On the beach, sun loungers, beach umbrellas, beach towels

Reviews of Gold Zanzibar Beach House & Spa

5 out of 5

Reviews

8.8

Excellent

Rating 10 - Excellent. 143 out of 243 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 64 out of 243 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 22 out of 243 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 6 out of 243 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 8 out of 243 reviews" "

9.0/10

Cleanliness

8.6/10

Staff & service

9.2/10

Amenities

9.0/10

Property conditions & facilities

8.0/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

8/10 Good

Kerry

Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The grounds are well kept and beautiful. We had a suite beach view with pavillon, which is a bit of a mis-conception because in front of your pavillon is an area of sand then the large swimming pool and then the beach and sea which you cannot actually see! The suite itself was lovely. All the staff were friendly and helpful. It was our 29th wedding celebration and unfortunately on the night my husband was ill and I had to go to dinner on my own. They had decorated the table and had a cake prepared for us. The following night there was a BBQ on the beach, all the tables set out with candlelight, very pretty. Food was plentiful but - I had a chicken kebab which was cooked on the outside and raw in the middle! I pointed this out to the waitress when she removed our plates but she did nothing. My husband spoke to the maitre de who was very concerned and also bought her manager over to speak to us. They spoke to the chef who had cooked the chicken and all were very apologetic. To make amends the following evening they provided us with the Romantic dinner on the beach which was really lovely. We had our celebration cake and about 6 members of staff sang to us. The main buffet restaurant had a good selection of food and a pasta station. At breakfast again there was a good selection of pastries, a fresh egg station, toast and cereals. The all inclusive package is very restrictive with spirits and only one choice of red,white or rose wine.
Stayed 4 nights in Jan 2024

10/10 Excellent

Matthew Mario

Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Gold Zanzibar. On entering the grand reception we were greeted by very welcoming staff and felt the stress of our 15 hour travel melt away. During our stay we dined on the finest cuisines like tasty curried crab and desserts that were great on the eye. During our stay staff were always helpful, friendly and genuinely very nice people. I'd like to mention some great personalities, Abu, Salim, Basho, Kombo and Masoud they really made our stay amazing. We visited in June 2023 and thoroughly recommend Goldie )as the locals call this great resort). The only negative for us was the evenings entertainment. It finished way too early for our liking however this is a minor detractor.
Stayed 10 nights in Jun 2023

6/10 Okay

Juan

Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2023

2/10 Terrible

Annie Alexia

Stayed 3 nights in Apr 2023

10/10 Excellent

Mohamed

Stayed 1 night in Jan 2023

2/10 Terrible

Verified traveler

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
DEFINITELY NOT A 5 STAR RESORT, MORE LIKE A 2/3
This is NOT a 5 star hotel. I would rate it maybe 3 the most. The entire hotel is dated, the rooms are old and gross. There were ants crawling everywhere especially the bathroom. When I told staff they said that’s normal and nothing they can do about it. The shelf in the bathroom where all the toiletries are and glasses for brushing teeth was slanted towards the ground so everything kept falling on the dirty floor with the ants. The staff barely speak English and are rude. The worst part is that my husband and I both got diarrhea from dinner one night. The staff didn’t really care and said we’re probably allergic to something. The all inclusive food was not good and the package was very expensive. I suggest buying food and drinks a La carte because it’s probably going to be cheaper. Don’t stay here unless you’re looking to rough it a little.
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2022

2/10 Terrible

Guy

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Bad customer service from hotels website and thr hotel himself. Due to the corona the country declared red and we couldnt arrive abd they refuse to consider that situation and refund the money. I won't book from this website anymore
Stayed 6 nights in Nov 2021

10/10 Excellent

Michelle

Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Fun, lively place to stay. Live music and excellent atmosphere. Excellent meal opportunities and superb resort
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2021

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
A magical and exceptional setting. I chose this place by worst chance to discover Zanzibar for the first time. I assure you that it fulfills all the promises: excellent resting place, delicious food, incredible staff, the best animations on the spot (no need to go out: everything is there to occupy). I really liked this place and all that is proposed by the hotel: animated evenings, music, dances, shows, friendliness, enthusiasm, welcome, in short, I highly recommend this place Just a small drawback: the cleaning of the room must be done without waiting to be asked and also the shower back must be well maintained.
Stayed 5 nights in Jul 2021

