Baraza Resort and Spa Zanzibar

Our recent visit at Baraza was truly exceptional, seamlessly blending cultural richness with unparalleled luxury. The attentive staff, particularly Dorin, our waitress, ensured that our every preference was met with utmost care. To our delightful surprise, the management arranged a private dinner set against a stunning backdrop, curated to our preferences from the welcome drink to dessert. Baraza was beyond a mere destination; it offered an experience characterized by luxury, culture, and natural beauty. Our time spent at Baraza left us with treasured memories - Asante Sana Mr. Sujit for arranging such a wonderful trip.

If I could give a 6 star review I would. We stayed at Baraza for the midterm break in October and had the most wonderful stay. The resort is absolutely beautiful, as are the 3 other hotels located on this stunning stretch of coastline that together make up the Zanzibar Collection. As a family of 4 with older teenagers we were all looking to take different experiences away from this trip. My daughter is a keen scuba diver and had the most incredible time diving with The Rising Sun Dive School who operate from Breezes, the first Zanzibar Collection resort. My son was undeniably on the trip for the all inclusive food and the pool life and was definitely not left disappointed. My husband and I loved the tranquility and peacefulness of the resort. I wqs able to just relax in paradise anytime of day, whether it be with a book, a cocktail, a snack from the all day food menu or all three! The accommodation was second to none. We stayed in an ocean front villa and a garden villa and both far exceeded any previous expectations we may have had. In fact, the surroundings were so serene that my husband didn't even mind when he had to fit in a couple of hours of unexpected work. We took the opportunity to explore the coastline further on a reef walk and enjoyed spending time walking along the beach when the tide was out. During our stay, we requested a private tour to visit Stone Town, the hotel packed us off early with a takeaway breakfast and plenty of drinks. The driver even acted as our tour guide when we arrived in Stone Town, taking us to the Slave Museum and Cathedral then helping us purchase spices and local produce at the market. We finished with a delicious lunch in a restaurant recommended by our driver. From the head chef and duty managers to the waiters and activities team, the staff were exceptional, happy and always smiling - no request was ever too much. I finish by saying that to simply call this resort "all inclusive" feels like it is an injustice to the phenomenal food, resort and service that we experienced throughout our stay and we are all excited to return.

From the moment you enter the property, you are welcome by a fabulous staff and smiles. The accommodations are superb, elegant, and relaxing. We really enjoyed the service there, and wandering around in the tidepools. The food and intertainment was wonderful as well. Very warm hospitality, which is what we experienced throughout Africa. Great pool too! We would highly recommend this resort. We did not have time to experience the Spa on this trip. Lots of activities to do on and around the resort. Good times!

Baraza is a beautiful up-market resort. The Villas with private splash pools are spacious and beautifully decorated in the Arabian theme. Regina made our stay even more special. The food is outstanding with great variety at every meal. We will be back!

This was our 4 th visit to this wonderful hotel ,more like home Having visited other vacations in the last couple of years it was great to return to see so many of the old team at our first lunch who remembered us.Juma now a waiter Godfrey the beach waiter,Ramadhan who ran across the gardens to say I thought it was you,and of course Esther now the food and beverage manager .The food as always was perfect,we love our seafood and there was an abundance..As there was near full occupancy we had the most marvellous buffet lunches and every other night we had set meals which beautifully presented.The chefs went out of their way to give us any special requests. The beach bandas were great and loved to watch with binoculars the fishermen and the goings on the beach.The reef walk is spectacular and interesting we did it 3 times by ourselves each time was different. We are going on a safari in August to see the migration crossings and we will of course be returning to BARAZA for a further week in the sun.

A major flaw with Trip Advisor, is that they do not have a separate rating system for Luxury Hotels... And Baraza is a true luxury hotel. To give Baraza a Five Star rating like so many "Resort Properties" is a travesty. Baraza is so far superior . So much more I could say. Feel free to ask. Simply stated, you will have a very difficult time finding a better resort anywhere in the world... And the spices... left my tongue dancing, and my lips on fire..

An excellent resort for enjoying your vacation. The luxurious villa gives a sense of privacy, and the friendly and well-educated staff constantly takes care of you. They organized for us lunch on the beach under palm trees and a romantic dinner by the pool under the stars. We felt like royalty. The food is a story in itself, hearty, varied and deliciously prepared. And all this in a tropical paradise of tall palm trees and other lush greenery next to a sandy beach and turquoise sea. In short, a dream vacation Vesna and Neven

My husband and I stayed at Baraza for a week after 3 nights on safari in the Serengeti. It was our Honeymoon and we are both 20-somethings who are lucky to have previously stayed in some amazing places, including in the Maldives, so for us Baraza had a lot to live up to (especially given the price!) The overall first impression of the hotel is outstanding; the architecture is beautiful, the garden areas are stunning and very well maintained, the rooms are spectacularly clean, the food is 5*. Everything feels super luxurious and you really do feel like you're staying at a palace. But... Every night (except for one) of our 7-night stay was a five course sit down meal, although it is certainly special to dine in this way, to do this almost every night was a bit much for us. We think it would be better to either reduce this way of dining to a couple of nights a week, or to provide at least one other evening dining option - perhaps something fun/casual as the other option e.g. a beach BBQ? A live food station serving a local dish each night? Secondly, don't get us wrong, the staff are amazing and work extremely hard, however their interaction with guests is very scripted (this is most likely not individual's fault, but more management). Every time we sat down to eat (breakfast, lunch & dinner) we were asked the same couple of questions by each member of staff. We totally understand they were most likely trying to be polite, but it did get very repetitive over the week. It overall gave us the impression that staff are under strict instruction by management to only interact with guests in a certain way, to only ask a set list of questions and to not waive from this. In fact, we would feel much more comfortable if staff were able to show their individual personalities more, to have normal conversations with the guests (not simply serve them) and to have a bit of fun/laugh with the guests. Over the course of the week we just wanted to tell staff that it's ok! Chill out! We believe, and have experienced in other resorts, that you can absolutely provide a professional, 5* service whilst keeping it relaxed and fun. Thirdly, the beach... Obviously we understand the nature of the seafront is not the fault of the hotel, however how they advertise the beach and facilities is... Prior to our arrival we were under the impression that the sea would be clear blue water, perfect for partaking in the various activities the hotel offers (paddleboarding, snorkeling etc.) It is advertised to be like the Maldives... It is not! The water has so much sea**** floating about, the seabed is extremely rocky with sea urchins, sea snakes etc. almost right up to the shore. The hotel offers a sea walk out to a coral - I got 10 minutes into the walk and turned back - it was not pleasant walking over sharp rocks and dodging sea urchins/snakes constantly, this was one of the most horrendous experiences for me and I've done some pretty crazy things! My husband did complete the

An outstanding hotel, wonderful villa, incredible staff (always helpful and friendly, whilst providing amazing service) and unbelievable food - in particular the fantastic array of fresh fish which was always beautifully cooked. A brilliant end to our holiday and the best way to relax after an active safari. Thank you Team Baraza. Richard, Jude and Paul