We stayed for four very enjoyable nights at Pongwe Beach Hotel. It is a small tranquil hotel right on the white sandy beach of the turquoise Indian Ocean. It really is a slice of paradise. Our thatched African styled semi-detached accommodation was as close to the beach as you could get with a spectacular view of the ocean from the sunbeds resting on the terrace. Our room was clean and spacious. It had good quiet air conditioning and a ceiling fan. There was also a mosquito net over the four poster large firm but comfortable double bed. There were also four firm but comfortable pillows. There was a good hot shower in the large shower area which keeps the bathroom floor dry. There were complimentary toiletries and a large bottle of water which is replenished daily. The staff are very friendly and attentive. In fact we thought it was too much so. We had a problem with the latch on our door which was replaced soon after I mentioned it to reception. The swimming pool again by the beach is sparkling clean warm and inviting. There seemed to be enough sunbeds by the pool for the number of guests during our stay but there were not enough parasols and the few in the shade disappeared very quickly. The breakfast is good with a reasonable variety of choices. The freshly cooked part of breakfast is as close as you will get to a full English breakfast in Zanzibar. Lunch and dinner are available in the restaurant. There is a limited choice from the à la carte menu which changes daily. The food is of an excellent quality although by African standards it is extremely expensive and the portions are small. When we arrived on Friday night it was 'buffet night' but as my wife does not like buffets we could choose from the lunchtime menu. There is complimentary tea and coffee with biscuits and cake available all day from the restaurant and at four o'clock a waiter comes round the pool and beach with an afternoon snack of freshly cut fruit.

Insufficient Parasols: There weren't enough parasols by the pool, and those in the shade were quickly taken. * Loud Live Music: The extremely loud live musical session on Sunday evening disturbed the peaceful atmosphere. * Unnecessary Background Music: we disliked the continual inane background music, which we felt ruined the tranquil environment. * Expensive and Small Portions: The evening menu, while of excellent quality, was considered extremely expensive for African standards with small portions. * Overly Attentive Staff: in our opinion we found the staff to be too attentive.

Stayed at the cliff villa with pool. Things we liked were the stunning location/beach, delicious food (we ate all our food at the hotel), spacious room with a comfy bed, very picturesque and well maintained property grounds and the service While the water at high tide is one of clearest and bluest you’d ever see and the beaches almost blindingly white, low tide is interesting in it own way and a great time to explore the sea. The hotel staff does an amazing job at ridding the beach of seaweed every day.

The room (and bathroom) could have done with a tad bit more detailing/design especially at these price points. However that didn’t put a dent in our experience in any way

Pongwe Beach Hotel is embedded in a beautiful tropical garden and situated right at the beach. We‘ve loved its secluded location, the beach is not accessible during high tide and that means that you don‘t get bothered by beach boys as much (rarely ever, to be honest). We‘ve had a beach front room that was literally a stone‘s throw away from the beach, it couldn‘t have been any more convenient! The room was spacious and spotless, also our 14yr old daughter had a full single bed to use. The turn down service in the evening is something you don‘t usually see in that category, so we were pleasantly surprised. Another nice touch is the option to order early morning coffee / tea, that gets quietly delivered to your terrace from 07:00 am onwards, so as an early bird you can enjoy your first cup of coffee on the daybed of your room terrace and enjoy the wonderful beach view whilst others are still sleeping. We‘ve booked half board and were not disappointed - the menu was very diverse, each day you could choose between meat / fish / vegetarian options for your main course. There‘s a buffet twice a week as well, plus evening entertainment on 2 days, we‘ve enjoyed both very much! The staff is most welcoming and attentive, no matter if housekeeping, restaurant, reception….as a guest you feel your presence is appreciated and every wish is taken care of. I usually never book 3-star hotels, but with this one got tempted because of its exceptional reviews - and they are all true, so can highly recommend and would definitely stay there again!

There is nothing I could complain about or wished they would do differently. I do love snorkeling, and there are no snorkeling spots around (you have to book an excursion to be taken somewhere and it‘s guided, you cannot just go on your own), so that option would have made it perfect. It‘s something that I knew in advance though and was outweighed by many other Pro‘s :-)

The location and staff at Pongwe Beach make it an absolutely special place to spend a holiday: we loved the tranquillity of the beach and the friendly and warm atmosphere created by everyone who works there. The hotel functions in perfect harmony with its natural surroundings, so that one can enjoy the unspoiled view of the ocean and the sound of the waves. Sleeping just a few steps away from the white sand and palm trees make it feel like paradise. The cuisine offered was a delight - we particularly enjoyed the variety of options at breakfast and the delicious fish served at dinner (with the special dinner served on the beach a particular highlight). Thank you to the staff for making our stay so beautiful and memorable, we would love to come back!