10/10 Excellent

rotem

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2021

2/10 Terrible

Verified traveler

Stayed 5 nights in Apr 2021

10/10 Excellent

Nadia

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
The best hotel with the best beach in kendwa
The staff was amazing, dinner was really good. Thw best was the free upgrade to the beach suites. Thank you ao much. You all have spoilt us. The best beach i kendwa. Everything was just amazing.
Stayed 7 nights in Jan 2021

10/10 Excellent

Sebastian, London

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Staff were friendly and great help! Great location and layout!
Stayed 9 nights in Dec 2020

10/10 Excellent

Mistafa, Dar es salaam

Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
We went in off season so we enjoyed the privacy of the beach, the beach house is way better in person then in pictures, the view the environment the people just everything about this place is outstanding.
Stayed 3 nights in Jul 2020

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2019

8/10 Good

Or

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 3 nights in Oct 2019

6/10 Okay

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Lovely service staff in the restaurants & bars however there was no personal service from foreign reception staff. Hotel was nothing special
Stayed 5 nights in Oct 2019

4/10 Poor

Ashley

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Disappointing
This hotel has a lot of regulars, I can see why because they are treated exceptionally well. Those that are first timers... buckle up, it’s a bumpy road. The rooms are old and filthy. My first room had mosquitos fly out of the refrigerator, my second room had stains all of the walls and spatter on the toilet. On the beach, staff moved my personal belongings while I took a swim because a regular guest wanted to sit there. I got to breakfast a little early and was told I had to wait 4 minutes for coffee because breakfast hadn’t started yet and the manager would be upset. The SPA is wonderful!!!!! Honestly the best part of my stay was my time getting exceptional service at their spa. I’d recommend the African potato massage and rejuvenating facial. The beach is nice, but be prepared to be hassled by people selling trinkets in the 15 steps to the water. Overall just disappointed with this “5 star” hotel and 2 star experience.
Stayed 3 nights in Sep 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 6 nights in Sep 2019

2/10 Terrible

Steven

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Dirty, poor service and not worth price
Welcome to the 2 star hotel with 5 star price. It includes all you can drink instant coffee, a welcome foot massage to relive you from your long journey on day 5 and lobster and crab severed with rubber gloves. This place could not be more distant from a 5 star hotel. The all inclusive menu is somewhat limited and anything worth drinking is excluded from the menu. The watery drinks are to be expected in an all inclusive but instant coffee at breakfast was really a push! The systems at the hotel make you sign a nil bill everytime you order an all inclusive drink. We were asked constantly for our room number and fed paper after paper. The bar advertises a zero plastic straw policy however drink after drink was severed with plastic staws. I visited the spa on the 2nd day to unwind, and despite having no room for my welcome leg massage they managed to squeeze me in between their empty roister for a back neck and shoulder massage. I was patted like a cat and had a couple of creams rubbed in my back but nothing to remove the knots. Book elsewhere!
Stayed 5 nights in Aug 2019

6/10 Okay

Verified traveler

Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2019

10/10 Excellent

JelZel, Australia

Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Loved the Gold Zanzibar. Staff was great, very helpful and friendly, always ready to do anything to make sure you have a pleasant stay at the resort. Food was amazing, always fresh and just delicious, plenty of choice as well. Rooms could be a little bit better, not really up there for 5 star resort, but still nice. Just looked like needs better maintenance. All together beautiful resort and would come back. Location is just amazing. The only thing that might need improvement is evening offer, like live music. It is always the same and a little bit sleepy to be honest. Make it a little bit more interesting.
Stayed 4 nights in Jul 2019

