Diamonds Mapenzi Beach

“Relaxing holiday”

We stayed 8nights at this hotel. We were allocated a lovely room. All staff were very helpful and friendly and worked very hard. We found that sometimes in the dinning room the staff were told off by the manager Infront of the guests, this should have been privately. The food was excellent with lo… more

We stayed 8nights at this hotel. We were allocated a lovely room. All staff were very helpful and friendly and worked very hard. We found that sometimes in the dinning room the staff were told off by the manager Infront of the guests, this should have been privately. The food was excellent with lots of variety and the theme evenings were so special, a lot of effort must have gone in. Victor and Vinoth were excellent chefs and made sure we had enough choice to eat. Our room was cleaned everyday by Margaret, who was always cheerful. The manager Kuyaa Ally was very helpful and friendly. Also Kombo from the entertainment team was very good, his aqua classes were excellent. Just to note they are steps at each terrace level and may suit everyone. We would definitely return in the future. Rashid

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“Disconnect and relax in this amazing place”

We returned this week from a very relaxing stay at Diamonds Mapenzi Beach Hotel. We stayed for 10 nights in one of the beach bungalows. When we arrived at the hotel we were greeted by the friendly staff. We were given a delicious hibiscus drink and then shown to the room by porters who helped wi… more

We returned this week from a very relaxing stay at Diamonds Mapenzi Beach Hotel. We stayed for 10 nights in one of the beach bungalows. When we arrived at the hotel we were greeted by the friendly staff. We were given a delicious hibiscus drink and then shown to the room by porters who helped with our luggage. We were blown away by how stunning our room was. Brilliantly bright and clean with the most gorgeous view straight out to the beach! The bathroom was ace too, it was huge and had a double shower which was a nice romantic and novel touch. Housekeeping did such a great job of keeping the room spotless and it was lovely to come in to a turned down room at night and sometimes to come back to the treat of flowers decorating the bed. We had decided to spend our first couple of days resting after travelling from the UK and the beach was perfect for this. Before arriving I’d read a few reviews that said the beach wasn’t very nice at low tide, so I was a little bit worried I’d made a mistake by choosing this hotel but I needn’t have been. The sand was incredible, super soft, white, powdery sand. Some of the staff took us out for a reef walk as the high tide started to come in one day which was a great opportunity to learn how to spot the urchins and find our way through the rockier sections. The water was amazing, so clear and warm! We then did a couple more walks out on our own. One day we took our snorkel sets and went to spot some fish and another day when the tide was way out, we walked right out where we could spot loads of starfish and see some live coral. We noticed when setting off that the staff had been out to clear sections between some of the washed up sea grass on the beach to make it easy to walk out avoiding it. For anyone else who is worrying about the beach at this hotel, don’t! Just remember to bring your beach shoes and I would recommend to go with the staff if they are offering it when you arrive. If you choose to go with the beach boys from outside of the hotel, just make sure you firmly agree a price before hand as we heard a couple having a disagreement with them as we were returning from one of our walks out. We also saw the sea at high tide just as often as we saw it at low tide. When it was at high tide it came right up to the wall of the hotel and people were out swimming in it. As we stayed for 10 nights we were able to try all of the themed nights at the hotel, BBQ, Italian and African. They were all good but our favourite by far was the African night. It was great to try some local food, including Zanzibar pizza (delicious, not really a pizza at all but make sure you try this at some point whilst you are in Zanzibar!!). The entertainment was good too, they had local people performing dance and acrobatics. It was really good fun, even if you’re not really into the whole evening entertainment thing at all inclusive hotels. In general, the meal times had a good selection of food. The pasta bar was really tasty, despite being a simple concept, definitely try it! There were also lots of salad options, vegetables, grilled meat and fish. Tonnes of desserts. The restaurant itself was nice, there was plenty seating, although at busier times it would be good to see some of the tables reset, particularly the ones looking out to the sea. Something that we did notice was that after a few nights, there seemed to be a bit more managerial presence around the restaurant and I think this put the staff under pressure… we both felt that the staff were more relaxed and actually provided better service when they weren’t being watched. We ate lunch at Onda (beach restaurant) one day which is included as part of the all inclusive stay however, it is not the full menu included, only a select menu of pizzas and burgers and the salad selection down there wasn’t great either. They seemed short staffed on the day we ate there. They had one waitress who was run off her feet servicing the restaurant and the beach bar, and the kitchen was slow too. It took an hour from ordering for our main courses to arrive (starters were salad buffet and soup). Based on that experience I would say just stick with the main restaurant. We used both bars during our stay and enjoyed plenty cocktails and red wine. The bar staff were all super friendly and brought drinks over to where we were sitting. It was nice to get familiar with some of the staff during our stay, they definitely made a difference. My husband had a 30 minute back massage in the spa, which he says he would recommend. Unfortunately, during our stay my husband got diarrhoea. Foolishly, we didn’t pack any Imodium but it is available to buy at the hotel for $15. Please don’t be put off by this though as a week after the first episode, after fully recovering, he came down with it again. This time it was after we had been out on a full day trip and eaten our evening meal in Stone Town, so we don’t think it is a reflection of the hotel. Also, the hotel provides plenty bottled water, including to brush your teeth, so they do what they can to avoid upsets through drinking tap water. I think it is just a risk you have to accept when travelling to some foreign countries. During our stay, we did some trips. We booked an open water diving course through the PADI representative at our hotel and free transport was provided to take us to another hotel, 20 minutes away, to do the training and the open water dives. We would 100% recommend this if you are considering doing it! The dive point staff are all great, really friendly, patient and supportive. Diamonds Mapenzi Beach Hotel is very close to Mnemba which is abundant with marine life, make the most of it! We also did a day safari in Tanzania which we booked through Get Your Guide, again, 100% recommend but it is an early start! We were picked up at 6am but reception very kindly arranged for a breakfast pack for us to pick up before we left. The pack contained sandwiches and bananas, nothing wrong with it but personally I would’ve preferred pastries perhaps in a breakfast pack but was grateful that they could accommodate our request. Which brings me to the staff - what an amazing bunch of people! They were so happy, so friendly and they couldn’t do enough for you! When we checked out, the lady on reception joked about coming to stay with us in the UK, only we’d be too happy to host any of these wonderful people that made our stay so enjoyable! We would wholly recommend Diamonds Mapenzi Beach to anyone travelling to Zanzibar. We have some suggestions for the hotel to improve, one would be to stop the micro management in the restaurant. Another would be to offer the Zanzibar pizza as a regular fixture at the evening meal - it was nice to try something so unique and local. The chairs in the pool bar area could do with some new cushions as a lot of them were quite squashed and uncomfortable. More sun loungers and umbrellas around the pool would be nice as if you arrive there after 10am you’d be lucky to get one. In the beach bungalows, a doormat from the beach side entrance would be useful to avoid bringing sand into the room (although the wash tub by the back door did manage this for the most part). Finally, there are no female sanitary products available to buy in the shop on site, this would be a small but extremely useful addition. Tips for travellers - Don’t forget your beach shoes so that you can enjoy this beautiful part of the Indian Ocean. - Men, bring some long trousers for the restaurant as the hotel politely request that they are worn. - A light jacket for the evening as this is an island and it is quite exposed so can be a bit breezy - personally I feel the cold so was very aware of this. My husband would tell you I’m just being soft… - There is a tip box by reception if you wish to leave a tip at the end of your stay. Remember that the average wage in Zanzibar is approximately $150 per month, so consider what you feel is appropriate and relative. - Something which is a personal view but please think responsibly if booking a dolphin tour… it sounds incredible but there is lots of info online about how this is damaging to marine life and stressful for the dolphins. - Pack that Imodium… - Tropical strength deet and high factor sun lotion. - Taxis - things are quite spread out on Zanzibar so if you are going out for the day, you will need to travel by taxi (if you haven’t got your own transport). We used The Zanzibus which you can book online or via WhatsApp and give a very reasonable rate. We paid $35 for our airport taxi when booking over WhatsApp, whereas reception had quoted us $85 if we booked with another company through them. And once again… if you are thinking of going to Zanzibar, then do it! We had such a relaxing stay in this beautiful hotel where we felt a world away from home. Such an amazing opportunity to disconnect.

