Ocean Paradise Resort & Spa

A beautiful resort located on a hillside, surrounded by lush greenery and maintained with exceptional care. Everything is spotless and thoughtfully designed in an authentic Zanzibari style, full of charm and taste. The rooms and bathrooms are very spacious and cleaned daily to a high standard. All the activities you could wish for are available, including wellness and spa facilities. The resort has its own private beach with trees and comfortable sunbeds, and the pool area is equally impressive — perfect for relaxing and enjoying the surroundings. What truly makes this place special, however, are the people who work here. From the managers to the gardeners, everyone is friendly, cheerful, and genuinely helpful. It was my first stay here, but certainly not my last. Thank you, Ocean Paradise Resort & Spa Zanzibar — I will definitely come back.

We cannot recommend this resort highly enough. Everything from the friendliness of the staff , the delicious food, enjoyable entertainment, excellent room , with the best and most effective mosquito net we have found in any hotel. It was the perfect culmination to our trip to Zanzibar. We had planned this as a restful end part of our holiday , and it was delivered in spadefuls.

I booked to stay here from 20/12/25 - 04/01/26 as a Solo Traveller Through TUI the Rochdale store, Charlotte and Owen were a great help to ensure I was in Business Class for all four legs. Now I want to get the bad bits out of the way before I review the hotel Sadly I had some issues with the flights. I booked to fly with Qatar and booked the QSuites. But my flights were changed from LHR to DOH and DOH to LHR it was operation by BA. The flight from LHR to DOH was just over 2 hrs 30 mins delayed we were told this was due to a last minute aircraft change . Meaning I only had a 30 min connection to catch my connection We made up some time in the flight giving me 47 mins to catch the connecting flight. I managed to get off the flight run through the Airport and Security through fast track I just got to the gate before closing, but know others missed the flight. BA business class seats did have good space and was comfortable in the upright position, The privacy door not just on my seat but on many BA flights I have flown do not close all the way and also when people walk past they can see over the top. The crew were as good as ever on BA and looked after me very well. The food was exceptional and served very quickly after take off leaving you plenty of time to relax in to your seat for the 5+ hours remaining. I decided to put the bed down and as ever the mattress topper was useless it’s so thin that you feel every lump and bump in the seat. I did manage to fall asleep for about 60 mins and just enough time to use the bathroom, put my seat up and we were landing in DOH. @globalcustomerrelations@ba.com you really need to look at why your hardly ever on time and also sorting the mattress topper. As mentioned I just caught my connection and was greeted with lots of enthusiasm and energy by the Qatar airways crew, they ever offered me a towel to freshen up with and a drink while we started to taxi, and then quickly tidied up before the captain said to take there seats for take off and we pushed back on time. The crew came round and offered some drinks, warm nuts before they started serving food to some people that wanted it, they checked with me and I asked if I could be woken up about 90 mins before we landed as it was now 02:00 and had 6 hours to fly to Zanzibar and pre ordered my breakfast snd put my bud down and the crew saw me do this and raced over and took said she would do it, so I used the toilet cleaned my teeth with the toothbrushes and had a freshen up and came back and the bed was made and the crew was waiting for me to see i needed anything else before I got some sleep, The seat was comfortable and the mattress topper was great nice and thick and the pillow was very plump. The only difference I noticed was being so tall difference between BA and Qatar there was not much space for my feet with the bed fully flat in cattle business class and I kept turning over and I would hit the top of the seat in front, I was I was woken up for breakfast given a few minutes to get myself together and had a lovely breakfast served. He was only at this stage. I realised that on this flight there was no queue suite there was no door but I think I was so tired I hadn’t noticed. The breakfast was very good. Everything was so fresh and warm and the pancakes and waffles came with plenty of fruit and maple syrup before I knew it we were landing. At this stage I switched to my eSIM and checked for my luggage having a feeling that it was still in Doha and I was right so after the security I went straight the ground handling agent Dnata and they were already expecting me and had my form filled out. My tracker showed that it was in Doha so I dropped a pin to where they said the baggage would arrive and be stored in Zanzibar before it would be dropped to my hotel. I woke up the next day and sure enough it was at the airport and it arrived on the flight from Doha the following day. That was where the biggest issue started not the hotels fault but it took Dnata two days to deliver my suitcase meaning I’ve been without my luggage for three days with no clothes to change into. The hotel tried to contact the TUI rep but to know avail, when I arrived in Zanzibar I was told that the rep would be at my hotel at 13:30 on the first day she never showed up, the hotel left her numerous amounts of messages she only showed up on the following day that my luggage arrived. I explained to her that I’d had to make numerous phone calls to try to track down my luggage, I’d complained on the TUI app and was told that they were reaching out to I wondered why she had not been in contact for the first four days, she said I was her only guest at that hotel for the duration of Christmas and she was really busier of a hotels. I explained to her that although I had explained to the hotel that my luggage had not arrived and unfortunately being 6 foot eight I was unable to find anything in the shop suitable to wear. I only had a pair of shorts for swimming, which I’d carried in my hand luggage which I always do because I knew that I would arrive at the hotel before the check-in time unfortunately, the hotel would not allow me to go for dinner in my swimming shorts, even though I could put a polo shirt over the top and put trainers on. I again went back to TUI and explained the situation. They told me that it was a British Airways and a Qatar. Issue because of my luggage being delayed. Now I understand that the flights were with British Airways and Qatar although they were being operated by Qatar but change to British Airways I was told I had to take up my complaint with them. The rep said that to me would compensate not being able to