing because our flight in Arusha had been delayed so we were crossing with the rougher water at high tide (OK if you don't mind getting quite wet).

We feel for the price of the holiday we would have appreciated being offered some free treatments from the excellent spa staff in lieu of the diving trips which we were not using. One more comment - this is not an island to go to if you dislike the dove/pigeon family which use the island as a roost and are active even at night." See all these reviews: 7n in Tanzania; 7n in Zanzibar

"A really exceptional stay where we enjoyed every moment. The food was an absolute highlight where we were able to eat the freshest fish that we saw the fishermen bring to the kitchen each day!

Very relaxing and team were fantastic." See all these reviews: 6n in Tanzania; 6n in Zanzibar