Reviews of The Residence

"A very high level of hospitality experienced at all levels. It was very pleasing to note that all staff members, not just supervisory members, would express that "they are grateful for us choosing The Residence Zanzibar". The restaurant team accommodated my group's request for vegetarian food.

We celebrated my daughter's birthday there and the dining room staff along with a performance team at the pool gave an experience to remember for lifetime.

Needless to say, two days' stay at the resort was too short. I would return there any time.

Two comments to consider for the resort management:

- Water bottles in the rooms/villas are free but they are charged in the dining area makes little sense. Considering the overall cost, providing a couple of bottles of water for free in the restaurant shouldn't be an issue.

- When we were walking on the beach, we saw a drone flying and hovering over the area. As a rule, the resort should expressly inform the guests that drones are not permitted." See all these reviews: 4n in Zanzibar

"First impressions were very good. The staff were welcoming and treated us like VIPs. The villas are spread out over an extensive area so we were transported in a buggy to our villa. Bikes were provided to get around but if we didn't want to cycle, a phone call to reception brought a buggy to us within minutes.
The villa was also beautiful. It had a large, well furnished lounge area with a TV, a tea and coffee making station and a mini fridge. There were sliding doors into the bedroom which contained a huge four poster bed adorned with mosquito nets. The bed was wonderfully comfortable and we both slept well.

Both the bedroom and lounge area had sliding doors out onto the private patio which was furnished with a table and chairs and 2 loungers. Best of all was the private pool; not huge, but bigger than I would have expected for a plunge pool.

We were on a half board plan but we had considered upgrading to all inclusive but at an extra cost cost of 79U$ per person, per night we decided against it. In fact we found all the prices to be unnecessarily high. Even those who had paid for all-inclusive didn't have free access to everything e.g. only the house white and house red wines were included and a very limited selection of spirits. Everything else cost extra. They even charged an extra 10U$ on top of the cost of your order for room service.

The biggest disappointment was the food. The website mentions dining in The Pavilion but when we were there the only dining option was a buffet in The Dining Room and to be honest it was a bit of a bun-fight with the other guests. There was supposedly a different theme each evening but whilst fairly tasty, it was all rather samey. The Indian food was the best and tasted authentic. Sadly the Lebanese, Italian and International themes were less so and it seemed that some leftovers made repeat appearances. Disappointing food in a lovely hotel." See all these reviews: 12n in Tanzania; 8n in Zanzibar

"A fantastic room with a surprisingly large private pool overlooking the beach - just perfect.

All of the staff were extremely friendly although service could be a bit hit or miss depending on how good their English was - I would stree though that everyone tried to be helpful always and nothing was too much trouble.

A really great location to end our holiday and we would definitely look for The Residence in other locations as well" See all these reviews: 10n in Tanzania; 7n in Zanzibar; 1n in Kenya