Sunshine Marine Lodge

The hotel is wonderfully presented and as per other reviews, the gardens are gorgeous. The staff are courteous and helpful and it is hard to single anyone out. I did not get an opportunity to try the spa. Due to a delayed flight, I arrived in the early hours of the morning. The security guard met the taxi and showed me to my room - lights had been left on and the bed turned down. Each room comes with a fridge and a bottle of cold filter water that you can refill as much as you need. There is air-con and a drying rack for wet diving gear, towels etc. I spent a lot of time on the patio of my room, reading and enjoying the sound of the sea. My patio was somewhat protected from the sun so I didn’t have to worry about burning. It did not have a full sea view but had great views of the garden. The restaurant is positioned with great views of the ocean and although there is no sandy beach easily accessible, they offer regular transfers to the beach not far away. I did not try this as I was quite happy to just enjoy the views from the hotel. The breakfast is a good standard Tanzanian hotel breakfast and as someone who is gluten-intolerant, my options were limited to fruit, salad, cheese and eggs but the fresh fruit was exceptional and the eggs made fresh every morning (even the scrambled). I chose the half board option and enjoyed the evening menu a lot. There were usually 2-3 options for starters, mains and dessert that you could choose from or you can order from the al la carte menu and pay in the difference. I often chose the seafood options which were all delicious and I feel the food at the hotel was better than the restaurant we tried in one of the nearest villages. I found the taxi from the airport reasonably priced but the taxi to the restaurant was high in comparison and had I not had three friends to share the ride with, it would have been too expensive for me. The hotel organised all the transfers and drivers for my stay. I tried the yoga which was a good way to end the day after diving, and before dinner - it runs Monday to Friday from 5:30-6:30 and Ana the instructor was lovely. They offer mats and towels as it does get warm working out. The highlight for me was the diving which is why I ultimately chose the hotel, however it is an idyllic place to stay even if you don’t dive. They offer two pools and numerous places to relax if you want o top up your tan or read a book. They also allowed me to enjoy the facilities after I had checked out and while I was waiting for my transfer much later in the day. The place encourages a slower pace of life so sometimes the service and the WIFI is a bit slow but for me, this only added to the charm of the place. The diving and dive school is exceptional. I have reviewed them (Dive Point Zanzibar) under a separate review

Great experience! The room and the view where both amazing and i loved my stay here. The sea was a bit rough for swimming, but the pool was also very nice. Really convenient that it is near to divepoint as well. I would definetely recommend!!

Had a very nice stay at Sunshine Marine Lodge. Good food, very kind and helpful personal, beautiful room and good diving center onsite. Many special attentions for our honeymoon.

We had a lovely stay at Sunshine Marine Lodge. The location in Matemwe is stunning, with beautiful ocean views and a very peaceful atmosphere. Our room was clean, spacious, and comfortable, and the food at the restaurant was fresh and tasty. Special thanks to Hassan at the front desk for being so helpful and welcoming, and to Saeed in the restaurant for his excellent service and warm attitude — they truly made our stay even better. A perfect place to relax and enjoy Zanzibar. Highly recommended!

Hotel is nice, but some of the staff aren’t very talkative and doesn’t look happy. We didn’t know that the area is so far away from everything and got little bit disappointed by that. There is no any mini market or tourist shops near to the hotel. Everytime you need some snacks or any other stuff (like pharmacy) you need to get taxi or some other ride to the nearest town (about 5-6km away). Hotel doesn’t have own beach where you can swim, so you need to go to the another hotel if you like to go to ocean. Hotel can arrange you to another hotel for free.