Protea Hotel Zanzibar Mbweni Ruins [Master Thread]

100   Recommended

Room 1
January 8, 2020 by
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Room 1

Liked:
Location
Service
Food
Amenities
Room

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This is property I recommend for a break away from the city or for those coming off an action-filled safari. If you are more into the kite surfing and water sports, then I would recommend that you head to the east of the island (but there are no Marriott properties there).

Overall

This is a small property with 13 or 14 rooms. It is built amongst the ruins of several structures that have had different histories over time.

Location

This property is well located near Stone Town, the airport and the ferry terminal. If you are coming from the mainland, you should consider both flights and the ferry. Often, particularly the night before, the airlines drop their fares and it can be cheaper to fly.

It is situated on a private beach next to a much larger hotel. The larger hotel cannot readily access this hotel's beach.

This property does not have the green-turquoise beach that many might link with Zanzibar. For that kind of beach you need to head to the eastern shore of the island. That said, this beach is also nice.

Unlike in DAR, Uber is not available on Zanzibar. However, it is much easier to rent a self-driven car here. While I was using Google navigation, it kept trying to send me through the residential areas near this property. I do not recommend following that advice, because these roads can be very bed. Stick to the asphalted roads. It is readily possibly to get to the hotel's gate without using dirt roads.

Nearby Stone Town:

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Dining

Food was served in the hotel's only restaurant which had a larger outdoor area and an indoor area with a small bar.

The breakfast was very good.

The other meals were also good at a reasonable price. They had a mixture of international good and Tanzanian specialities.

You can also get food and beverages served on the pier. It has a covered section with two small tables, some chairs and two loungers.

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Room

The rooms had really powerful air conditioning, to the point that you could cause condensation to build up on the exterior of the door. I loved it!

Otherwise the rooms were well equipped. The pictures on the website fairly accurately depict the rooms. Perhaps the rooms are a bit worn compared to the photos.

Each room has a balcony partio/terrace patio.

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Check In

The check-in occurs in a separate building which is part of the actual ruins. I was given a whole coconut as a welcome drink. The formalities were brief. I believe they did not even want to see the credit card. As usual, passports are important.

I checked in before the official check in time and had no issues getting a room immediately.

This property only allows two persons in one room. No extra beds possible.

Since the way to the room involves uneven landscape, dirt paths, etc., I recommend that you ask for assistance with your luggage.

The only platinum recognition was when they asked me, "Do you want points or breakfast?".

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Amenities

This property is about the beach. I found the water temperature very pleasant. My only complaint about the property was that they appeared to let in a lot of day visitors. This somehow at times took away some of the tranquility I enjoyed at this small property. The Amani Beach hotel was a lot more restrictive about day guests compared to this property.

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