Riu Palace Zanzibar

good atmosephere and such a great guy but knows how to play voleyball

We had the most amazing stay here at Riu Palace! It is a stunning hotel with amazing views! Entertainment is great and staff are so welcoming, especially Roni who is very good at volley ball in the pool.

Our trip to Riu Palace Zanzibar started really well we were told at reception that we had been upgraded from a Sea View junior suite to a Swim up Sea View junior suite, the staff were really friendly and professional and the check in was completed in minutes, although the room wasn't ready as we had arrived quite early we were shown to the buffet where breakfast was being served. While we were having breakfast we received a message telling us that our room was ready. On entering the room it was clean and tidy and the view was amazing, there was two loungers, two chairs, a small table and a sun shade on the balcony, with a small pool at the end. The view was unspoilt to the beach and the sunsets from this balcony were brilliant. The food at the buffet and the speciality restaurants were all top quality, a special shout out to the staff at Krystal and The Steakhouse who went out of their way to make this a pleasurable experience. There were plenty of bars on site but only one stayed open after 1800 which was quite disappointing as this was where the entertainment was on an evening so there was no option to get away from the entertainment which was mainly dance groups and got quite repetitive. The staff at the bars were all very friendly and worked really hard. The beach was beautiful clean white sand with lots of available sun loungers, the Riu Palace guests have access to the Riu Jambo beach bar for food and drinks during the day. The sea was clean with a gentle slope leading into it which made it really easy to access. One thing to be aware of this hotel is on quite a steep hill which could make it a challenge for people with mobility issues. On a negative note when we booked this holiday it was advertised that Riu Palace guests could access the next door Riu Jambo but be aware that this has changed and the only time this can be done is now on the White/ Neon party night and at the beach bar during the day. We argued that we had not been notified of this change and our friends had booked the Riu Jambo in the belief that we would be able to visit them on an evening. We went to complain about this issue to the management who were very hard to get in touch with and were just stating that this policy had changed and there was nothing that could be done, we told them that we would bring this matter up with Emirates holidays who we had booked with and told them that we had not been notified of this policy change. After a lot of meetings and what felt like we were wasting our holiday it was agreed that we could use the bar facilities on an evening and were given a second wrist band to use in Jambo. When it came to going to Jambo we were taken by buggy to a gate which I had seen on Youtube but was told that it no longer existed and to come back to our hotel we just presented our key card at the door lock pad. This whole process took six days to resolve something that was not really an issue as the door was still there and working, this is even still shown on the site map given at the start of the holiday. I felt that the management let this hotel down they were fine when you were happy but if you had an issue they avoided contact, in fact my wife spotted one of the managers and confronted her before she could get away. Overall this is a very good hotel, the staff are helpful, friendly and very hard working and I feel this is only let down by the higher management.

We stayed for 6 nights at the end of our safari in Tanzania. The transfer time from the airport to the hotel is around 1 hour 30 mins. We stayed in a Superior sea view suite, the decor and general space were to a very high standard, with nets around the bed, sofa seating area, lots of hanging space / hangers, great air con and an outdoor seating area with sea / sunset view. Not forgetting the free mini bar. The hotel is set on a sloping site so in areas is quite steep and might not be for people with walking difficulties. Depending where your accommodation it could be a walk to the restaurants / bars / reception as they are all located near the beach. We did originally book a garden room but up graded after reading other reviews and got a central location which was great. Around the pool they are no early hogging of loungers and can easily get one at 9.30 ( they were 4 of us). The area where the hogging takes place is infront of the pool / sandy area where you have to be an early riser to get one of these. It's disappointing that they are signs clearly stating no reservations of sunbeds but like in other hotels loads if towels over beds and nobody about, unfortunately the staff won't do anything about it, even when there is a full time towel hut next to it. There is one main buffet restaurant that serves breakfast, lunch and evening meals, it can get quite busy at times but there is a very good selection of westernised food, with various cooking stations making fresh food.  There are other restaurants that you have to book via the Rui app once you get your accommodation key. These open up at midnight around 2 days in front on a first come basis so say you arrive on the 1st of the month you can try and book for the 3rd or 4th. As we only stayed for 6 nights and with 3 restaurants was not the best. We tried on several occasions to book the Steak restaurant for our daughter's 21st but to no avail so end up going to reception who booked it for us. We did manage to book the Krystal restaurant through the app which was very good, unfortunately throughout our stay was no availability at the AI restaurant.  The steak restaurant was excellent and did a surprise cake for our daughter's birthday. The staff are fantastic and cannot do enough, there is regular sunbed service for drinks, with table service in the restaurants, housekeeping is first class ( they decorated our daughter's room) and leave fantastic displays on the beds. The bar staff work tirelessly and there is a white / neon party depending which week it falls on a Friday night at the sister hotel next door.  The hotel is elevated from the beach with hotel security stopping the local 'hawkers ' from gaining access to sell their products. They also stop them accessing the beach sunbed area. Once you step out onto the main beach you are fair game but they are very friendly and leave you alone if you are not interested. The beach is of white sand and turquoise warn seas, nice walk up and down either way. We booked jet skiing through the hotel, $55 for 30 mins and were shadowed by one of the team as it's quite busy. The bonus was they took our go pro / phone and got some great pictures. Overall we would highly recommend Rui Palace to chill out and enjoy paradise.

Very nice experience. There is plenty of food. The swimmingpool is very nice and drinks at the bar are also very good as well. The access to the beach is very simple and there are plenty of sunbeds. There are several activities and one that we participated was pool volleyball with Roni! He is very cool and makes sure everyone has a good time!