10/10 Excellent

Silvano, Bloomfield hills

Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Perfect location, best beach of the area. Very good restaurant with every day a different grilled fish and a lot a variety. A touch of Italian food. The resort is quite new and well maintained
Stayed 7 nights in Jun 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Gold Zanzibar with a large group
Everything about this hotel was amazing except because we travelled with old people and although we requested rooms on the ground floor the walk to and from the beach and dining area is very steep. It would be nice if they introduced golf buggies like they do at other hotels to drive guests around the hotel premises. If you are travelling in a group be sure to let hotel know in advance you would like rooms next to each other as we were put really far away from each other. Food and variety was amazing though Rooms were comfortable Service was excellent Hotel staff were amazingly helpful and hospitable
Stayed 4 nights in Jun 2019

10/10 Excellent

Wee Chee

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Stayed 7 nights in May 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Traveled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Good and tidy but in the middle of nowhere. Activities could help
Stayed 2 nights in May 2019
Response from reservation team on May 23, 2019
Thank you for your feedback! Team Gold Zanzibar

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Traveled with family and small children
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
This place is absolutely amazing. I travel into different countries every few weeks and this is one of the nicest places I have stayed in terms of the whole package. Great service, amazing food, secure and clean rooms. I’d recommend to anyone!
Stayed 1 night in May 2019

10/10 Excellent

GToor, Ithaca, NY

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Very unique rooms and pool area. Property could use a facelift though. It definitely has the best beach area among the properties at Kendwa. After my fiasco at Rui Palace, I was very happy I went to Gold.
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2019
Response from reservation team on May 23, 2019
Thank you for your feedback! Team Gold Zanzibar

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The property is superbly located and rooms are clean and well done. The staff is polite and very helpful. We were upgraded to ocean suite. Thank you!! Facilities are awesome. Buffet spread was wide and catered to everyone’s tastes. The negative experience was the AC in the room which was not working properly. Rest all was perfect and we are very happy with our overall experience.
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Traveled with family and small children
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
The staff. They are amazing. Ready to help you with anything you may needs. Always with a smile.
Stayed 4 nights in Apr 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Traveled with family and small children, Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The staffs were very kind and we have experienced the most excellent services from the hotel. I have not ever tasted the food before any other hotels, it was fantastic. Our whole family even my little two daughter really enjoyed the food. The sunset beach gave us the most memorable experiences. I teally want to say thank you for the hospitality the hotel staffs gave us.
Stayed 4 nights in Apr 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Excellent hotel but not 5 star due to service
Hotel is amazing we were mis guided with the suits with Pavillion on the beach. Its not on the beach its overlooking the swimming pool. Only the villa are at the beach and can see the sea. The location is excellent clean beaches and clear blue water it's the best beach in Africa . Wide sand beach and blue waters and very private and good crowd. Not crowded beach and very relaxing It's a beach resort and the open restaurant is very uncomfortable during summer and when we visited. Its get very humid and hot and unpleasant. And very limted ceiling fans. This restaurants needs big commercial fans in every corner. We were sweating while eating and wanting to rush out of the restaurant as it was just hot to eat and enjoy. You need to get professional install mist sprays in the full perimeter where it's open and install commercial fans in all pillars so there is cool breeze throughout. Since it's open fully aircon won't work. I would never choose full board or half board if all meals will be served in the super hot restaurant. I'd rather go next door where they got aircon rooms and comfortable restaurants. The TV system is extremely hard to use and we never got it right in our stay and got the guys to show us how it works but we gave up finally to call them again and never watched tv since then. Last day our flight was was at 10 so checked out at 6am and we requested breakfast to be packed for us but no one did it and we wasted 15 mins for very cold and stale croissants
Stayed 3 nights in Mar 2019

10/10 Excellent

PEDRO RAFAEL

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2019

10/10 Excellent

Bernhardt

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Exquisite Stay!
The room was gorgeous and spacious. Very romantic! The beach was amazing and the pool was so nice. The sunsets at the beach are breathtaking. The food was wonderful, we couldn’t get enough of it.
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2019

10/10 Excellent

ALPA BACHULAL

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Amazing beach location
Wonderful
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2018

10/10 Excellent

Ignacio, Uruguay

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Everything was amazing !!! The personnel was very warm and helpful! The acomodations are awesome !
Stayed 3 nights in Dec 2018