eat for the first four nights, she also said they would compensate my phone bill of £172 but TUI refused to and all they did was give me a £50 compensation which I can only use if I book with them again. Qatar the meantime gave me US$50 for delayed luggage and said I had to speak to Dnata as it’s their responsibility to get the bag to me as soon as possible, but the Dnata refused to get involved. So all in all, I’m still to this day over £250 out of pocket for my phone bill and also having to order room service. Now for the hotel upon arrival I was greeted with a nice cold drink and a cold flannel to call myself down and freshen up. I was allowed to check in early as my room was ready. I explained to the reception that my luggage had not arrived, a member from guest relations came out and said that she would track down my luggage and also try to contact the TUI rep. She was unable to get hold of the TUI rep until she showed up on day four after my bag had turned up. I was reassured by the guest relations team that they would relay the message to the restaurant for the evening that’s as my luggage had not arrived they would allow me to eat in my swimming shorts as long as I was wearing a polo shirt and trainers. But each night I got refused, I went back to reception but guest relations had gone home and reception said I could order room service or sit at the bar and they would order food to people up to myself, but I had to pay for that this is an all-inclusive resort so why should I have to pay a hotel really should have stepped in realising that surely I can’t be the first person whose bag is not arrived and been more lenient to their dress policy after all, once I did get down to dinner on some nights depending on which Mangement team was there to meet and greet you some of the guests were wearing vests and sandals/flip-flops. breakfast in the morning was served up near the reception area with view overlooking the ocean, unfortunately the pastries were always stale, and they had typically your normal other items like for fry ups, cheeses lots of meats and salami fresh fruit and banana omelette station where they also made pancakes and waffles. I always waited for mine to be served fresh. I did have pancakes and waffles already made but under the heat lamps they were rock hard so breakfast I would say for a four star hotel was below average, lunch was served on the beach most days I was really a leftover of the day before dinner but also had pizza and chips. I was hoping for a little bit more of traditional meals. In the evening when I finally did get to go for dinner, they had lots of salads which was fresh. which for me as a vegetarian I like to have a good plate of salad before dinner, each evening was a different theme, the one night they did have traditional African/Swahili food it was okay but nothing special, considering the hotel is not big and only has just around about 100 rooms you would expect more for the dining experience, you had your traditional pizza and pasta stations but you’re in a different country not everybody wants those miss nights they had some sort of rice or couscous along with curries and for vegetarians normally some sort of carried vegetable masala, or bean casserole, On a good note, the bar staff were very attentive and you could always get a drink, the waiters and waitresses were also very kind and talkative. I have to give her big thank you to Scotty. He works extremely hard, I also want to say thank you to you, Agnes one of the chefs knowing that I was vegetarian and because she was vegetarian, she always pointed me in the direction of the food that I was able to eat, even on one night they had vegetable samosas Pecora but they also had some chicken dish. I can’t remember what it was but the chef put them more into one pot. So she made fresh ones for me and told the chef off. She also made be fresh chapati and naan breads. And always looked after me. Also thank you to Priya, Jeanette, Lily and so many of staff, they were always friendly , always greeted you around the grounds. . Sadly I did have one problem with the hotel three nights before my departure I woke up to a dripping sound. I thought it was raining outside at first and then realised when I woke up the air-conditioning had been leaking, unfortunately there was so much water leak to down the wall into my adapter and into my AirPods 4 i’m not long purchased I complained to the hotel reception I was offered to move rooms I said to them that I was going down to the pool to relax and if it wasn’t fixed by the time I came back at 5 pm then I would move rooms. I only had a few days left to go and didn’t really want to have to start moving. thankfully it was fixed however the cost of my AirPods and my cables the hotel said they were unable to compensate for the damage and I had to take it up with the TUI rep but surprise surprise nobody could get hold of her. I was told on the app to report it to the after-care team on my return. And they said because there was no reports in the resort they’re unable to do anything about it and I have to claim from my own insurance. would I book this hotel again? Probably not, although the days were peaceful there was plenty of sunbeds on the beach or around the pool for the beach. The tide was always out and you had to walk at least 3/4 of a mile just to get out to some water but the pool was always clean and tidy and had a bar that you could get some respite from the hot Sun during the day. I think this hotel could definitely raise the standards of the food and a few other things and it would definitely push to a five star considering how small it is compared to some of the other results I was looking at staying at. unfortunately a combination of things went wrong from the moment I got to the airport, to even flying home, again the flight from Zanzibar to Doha was with Qatar. The service was exceptional, But again no q suite on the rtn leg. And the flight with BA from Doha to LHR was again just over two hours delayed this time they said it was a crew issue and even the crew looked surprised as they were sat at the gate waiting with us, the most annoying thing was they boarded the plane and there was two passengers missing and it took them over an hour to find them. They were shopping. I walked onto the plane with so many bags what should’ve happened their bags should’ve been found although it takes time I understand this they should’ve been taken off the plane and not allowed to fly so they made our plane 3 hrs 30 minutes late, again as always the BA staff were very attentive, however on the return flight there was no privacy door and of course the tiny thing mattress topper I managed to get two hours sleep and had breakfast landed into Heathrow just over three hours delayed. Meaning I was late for work but they were okay about that. They knew that I was arriving back the morning. I went back to work.

