On the beach, sun-loungers, beach towels
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Reviews of Tembo Palace Hotel

4 out of 5
Tembo Palace Hotel
Kenyatta Road, Shangani, Zanzibar Town, Zanzibar

Reviews

8.4

Very good

Rating 10 - Excellent. 41 out of 107 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 53 out of 107 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 7 out of 107 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 3 out of 107 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 3 out of 107 reviews" "

8.6/10

Cleanliness

8.8/10

Staff & service

7.4/10

Amenities

8.0/10

Property conditions & facilities

7.2/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

2/10 Terrible

jamila

Travelled with family
Disliked: Staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
If you have the choice DO NOT waste your money on this property. Rooms are claustrophobic, no proper ventilation, washroom is a senior nightmare with all the steps, stray cats peeing on the restaurant floor. They have the ocean front and another hotel behind and if you don’t know the difference and you book for the other it is at the back, in a hot room with no elevators (they made my senior parents climb 2 flights of stairs) until their changed out room…then made us wait until 9pm after travelling to get a room with the staff attitude. The wifi hardly works. To add to it the restaurant when you order a meal gives you the option to pay in US or local currency. They change more for the conversion than the live exchange!! It is an antique looking building but that isn’t an excuse for the dirt. Their mosquito nets have the same dead bugs on the top for days. Additionally there is zero sound proofing. Waste of money! We couldn’t not get out of there fast enough!!!
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2024

10/10 Excellent

Margaret

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Great property and staff.
Stayed 3 nights in Feb 2024

10/10 Excellent

Susan

Liked: Property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Lovely after a dodgy start
We loved our stay. We had a triple room in Tembo Palace, which is about a minutes walk from the main Tembo Hotel. It has its own pool (which is smaller but quieter than the main one) but breakfast and the restaurant is in the main hotel. Our room was huge with three king-sized beds and a large bathroom. A/c and fans were effective. Both hotels are beautifully restored buildings. The alley leading to ours didn’t look great initially but we always felt safe walking back and forth. It’s about 30 seconds from the Freddie Mercury museum. The staff were brilliant throughout with a special mention for Pieter, our waiter on a couple of occasions. Breakfast is awesome with lots of choice and eggs made to order. Our only disappointment was on arrival when the bathroom was covered with what looked like large flakes of paint - bath, floor, basin, loo - everything. It was 3am so we really couldn’t be bothered to report it then. When we did next day, it was quickly cleared but it was a disturbing reflection on how rooms are prepared. Having said that, the actual bedroom seemed clean. Oh, and it had a fridge - lovely for keeping water and juice cool.
Stayed 3 nights in Feb 2024

8/10 Good

Jaime

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2024

8/10 Good

kareem, waterloo

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
It was nice very busy hotel
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2023

8/10 Good

Ingrid

Stayed 1 night in Dec 2023

8/10 Good

Karim, Pembroke Pines

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Good location in the center of Stowntown. but no lift, incase u have walking issues, and no liquor license of bar!
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2023

10/10 Excellent

Beth

Travelled with family, Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
This is a very fun place to stay. It has lots of Zanzibar character. The three pools are amazing and the view is incredible
Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2023

8/10 Good

Valeria

Stayed 1 night in Jun 2023

8/10 Good

Melanie

Stayed 2 nights in May 2023

10/10 Excellent

Elaine

Stayed 1 night in Mar 2023

10/10 Excellent

Benjamin Obel

Stayed 1 night in Feb 2023

8/10 Good

Julia

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Lovely converted palace with a great spot on the beach. One friend had issues with water and a/c but they got fixed.
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2023

10/10 Excellent

Demetria

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Zanzibar
Staying at Tembo palace was amazing. Staff were friendly and very helpful. Breakfast was nice every morning.
Stayed 4 nights in Dec 2022

6/10 Okay

Mike Doreen

Travelled with partner
Liked: Staff & service
Decent value hotel, nothing special - ran out of water for short periods of time both days we stayed - but quickly corrected when we contacted the desk.
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2022

10/10 Excellent

Patrick

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 4 nights in Aug 2022

10/10 Excellent

Joanne

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Great hotel
Stayed 3 nights in May 2022

10/10 Excellent

Artur

Stayed 1 night in Mar 2022

8/10 Good

Chidumebi

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
It was nice. The staff was friendly, great location, a little noisy. Nothing too fancy, just an okay place.
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2021

10/10 Excellent

Vivolyn Waugh

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Staff genuinely friendly and courteous, always willing to assist. Property was very clean. Food was ok. If I were to visit Zanzibar again I will surely stay at this hotel
Stayed 6 nights in Sep 2021