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“Great hotel but very disorganised”

Excellent hotel with kind staff and great facilities totally let down by a complete lack of organisation. Several times we ordered drinks at dinner (simple orders like coke or water) and they simply wouldn’t arrive. Tea would consistently only turn up once we’d finished our breakfast when an urn or… more

Excellent hotel with kind staff and great facilities totally let down by a complete lack of organisation. Several times we ordered drinks at dinner (simple orders like coke or water) and they simply wouldn’t arrive. Tea would consistently only turn up once we’d finished our breakfast when an urn or jug in the corner would fix the situation. Double booked on a massage. Never given a wristband or towel card at check in. Special shout outs to the animations team for constantly organising fun activities and the catering team for excellent food for me and my vegetarian wife. Cannot fault a single staff member but management appears to be lacking…

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“Very nice…but some improvements needed.”

My husband, daughter and I had a lovely time. The service was great, Aircon worked well, pool was sparkly clean. We didn’t have the greatest room but it was clean and functional. The entertainment evenings were such fun! A few things though… Food was a bit hit and miss. Desserts not great at all b… more

My husband, daughter and I had a lovely time. The service was great, Aircon worked well, pool was sparkly clean. We didn’t have the greatest room but it was clean and functional. The entertainment evenings were such fun! A few things though… Food was a bit hit and miss. Desserts not great at all but some of the main meals were amazing. There was no kids club which would be a nice addition. The recreation activities were not always well organised. We got to a mocktail making class only to find that none of the staff knew about it (despite ot being advertised on the board).

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