-We loved how clean and quiet the beach was. There is not a super long area of beach but enough to walk and enjoy the white sand and find shells -The staff was very friendly -The included breakfast buffet had enough options -The pool was very clean -There were certain nights that local entertainment came which was fun!

-The hotel does not have any markets or restaurants to walk to -There seemed to be too many staff actually when we were at this hotel as multiple servers would come up to us within a few minutes asking the same questions (but they were all very nice! just got a bit old) -As a vegetarian, there was only 1 option on the dinner menu

Excellent staff, with a system of no individual tips, but a tips box. For a British traveller this is ideal and avoids uncompfortable 'should I be tipping' moments. Loverly private pool and communal pool, and a relatively secluded beach with few hawkers. Free to use Kayaks which was very much appreciated. Tours could be booked at reception and they worked as advertised. The food was excellent, although a little pricey. The rooms do not have airconditioning but a cooling system for the bed making the experience much more pleasant that feared. A nice family atmosphere with board games available, but it is euqually a great setting for a couples get away with cocktail happy hour and moolit beach walks.

There are no room safes, although the check in do offer a 'safe' service, and items are bagged, sealed and logged so they certainly feel secure Not a fault of the hotel in any way, but be aware that there is a very big intertidal area (i.e. the tide goes out a long way) The hotel is on the windward side of the island, so be prepared for windy afternoons.

Set in a beautiful location right on the beach. A lovely relaxing place to stay. We were lucky enough to have a room with its own private swimming pool and would thoroughly recommend one of these rooms as it a lovely shaded semi private place to relax. The meals are lovely and the staff very friendly and helpful. A range of trips can be organised by the hotel. The beach is a wonderful place to walk and swim. The tide goes out a long way to provide fantastic walks on the sand and pools. It is about an hour from Stone town by taxi.

The property is spread out along Pongwe Beach and there are lots of places to choose to rest and relax, many more than there are people staying. The resort is quiet. The beach is well maintained and the water wonderful to swim in at high tide. Kayaks and paddle boards available for free. The pool in particular is marvellous and again well maintained. The beds have a cool breeze system instead of AC, which works well. The staff are very friendly and competent. The food is acceptable and fairly priced. The breakfast is quite good compared with other Tanzanian offerings we’ve had.

The property is a bit dark in feel, perhaps all the dark wood, and also not much natural light coming into the villas. But this is quickly escaped by moving to the beach or pool areas. There was some confusion with payment. Booking.com said that payment would be taken nearer the time by the property shortly before our stay, in fact 25% was taken immediately and no further payment taken. The hotel charges 5% to use card payment, which is irritating, although not uncommon in Tanzania (about 50% of the hotels we visited did the same). We wish we’d had more clarity on payments so we could plan.

I never write reviews, however we had an exceptional stay, enhanced by the enthusiasm and attentiveness of ALL the staff. Nothing was too much trouble. The setting was better than the pictures and it was fun to explore the beach at low tide or use the free kayaks at high tide. Rooms were clean and comfortable with lovely views. We had a garden view and the children had the sea view as the family rooms had all gone. Thought I would be disappointed with the garden view but you are a stones throw away from the beach. Only complaint was that our holiday wasn’t longer - we only had two nights. It is expensive but the food, location, swimming pool ( that we didn’t have time to use😢) and staff made this our most memorable stay in Zanzibar.

There is absolutely nothing to dislike. Perhaps it might be quiet for some but having stayed in a couple of places Pongwe was perfect, if you were staying longer there are a number of restaurants in neighbouring hotels and islands to enjoy and when we were there there was drumming and dancing in the fabulous dinning area. For us it was the perfect mix of privacy and quietness but with options

We loved our stay at Pongwe Beach Hotel! We were looking for somewhere to relax after climbing Kilimanjaro, and it certainly delivered. The staff was amazing, the grounds were beautiful, and we chose the room with the private plunge pool and it was so worth it. The restaurant was great and always offered Western and local options for each meal. There was a Swahili buffet on Friday evening, which was delicious. The breakfast was a combination of self-serve fruit, bread and yogurts, along with made-to-order options that varied slightly each day. The hotel also helped us arrange a snorkeling/hand-fishing trip one morning from the beach for $20 USD per person. So fun! Would definitely recommend for a private, relaxing vacation.

We liked everything, but one thing to note is that there is not much nearby. There are other hotels along the beach, and the town of Pongwe is only a 10-minute walk away (either along the beach at low tide or along the road at high tide), but it is fairly quiet. We wanted to relax, so this was ok with us, but something to keep in mind if you're looking for a livelier location.