8/10 Good

Alexey

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2021

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Location could not be better -- right on the ocean with great beach, super people-watching, awesome sunsets
Stayed 4 nights in Mar 2021

10/10 Excellent

Nicole

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 3 nights in Feb 2021

2/10 Terrible

STEPHEN

Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Very unsatisfactory
The accommodation was not as described. I stead of the advertised property we were obliged to stay in a nearby building with NO POOL and NO RESTAURANT Furthermore my complaint to the hotel has not been responded to
Stayed 3 nights in Jan 2021
Response from Guest Relations Manager on 2 Feb 2021
Dear Stephen, I would firstly like to take this opportunity to apologies for the confusion but your booking was provided as booked. The property location is clearly shown on maps and we also stated in a message that our 2 swimming pools and restaurant is in our main building which is 50 meters away. Kind regards

8/10 Good

Jaruska

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2021
Response from Guest Relations Manager on 26 Jan 2021
Dear Jaruska, warmest greetings from Tembo Palace Hotel Zanzibar! We are delighted to read that we were able to provide you with a memorable stay. Thank you for taking the time to rate us, we look forward to hosting you once again in the near future. Kind regards

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Business traveller
Liked: Staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
One of the better hotels that is Convenient and reasonably priced.
Stayed 25 nights in Nov 2020
Response from Guest Relations Manager on 8 Jan 2021
Dear Esteemed Guest, warmest greetings from Tembo Palace Hotel Zanzibar! We are delighted to read that we were able to provide you with a memorable stay. Thank you for taking the time to rate us, we look forward to hosting you once again in the near future. Kind regards

8/10 Good

yoav

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2020
Response from Guest Relations Manager on 8 Jan 2021
Dear Yoav, warmest greetings from Tembo Palace Hotel Zanzibar! We are delighted to read that we were able to provide you with a memorable stay. Thank you for taking the time to rate us, we look forward to hosting you once again in the near future. Kind regards

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
We brought our kids, and they enjoyed the wonderful pool and beach access. We highly recommend Tembo!
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2020
Response from Guest Relations Manager on 21 Mar 2020
Dear Esteemed Guest, warmest greetings from Tembo Palace Hotel Zanzibar! We are delighted to read that we were able to provide you with a memorable stay. Thank you for taking the time to rate us, we look forward to hosting you once again in the near future. Kind regards

8/10 Good

Mary

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
A very pleasing stay.
Xmas in Zanzibar was fabulous, the Hotel provided a great service throughout our time there, although Xmas cake for breakfast was rather unusual! The staff in particular were extremely polite, kind and very helpful. Our room was sprayed every evening for mosquitos which was great, the hotel was lovely and clean, we did have a problem with no hot water for a couple of days but it was solved fairly quickly. The breakfast was similar every morning but there was plenty of it to be had. We ate in the restaurant only once and the menu covered most tastes. On the whole a very pleasant stay.
Stayed 5 nights in Dec 2019
Response from Guest Relations Manager on 16 Jan 2020
Dear Mary, warmest greetings from Tembo House Hotel & Apartments Zanzibar! We are delighted to read that we were able to provide you with a memorable stay at our beautiful and historical beachfront hotel in Stone Town, Zanzibar. Thank you for taking the time to rate us, we look forward to hosting you once again in the near future. Kind regards

8/10 Good

Niko

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Comfortable place for a family stay.
The apartment block that we used is tucked away from the main street and a 100m walk from the main hotel, but that doesn't really make a difference... the only thing is that you don't get a view out of the hotel. We traveled with two young kids and the most important stuff was comfort... they had two large queen size beds that were comfortable, the AC worked nicely and the room was clean. We had access to the main hotel that has a good breakfast and a nice pool to relax by... Compared to many other places in Stone Town, this hotel is a good value for the price. We would stay there again.
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2019
Response from Guest Relations Manager on 17 Dec 2019
Dear Niko, warmest greetings from Tembo House Hotel & Apartments Zanzibar! We are delighted to read that we were able to provide you with a memorable stay at our beautiful and historical beachfront hotel in Stone Town, Zanzibar. Thank you for taking the time to rate us, we look forward to hosting you once again in the near future. Kind regards

6/10 Okay

David

Travelled with family
Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Hotel is serviceable, nothing great, but nothing terrible except for the condition and cleanliness. The towels smelled of mildew and horrible smell coming from the bathroom drains. I realize this is due to pluming design, but visitors should be aware.
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2019
Response from Guest Relations Manager on 17 Dec 2019
Dear David warmest greetings from Tembo House Hotel & Apartments Zanzibar! We do apologise for the towels and drain causing you a problem, since then we have managed to fix this issue. Thank you for taking the time to rate us, we look forward to hosting you once again in the near future. Kind regards

