Reviews of Essque Zalu Zanzibar

"Great for relaxing in the resort itself. Beautiful view from the hotel on to the water." See all these reviews: 5n in Tanzania; 4n in Zanzibar; 1n in Kenya

"We LOVED the Essque Zalu hotel and spa. It was luxurious, clean, spacious and just wonderful. Exactly the type of place you see in honeymoon brochures and it really didn't disappoint. Coming from a bush camp as well just made it seem more idyllic and the suite, pool and overall facilities were just fabulous. We were greeted on arrival by our Navigator who, after giving us a fresh berry smoothie showed us round the hotel and to our room. The grounds are spotless and everyone was so friendly and welcoming, you got the impression that they would be offended if you didn't just relax and enjoy your time there, so that is exactly what we did! Lunch on the jetty was lovely and the food there and in the Market Kitchen was tasty and reasonably priced.

After settling in, we went to the pool which is amazing. It's large, warm, spacious and has plenty of sun loungers, spaces and areas surrounding it. We went at a time when it wasn't busy so we didn't have any problems with getting space by the pool or tables in the restaurants etc there. It also meant that the service was very attentive (perhaps a little too attentive towards the end of our stay) but on the whole, very good.

We also used the excursion desk to plan a day trip to Stone Town and Prison Island and then a separate Spice Tour. These were reasonably priced for the two of us and organised according to our schedule. The tour guide provided was knowledgeable, friendly and it was nice to see the rest of the island. We stayed at the Essque Zalu for five nights and perhaps six would have been just perfect as the location of the hotel meant that Stone Town and the other attractions were at least an hour's drive away. Because of our schedule it meant that we had to do Stone Town, Spice Tour and then leave for the airport on three consecutive days - it would have been ideal to have a chill day in between the day trips and then checking out but that's probably because we were so relaxed after spending time at the hotel, we were verging on being very lazy!

As we were on our honeymoon, we had some lovely extras added to our stay. I had henna on my hands which is traditional for brides and newlyweds and we both had a complimentary treatment in the spa. Part of the honeymoon package was also a Swahili cooking lesson which was great and a candle-lit meal on the balcony terrace on our last evening. All these extra parts just added to an already idyllic stay. It was also my birthday while we were there and they surprised me with a cake and all sang Happy Birthday in Swahili which was lovely.

We very much enjoyed our stay at the Essque Zalu and were genuinely sad to leave any say good bye to everyone. It really did feel like they wanted to make our stay the best it could be and provide us with some wonderful honeymoon memories." See all these reviews: 5n in Zanzibar; 4n in Tanzania

"Esquee Zalu is in a beautiful spot on the northern tip of the island. It is certainly impressive to look at, with a gorgeous pool area and a jetty which extends out in to the ocean, providing the perfect spot from which to watch the beautiful sunsets in the evening.

Our ocean front suite was spacious and comfortable, the staff friendly and the food good. However, there wasn't much atmosphere in the hotel - it was fairly empty whilst we were there, and each of the three bars in the evening were normally empty, which made the repetitive playlist stick out a little! The service wasn't bad by any means, but it wasn't fantastic either.

Overall though, we thoroughly enjoyed our stay here. The pool area is one of the nicest I have ever seen at a hotel, with stunning views out to the turquoise ocean. It was also a short walk along the beach (at low tide) to Nungwi town which provided a change of scenery, and the hotel spa was very good too." See all these reviews: 6n in Tanzania; 3n in Zanzibar