The best start to 2026. Left the UK in the snow and finally arrived in Zanzibar and Ocean Paradise the next morning to be greeted by swaying palm trees, white white sand, turquoise sea and the biggest smile from Scott (from Scotland!). It set the tone for the next 7 days of fun, adventure and pure relaxation. The location of Ocean Paradise is exceptional with the ocean stretching out as far as the eye can see - it was a wonderful experience to do the reef walk , spotting the star fish and other sea creatures. The resort is so relaxing and has a chilled vibe. The rooms are large and immaculate with excellent room service and always lots of towels. The food was also exceptional with so much choice at Breakfast - fresh juices made to your specification, lots of healthy options as well as full cooked and regional specialities. Dinner was by the pool with the sounds of the ocean and varied every evening - particularly loved the Swahili and Indian nights. The nightly entertainment was also great and varied, from local bands to Masai warriors dancing. The staff are amazing, always smiling and cannot do enough for you. It is true - Scott seems to be everywhere making sure everyone is happy and looked after - his team are a credit to him! Michael the GM was always present and would take his time to make sure that you were happy with everything. So in conclusion, if you are looking for a resort that is super friendly, relaxed and beautiful you can't go wrong with Ocean Paradise. Thank you for everything - I will be back!

When we arrived, straight away the views were stunning. The rooms were outstanding, clean and spacious, we took advantage of the laundry service which was excellent. The swimming pool was the hub of the resort because of the aqua activities, swim up pool bar, beach volleyball and animation team. Breakfast was served with stunning views of the beach. The evening meals were served at a different location from breakfast with entertainment around the pool. Staff were so friendly and welcoming. A special mention goes to Scotty the food and beverage manager went above and beyond to cater for gluten free dietary requirements.