10/10 Excellent

john

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
great hotel right on beach.
Stayed 3 nights in Nov 2019
Response from Guest Relations Manager on 17 Dec 2019
Dear John, warmest greetings from Tembo House Hotel & Apartments Zanzibar! We are delighted to read that we were able to provide you with a memorable stay at our beautiful and historical beachfront hotel in Stone Town, Zanzibar. Thank you for taking the time to rate us, we look forward to hosting you once again in the near future. Kind regards

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Nice property on the ocean. It had a fridge that worked well so you can keep drinks cold. They are non alcoholic building but there are places close by if you want to have a drink.
Stayed 5 nights in Nov 2019
Response from Guest Relations Manager on 17 Dec 2019
Dear Esteemed Guest, warmest greetings from Tembo House Hotel & Apartments Zanzibar! We are delighted to read that we were able to provide you with a memorable stay at our beautiful and historical beachfront hotel in Stone Town, Zanzibar. Thank you for taking the time to rate us, we look forward to hosting you once again in the near future. Kind regards

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Stayed 4 nights in Oct 2019
Response from Guest Relations Manager on 31 Oct 2019
Dear Esteemed Guest, warmest greetings from Tembo Palace Hotel Zanzibar! We are delighted to read that we were able to provide you with a memorable stay at our beautiful and historical hotel in Stone Town, Zanzibar. Thank you for taking the time to rate us, we look forward to hosting you once again in the near future. Kind regards

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2019
Response from Guest Relations Manager on 24 Oct 2019
Dear Esteemed Guest, warmest greetings from Tembo Palace Hotel Zanzibar! We are delighted to read that we were able to provide you with a memorable stay at our beautiful and historical hotel in Stone Town, Zanzibar. Thank you for taking the time to rate us, we look forward to hosting you once again in the near future. Kind regards

8/10 Good

Aial

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2019
Response from Guest Relations Manager on 24 Oct 2019
Dear Aial, warmest greetings from Tembo Palace Hotel Zanzibar! We are delighted to read that we were able to provide you with a memorable stay at our beautiful and historical hotel in Stone Town, Zanzibar. Thank you for taking the time to rate us, we look forward to hosting you once again in the near future. Kind regards

10/10 Excellent

Thiago

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Beautiful building, spacious room, nice swimming pool.
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2019
Response from Guest Relations Manager on 4 Oct 2019
Dear Thiago, warmest greetings from Tembo Palace Hotel Zanzibar! We are delighted to read that we were able to provide you with a memorable stay at our beautiful and historical beachfront hotel in Stone Town, Zanzibar. Thank you for taking the time to rate us, we look forward to hosting you once again in the near future. Kind regards

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2019
Response from Guest Relations Manager on 4 Oct 2019
Dear Esteemed Guest, warmest greetings from Tembo Palace Hotel Zanzibar! We are delighted to read that we were able to provide you with a memorable stay at our beautiful and historical beachfront hotel in Stone Town, Zanzibar. Thank you for taking the time to rate us, we look forward to hosting you once again in the near future. Kind regards

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
We spent one night in Stone Town and we chose this hotel. The hotel is well placed on the beach. The food was amazing. Staff were well trained and always ready to help. I loved the hot sauce the hotel used at the restaurant. The manager got someone to go out and buy me a couple of bottles. Real service!
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2019
Response from Guest Relations Manager on 9 Sept 2019
Dear Esteemed Guest, warmest greetings from Tembo House Hotel & Apartments Zanzibar! We are delighted to read that we were able to provide you with a memorable stay at our beautiful and historical beachfront hotel in Stone Town, Zanzibar. Thank you for taking the time to rate us, we look forward to hosting you once again in the near future. Kind regards,

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
No alcohol property bits tons of places close by to eat and drink. They own the building Freddy Mercury grew up on and you might even stay in his suite.
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2019
Response from Guest Relations Manager on 21 Aug 2019
Dear Esteemed Guest, warmest greetings from Tembo House Hotel & Apartments Zanzibar! We are delighted to read that we were able to provide you with a memorable stay at our beautiful and historical beachfront hotel in Stone Town, Zanzibar. Thank you for taking the time to rate us, we look forward to hosting you once again in the near future. Kind regards,

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Travelled with family, Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
They have several properties but only one on tje actualbbeach in Stonetown so make sure to get a specific confirmation. Otherwise some of the best hotel management interactions heva ive had (Osman and Rahim simply outstanding) and would not stay anywhere else in Stonetown.
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2019
Response from Guest Relations Manager on 16 Jul 2019
Dear Esteemed Guest, warmest greetings from Tembo Palace Hotel Zanzibar! We are delighted to read that we were able to provide you with a memorable stay at our beautiful and historical hotel in Stone Town, Zanzibar. Thank you for taking the time to rate us, we look forward to hosting you once again in the near future. Kind regards,

