Bluebay Beach Resort & Spa

We have just got back from a week at this hotel. Despite the amazing views of the beach and the hotel in general, it did not live up to the pictures seen. Unfortunately this beach is a public beach and from the moment you step on the sand you are bombarded by people trying to sell you things from massages to jewellery and shoes to taxi rides. It meant we did not have the opportunity to enjoy the amazing beach. Our travel agent had booked us as all inclusive but for anyone who has done all inclusive in the Caribbean, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, Dubai or anywhere else, things here are slightly different. All meals in the buffet are included as are any drinks from the drinks menu under the all inclusive. However, be warned at breakfast you will have an infestation of flies and wasps all over the food, even dead wasps in the marmalade jars and they will hound you whilst you try to eat. They seem to disappear by lunch. Also be aware of spiders in the banana box. This is local beers, wines, spirits / cocktails with this and hot drinks which you would find in most all inclusive places outside on the Caribbean. However, despite what any researching might tell you, this same menu is applicable from 11am -12pm with the exception of a hot drink. There is a snack bar and there is a happy hour between 11-12 and 4-5 where you can get a very limited number of hot caffeinated drinks and a couple of snacks. Outside of these times, all inclusive means paying for these and regardless of the time you have to pay for cold caffeinated drinks and any food including a scoop of ice cream. This is unlike any other all inclusive resort I have been to. There has always been a range in the amount available but every other one has always offered something as simple as a scoop of ice cream on a hot day and a tea or coffee whenever it is wanted. You are entitled to one trip to each of the al La cartes but the menu is limited and if I’m being honest, more flavourful in the buffet restaurant. Two of these are on the makeshift beach the hotel creates above the public beach and so be aware that wildlife is all around, including the rats that run into the bushes by the tables. The housekeeping was hit and miss. Little simple things but the standard box of tissues that all rooms have disappeared on the first night and returned on the last. Every night we had a different number of towels even though we elected to keep them and this did not result in more, many nights it resulted in less. For the first 3-4 nights the floors were not swept and due to the ill fitting doors, you could see where more dust was blowing in along with insects. There is a concern about mosquitoes in Zanzibar but it took until the 4th night for the mosquito nets to be drawn. We were not fussed if someone drew them or if we did it ourselves but it was the inconsistencies with this. They also changed one lot of bed sheets but not the other as this was quite clear by the fact that the new ones stunk so badly of damp we had to have them changed as they were making the room smell. Any problems were corrected but there were just lots of little things, some of which we did not mention to the hotel because it would have been constant. It was just the big things such as the sheets that we mentioned. There is one positive to the all inclusive and that is the non motorised water sports that are free of charge. They are a lot of fun. Hermit crabs also live around the hotel grounds so it’s fun to see the varying sizes. It was also easy to get a sunbed in the sun but it was the low season still. I would imagine due to all the trees this would be harder in the high season. There is a small amount of entertainment in the evenings that happens by the pool that you can watch from the buffet restaurant as the restaurant is open to the great outdoors from the sides and is covered in some places. All in all as much as it was beautiful to look at and the staff did fix any of the issues we did raise which weren’t many in comparison to how many there were, I would not recommend this hotel as there were too many issues as well as I would not consider what they offer as all inclusive a true reflection of that and is closer to full board packages that I have experienced.

The resort is beautiful. The rooms are magnificent. The staff is super friendly and helpful. The variety of fod (buffet) is excellent! Beautiful place to have a vacation to relax and to swim in the pool or the sea.

Having arrived here after a wonderful safari tour in Arusha we were ready for some rest and relaxation. Coming directly from the national parks to Zanzibar was a bit more of a contrast than we had anticipated and in truth we spent the first day acclimatising. However, we soon got into the all inclusive swing of things. I am sure that there are lots of amazing things to do in Zanzibar, but apart from some snorkelling we did not try any of them. Instead we whiled away our days floating from breakfast to lunch then dinner with an occasional break from eating, which was spent swimming in the pools, relaxing on day beds out of the sun, drinking cocktails and spotting sea urchins in the sea when the tide was out. The friendly chap at the dive centre arranged the snorkelling trip (which happens off-site) as you can't snorkel off the beach at the hotel. High points for us included all three of the A la carte restaurants, which were excellent, the lovely lady in the Bluedeli cafe, who remembered our specific order by day two! The bar staff at the Palms Pool bar. And Grace in the Makuti Restaurant. The evening entertainment was also great. We really enjoyed listening to the singers/band while having after dinner drinks. One evening was particularly good, when we were treated to an amazing performance by an acrobatic troupe. Better than anything you could imagine being on Tanzania's got talent! Our only gripe would be the towel policy. You can only have one towel per person and it needs to be swapped for a plastic card. It got a bit annoying when you needed to use the towel at the end of the day to wrap around you for the walk back to your room and then have to take it back each morning. Also, when your towel was wet you couldn't necessarily swap it for a dry one as there were often none available. I understand that the hotel doesn't want people taking towels out on trips etc but I felt that most guests are sensible enough with towels to allow the hotel to supply them on demand by the pool. As with some other all inclusive hotels there seemed to be a set of 'rules' such as only small bottles of water being included not large ones. Ginger beer only being included if ordered as a cocktail, not served on its own. Certain types of coffee being charged for etc. Just little, mostly insignificant things, but added up they felt a little draconian and out of place in a luxury resort. Having said that the generosity and kindness of the staff more than made up for it. Overall this is a lovely hotel, very relaxing, the A la Carte restaurants are fab and the buffet has great array of food on offer. I would recommend it for chilling out after your Tanzanian safari.

Embedded in the a generous, lush and beautifully landscaped area right at the beach, this hotel is truly special. Great rooms, and we especially liked those right at the beach. Everything is so clean and well taken care of. There are a few pools, medium and small-sized, yet the beach is very clean and the water pleasant for a swim, beautiful white sand. The gym needs a bit of an upgrade, as it gets rapidly crowded and stuffy, especially when guests go for weightlifting in their swimsuits and barefoot… The dining area is very nice, next to the pool, the buffet offers sufficient choice, yet not extravagantly so. The specialty restaurants are highly recommended, and the staff is super attentive and caring everywhere. Almost every nights there are shows, and you find different types of activities. Overall it is a great resort for a full relax experience.

Having spent 6 nights at Bluebay Beach, following a safari in Kenya, I'd have no hesitation in recommending it for a relaxing R&R location. The food throughout was excellent, particularly The Wok, whose Asian inspired cuisine was incredibly tasty. The staff were super friendly and professional throughout, but one young waiter, Chokora, really stood out by making sure we were fed, watered and had everything we needed throughout. His work ethic really impressed, as he was putting extra, unpaid, time in to learn the bar trade, as he explained he'd love to be a barman there. We also visited Mussa Abasi village spice farm in Kisongoni village and had a really fascinating afternoon. It isn't glitzy or touristy by any stretch of the imagination, but was very authentic and well worth a visit if you want to see a natural local village and spice farm.