Bagamoyo Spice Villa0

We have just stayed for 3 weeks in the excellent Bagamoyo spice villa in beautiful Zanzibar. It has a beautiful garden and clean airconditioned rooms. Thank you so much for looking after us! Mr Square gave excellent guest attention. Massive thank you to the restaurant staff Islam and Esta who provided everything with a smile and really made it a home from home. Breakfasts were plenty of fruit with toast, crepes, juice and fresh cooked eggs however we liked them including Spanish omelette. Dinner in the restaurant was plentiful with lots of choice. When we went on trips breakfast was provided early. The room had 2 double beds, aircon, fan, walk in shower, fridge and kettle. The beach was less than a minute walk from the gate. We has excellent trips to Stonetown, the blue lagoon, Nacupenda sandbank and snorkelled at Mnemba and Tumbatu islands seeing dolphins jumping next to the boat. On the day trips we had a lobster, seafood, chips and fruit lunch. For trips I would highly recommend Nassor (+255 777 380 255) from the Union building on the nearest beach. He always made sure we were looked after and if we went in a taxi without him he would meet us at the hotel to show us the taxi and meet us again when we arrived back to make sure the trip was good. If you like good coffee Victoria has a great coffee shop 1 min walk towards the square. And we would highly recommend the Blue Sea restaurant on the beach - great for sunsets and fabulous food! We found Zanzibar very safe (violent crime is virtually unheard of even in Stonetown) and the people very friendly and passionate about their beautiful island. The Tanzanian and Masai traders/always had time to chat as well as sell souvenirs. They loved hearing about snow! Please respect the locals tradition and support their trade - there are many bargains to be found with a bit of friendly negotiation. No one ever seems to get upset and the sayings Hakuna Matata and pole pole (slowly, slowly) aptly describe the vibe here.

Always remember to judge a property by what you're paying. By this measure, Bagamoyo was a great stay. The staff were nice to the point of being really sweet; when I checked in the very friendly young man took me for a walk of the immediate area to get me acquainted and said they would set up a beach lounger whenever I wanted. Gardens are very well maintained and pleasant. Room is large, the bed comfy, and the A/C worked extremely well, plus there's also a ceiling fan. WiFi at Bagamoyo was fast and reliable, though maybe I benefited by my room being adjacent to the reception. Great little fridge in the room that kept drinks very cold. Nice sitting area on the small terrace with multiple power outlets; in fact, there was a surprising number of power outlets in the room. Breakfast was good, fresh fruit was nice, and the eggs were cooked to order if perhaps just satisfactory. Great location, steps to the beach and bars/nightlife, easy stroll to everything, but just far enough away not to be too noisy. On the beach just in front of the property is Waves restaurant; though not associated with the property, they recommended it highly, and it turns out that it was the best food I had in the Nungwi area. Now, about the bathroom. Yeah, it's cruise ship style with the shower sharing the toilet area, no curtain, but again, remember what you're paying. BIG advice regarding the hot water: by the 2nd or 3rd day I was really missing a hot shower; I had noticed a small water heater above the shower and wondered why it didn't work, and then noticed a wire leading from the heater to outside the room...turns out you just have to step outside to the bathroom window area and flip the switch on, and voila, a hot shower!! Yeah, the staff could have done that for guests, but sometimes we just have to look after things ourselves.

After I found the fix for the hot water, I was happy with everything.

Very close to beach, big spacious grounds with trees and green, and very quiet. Nungwi is a dense village, with people on top of one another, and lots of big crowded hotels. I was surprised to find such green oasis of peace so close to the beach for a price of budget hotel. Wanted to book my next stay there. Sadly it was already fully booked. Obviously. Very good breakfast served nicely in the garden, plentiful, well presented and delicious

Everything ideal.

I loved everything! The entire staff was very helpful and friendly. My room (109) was perfect, I always slept very well. The fresh cooked food was excellent for both breakfast and dinner. The garden was great. The nearest beach it's only 3 minutes away. I strongly suggest the Bagamoyo Spice Villa!!!

The only improvement colud be a forniture to put the clothes on/in, I had to leave my small suitcase on the fridge.

Good location. Nice and helpful staff, always with a smile. The fridge and the kettle were super helpful. We liked tbe the foot washer, it helped to keep the room cleaner. We liked to relax on the balcony. The garden was nice and well kept, we particularly liked the breakfast area. You could choose the type of egg you want, have fruits and pancake, toast bread, coffee and tea. 2 mins from the ocean, easy to reach multiple beaches and restaurants. Taxis amd shops nearby. Try Fresh Corner for a non-instant coffee in Nungwi. You feel safe in this fenced off paradise garden. Overall a very good value for money!

Water pressure could have been better, but it is a minor inconvenience. More lights would have been nice.

Location is great! Very basic but also good price.

Description of the room on booking.com is not correct. It says walk in shower but was bathtub. It says it includes a kitchenette but it doesn’t. Only a fridge. It also said the room had a big fireplace, which I of course didn’t need but don’t understand why it says so in room description

the breakfast was good, if you asked for it, they adjusted it a bit for you the staff was very nice, helpful, if we needed something they quickly provided it without us asking them the accommodation is simpler but 100% sufficient, we were satisfied with everything

nothing

Good place with nice clean rooms close to the beach. Good location. Good wifi if your room is close by the office. Helpful & friendly staff.

Bkfst was ok, not great. Options could’ve been better. Low pressure water & no hot water at night but it was fixed shortly after we informed the staff.

Spacious and clean room, quiet location really close to the beach, basic but good breakfast (coffee/tea, juice, fruit, eggs, toast), nice little porch area for sitting and space to dry clothes outside. There is an A/C unit but I didn't use it since the room is cool enough with the ceiling fan (for me). Friendly staff, even gave me breakfast a little bit early (I needed to be at the dive shop earlier). Arranged airport transport for a reasonable price (it's a good idea to do some research on what going rate is).

Wifi is really terrible in the room, I was almost never connected (not a problem outside or closer to the reception area). No hot water the first day, after that it was fine (not sure why). Shower has no curtain and therefore the floor gets really wet when you shower - it's not a big deal, but be careful as it can be very slippery! I would have liked more safety features, such as an inside lock and a place to keep valuables.

The rooms are large, simple, clean. The garden was surrounded by a wall and it felt very safe. The sea is very close - you go out of the gate and you are at the sea. For breakfast we had pancakes, toasts, fruit, juice, coffee and eggs all kinds of ways. Nice staff.