8/10 Good

Lisa

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Delightful. We stayed in the Annex and still had complete access to the pool and beach. I had some business to attend to while at the hotel and the staff was extremely accommodating. Food was delicious and the staff was very caring and helpful. We were right in the midst of Stonetown and felt safe and sound! Thanks Temdo House.!
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2019
Response from Guest Relations Manager on 7 Jul 2019
Dear Lisa, warmest greetings from Tembo House Hotel & Apartments Zanzibar! We are delighted to read that we were able to provide you with a memorable stay at our beautiful and historical beachfront hotel in Stone Town, Zanzibar. Thank you for taking the time to rate us, we look forward to hosting you once again in the near future. Kind regards

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Absolutely amazing location beautiful amenities only thing was that we were at the apartments very nice and spacious lacked a lift that is the only fault I can give them. I’d still go there again
Stayed 3 nights in Jun 2019
Response from Jav on 25 Jun 2019
Dear Esteemed Guest Warmest greetings from Tembo House Hotel & Apartments Zanzibar! We are delighted to read that we were able to provide you with a memorable stay at our beautiful and historical beachfront hotel in Stone Town, Zanzibar. Thank you for taking the time to rate us, we look forward to hosting you once again in the near future. Kind regards, Guest Relations Manager

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2019
Response from Jav on 17 Jun 2019
Dear Esteemed Guest Warmest greetings from Annex of Tembo Hotel Zanzibar! We are delighted to read that we were able to provide you with a memorable stay at our beautiful and historical beachfront hotel in Stone Town, Zanzibar. Okay Thank you for taking the time to rate us, we look forward to hosting you once again in the near future. Kind regards, Guest Relations Manager

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Loved that this hotel has a beautiful beach view. Wonderful staff, good food, and located where shopping and restaurants are a short walk away.
Stayed 7 nights in Mar 2019
Response from rahim on 10 Apr 2019
Thank you for a wonderful review, we are so happy you enjoyed your stay with us. We appreciate your feedback. Looking forward to host again soon.

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Beautiful old building in a great location. Only downside is that the street can be loud, especially when your room is street side.
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2019
Response from rahim on 10 Apr 2019
Thank you for a wonderful review, we are so happy you enjoyed your stay with us. We appreciate your feedback. Looking forward to host again soon.

10/10 Excellent

Susie, England

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Huge airy room massive comfy bed and separate lounging area very cool tiled bathroom Great breakfast right on the beach nice big pool with endless swimming towels Very typical Zanzibar deco made our visit to Stonetown very memorable Staff were very helpful
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2019
Response from rahim on 10 Apr 2019
Thank you for a wonderful review, we are so happy you enjoyed your stay with us. We appreciate your feedback. Looking forward to host again soon.

8/10 Good

Ellen

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Tembo Annex
We stayed in the Tembo Annex. That meant we had to cross the street from the Tembo Hotel, go a short distance down an alley, take a left then you could see the hotel entrance on the right. The spacious room contained 2 large beds, fridge, coffee maker and 2 bottles of water which you need to brush your teeth. The room and bathroom were clean and the bath tile was fascinating. The view from our room looked down into more alleys, (see attached pics). My friend and I were nervous walking the alley and made sure we got back right after dinner and stayed in for the evening. I will say the alley was very well light but people, mostly men, sit on the building stoops and it made us uncomfortable having to walk by them in the evening. This is a practice throughout the town and not a problem, just a little unnerving in the evening. I attached pics of the Annex lobby and our room. The main hotel had a nice pool and was on the beach. A roped area separated the guests from the locals. I would not swim in the water because there were so may large boats and ships moored out in the harbor. However the locals and other guests did swim. The breakfast buffet was plentiful, it included different breads, hot meals and fruit plus omelet station. All staff members were incredibly friendly and helpful. I enjoyed the decor of the hotel.
Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2019
Response from Rahim on 28 Feb 2019
Thanks for staying with us. We work hard to make our guests happy and appreciate your feedback!. Best Regards

10/10 Excellent

Naima

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Amazing stay
It’s been lovely staying here the staff are amazing and the service is great. Would recommend this hotel highly.
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2019
Response from Rahim on 28 Feb 2019
Thanks for staying with us. We work hard to make our guests happy and appreciate your feedback!. Best Regards

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Very good hotel,location, staff were very kind and helpful
Stayed 4 nights in Dec 2018
Response from Rahim on 3 Jan 2019
Thanks for staying with us. We work hard to make our guests happy and appreciate your feedback!. Best Regards Rahim