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Stayed 3 nights in Nov 2018

10/10 Excellent

Natalie

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 5 nights in Oct 2018

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Good spot for family vacation. Nice ambiance and great responsive service.
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2018

10/10 Excellent

Adejoke, TX USA

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Amazing Hotel- Highly Recommended
My friends and I had an amazing stay at this hotel. Our room was beautiful, clean, big, and had all the amenities we needed. There was a little mix up in our reservation but the hotel was quick to rectify. The pool, and beach bar/ cabanas are well stocked, and comfortable. The sunset view from the area is also amazing. First night there was a party with entertainment which was fun. The next day was my birthday and at dinner the staff came out and sang me happy birthday and presented me with a cake which was very sweet. Breakfast/ dinner had a lot of variety and the food was good. Wifi connection was good through out the hotel, and the gym was decent for a good day workout
Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2018

8/10 Good

Alex, Brazil

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Excellent location, Kendwa is an amazing beach. The staff is very kind, always smiling with a happy face. The hotel has a lot to improve in all aspects. If you're traveling with kids, Gold hotel is not the best place to stay. Only one baby chair in the hotel! Despite of the beautoful beach and swiming pool, theres nothing to entertain the kids. If rains, you have yo stay in the room. There's no indoor activity. I would reccomend it for couples and honeymooners.
Stayed 3 nights in May 2018

10/10 Excellent

Jozef, UK

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Stayed 6 nights in May 2018

10/10 Excellent

nisha , abu dhabi

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Lovely hotel, beautiful grounds and very friendly
We had a lovely holiday at Gold. The grounds and swimming pool are beautiful and staff all very helpful and friendly. the rooms are large and very comfortable. The food (buffet) was wonderful with a great mix of seafood, however dining times could start a bit earlier then 8pm to accommodate families with younger kids. Otherwise, a wonderful stay!
Stayed 6 nights in Mar 2018

6/10 Okay

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Disliked: Staff & service
Worst service ever
The worst service you'd ever have in a '5' star hotel.
Stayed 3 nights in Aug 2017

2/10 Terrible

Global, Canada

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Booked 5 nights -- left after one, it was that bad
1) don't be tricked into paying a premium for a Beach 'VIEW' Suite. Per the Property Map -- found in your room, AFTER check-in unfortunately -- 501 is only SUITE w/ some degree of beach view; others look onto the backside of the pavilion villas, restaurant or beach bar. Raised this with Managing Director & response was: beach "view" was just a 'word'. Unfortunately it was the 'word' we based our booking on. 2) rooms are disgusting - mold, hair, nail clippings, ant-ridden, dirty, grungy-yellow concrete boxes. See photos below. I know you don't spend your holiday in your room, but when paying a premium, at a minimum expect it to be clean. 3) Noise - construction noise all day on one side of property & bar noise (men fighting in wee hours of the night) on the other. 4) Food - quantity doesn't mean quality. Raw seafood and meat were already set out without ice 30mins before buffet opened. We ate only pasta after seeing this & noting other reviewers mention of food poisoning. 5) Service - or lack thereof; Manager not on-site until 8pm; staff can't be bothered or don't have authority to help; Still awaiting a reply fr both hotel and Expedia regarding the Beach 'View' Suite that we paid for, but never received. Expedia promised update "within 24hrs"...7 days ago. Save yourself the grief and go up the coast to one of the Nungwi 5* resorts and don't book on here.
Mold and rot in shower.
Mold
Nail clipping and dirty spoon on coffee/tea tray area.
Beach "View" Suite has no view of the beach.
Stayed 5 nights in Jul 2017

8/10 Good

Ann, Dubai

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
WYSIWYG
It was amazing. True to the pictures shown online. Clean beach, good facilities, good food. value for money
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2017

10/10 Excellent

Rachel

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great place. Beach is amazing. Staff nice and helpful. All inclusive food is buffet style but super nice!
Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2017

6/10 Okay

Hyeseon

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
it was pleasant stay very quiet with big area to use nice bars and restaurant with fresh seafood