Bella Vista Resort Zanzibar

Not even close to what you can expect from a 4-star resort. We left after one night and stayed elsewhere for the remaining 2 nights. Good things: - By the sea, nice sunset views - Free SUP to use - The food was flavourful To be improved: - The AC did not work till midnight. Apparently that is a known problem because of limited infrastructure, but when paying extra for it, at least be honest about it from the start. Instead we spent hours waiting for mechanical staff to ‘fix it’, when it cannot be fixed. - I have never seen such a dirty swimming pool in my life! No circulation whatsoever, just still water at 35+ degrees. It was full of chlorine, so they must’ve been aware of the issue. - No pool towels available. Even when requesting them and being promised they’ll be brought: nothing. Also, no towels next morning and the dirty ones still laying by the pool. - Expect to pay $30+ for a meal (just one dish & soda). Way above average for Zanzibar. Smaller annoyances: - Only one tiny towel for drying hands, no mat or something for the bathroom, which gets soaked because it lacks a shower screen or curtain. - The bathroom has no windows, just mesh. So there is no humidity or temperature control. That means no dry towels. - Restaurant service was just sufficient, but nothing close to friendly. Imagine having to ask for glasses when ordering water and being given just a 1,5L bottle… - For dinner, we were there at 18:15 or so, and already beef had been sold out… I can understand that when we are late, but not at the start of dinner service and when lots of dishes have beef in them… - In the morning they were out of pancake batter. How can you be out of flour, milk & eggs?! Oh, but we could get an omelette. Overall, we did not have an enjoyable experience and decided to end our stay earlier. Staff was all but accommodating, leaving us waiting for hours on end before coming up with a new ‘solution’. They even wanted us to pay their commission to *********** for the remaining nights. They have not issued a single apology or gave any verbal recognition to the problems we pointed out. The resort has so much potential and I sincerely hope they work on utilising it.

Just fantastic. The rooms and grounds were beautiful and kept so clean and organised. The staff went above and beyond on particular Pius, Schola, Happiness, Irene were so helpful and happy to correct our Kiswahili! There are a range of activities eg dolphin boats, dives, snorkelling at Bella Vista as well as a great selection of spa treatment. I would like to pass on thanks to Heri the divemaster- my husband had a great lesson and dive with him. Wonderful food, wonderful view- it was a great honeymoon for us! Asanteni

With the introduction of the new management staff working together with current staff the resort has already started seeing improvements starting with a face lift. The staff are as friendly as always and the food even better. Don’t miss out on giving them gem a look at