Indigo Beach Zanzibar

Recent Reviews: 430

• User:N1kky_13

  Trip type: Friends getaway

  A Nightmare Disguised as a Beach Resort - Misleading Advertising

  17 Dec 2025

  The reviews for this place appear to be biased and reflect a lack of even minimum quality standards. After a safari on the mainland, we were hoping to rest and enjoy the dream beaches shown in the photos — instead, we found a nightmare. We stayed one night, left the hotel the next day and paid in full for 7 nights.In short, the beaches have the tide problem which means no sea for a free hours, overcrowded with aggressive vendors, and the service at this hotel was terrible.Main facts that justify our very negative rating:Access to the hotel: at least 1 km on a very badly maintained dirt road. When leaving the main road, it genuinely felt like we were being taken somewhere isolated with bad intentions.Arrival at night: there was no one at reception to welcome us or provide any information. Only Maasai staff, with very limited or no English, guided us to our rooms. We later discovered that reception is only staffed from 10:00 pm to 7:00 am when advertised 24 hour Open.Rooms: no telephone, no TV, and no air conditioning. It is impossible with the heat and humidity with no air conditioning. Wi-Fi did not work everytine and was extremely slow.The room was on a cave/ basement, had permanent gaps/openings in the main door, constantly heard noises and it allowed mosquitoes and even lizards inside. This was supposed to be a 4-star hotel room, not a camping tent.We complained about the room in the first night, they offered a double bedroom for 3 people still no air conditioning. We complained again and asked to speak to the manager, he was not around nor available to speak to us. Finally they offered an alternative room near the pool at a 50 dollars extra as an upgrade. At least this Room was enclosed and had air conditioning. However, sound insulation was poor, and we could hear staff noise, especially in the mornings, as these rooms are located behind the kitchen. Additionally, the terrace smelled of food whenever cooking was taking place.Breakfast was below basic. In a country with so much fresh fruit, there was almost none available.The so-called “restaurant” (in reality a canopy with tables and chairs next to the kitchen) offered only one lunch menu with very limited options.There were not enough umbrellas or shaded areas, either near the pool or on the beach.The beach has no lifeguard, no infrastructure, no cleaning and is used by local people that mix with tourists feeling unsafe and summary, this place does not deserve to be called even a 1-star hotel; a campsite would be a more accurate description. They sell a romantic idea that does not reflect reality, using misleading advertising to take money from unsuspecting tourists. “inhabited” by persistent and intrusive vendors who appear out of nowhere, walk alongside you, start conversations, and harass you to buy something.In summary, we only stayed one night because we arrived late but left the next day. This place does not deserve to be called even a 1-star hotel; a campsite would be a more accurate description. They sell a romantic idea that does not reflect reality, using misleading advertising. Should not have permit to be opened and functioning. Never again!!

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• User:beatrizvieira_19

  Trip type: Family

  Very disappointing experience — would not recommend

  08 Dec 2025

  We had a fully paid 7-night reservation at Indigo Beach Zanzibar, and our experience was extremely disappointing from the moment we arrived. We showed up after 10 pm to find the reception closed, even though the hotel advertises a 24-hour front desk. We were greeted by three people who did not speak English and were unable to help us. We even asked to speak with the manager by phone, but he refused to talk to us.The first room we were given was completely unacceptable: a triple room in a basement, with no proper ventilation, dusty surfaces, visible dirt in the bathroom, and a door that had gaps and didn’t even close properly, making us feel unsafe. None of this matched the photos or description on Booking.After we complained, the first “solution” offered was a room with only one double bed, even though there were three of us. Later, we were moved to a “Deluxe” room, but were asked to pay an additional amount — something entirely unjustified considering the poor conditions of the original room were the hotel’s responsibility. We were also pressured to pay immediately without an invoice. Even this second room did not meet basic standards.Throughout the whole process, there was a clear lack of professionalism, empathy, and genuine effort to resolve the situation. Given the accumulation of issues and the complete loss of trust, we decided to leave the hotel and find an alternative.I would not recommend this hotel to anyone. It was, without a doubt, one of the worst hotel experiences I’ve ever had.

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• User:O6451EOmeganp

  Trip type: Family

  Lovely week in Zanzibar!

  23 Apr 2025

  Wonderful weeklong stay at Indigo Beach! The staff were absolutely fantastic, from how friendly they were to our toddler, to helping organize tours and a massage, to helping us figure out a doctor to take our daughter to when she got sick on our last day.The place was fairly easy to find - we arrived when it was dark, so that made it a little more difficult. It's in a less touristy spot, so it's quieter, and only a 10-minute drive to Paje.The food was overall good - we did bed & breakfast but, in the future, would not do breakfast as there are many places to explore in Paje, nearby, and the options were the same every day - fruit, bread of your choice (toast, crepe like pancakes, or banana bread or muffin), eggs of your choice, bacon (more like Canadian bacon), sausage, or an English breakfast. The lunch menu had quite a bit of options - we had grilled fish, grilled octopus, and fish nuggets, which were all good. The dinner menu was smaller options, so we generally preferred to go explore other restaurants. The cocktails were very good and reasonably priced!The pool was clean; our daughter had a blast swimming. They also had sand toys for kids. There were plenty of lounge chairs to relax with an ocean view, too. I saw they had bikes for rent, but we did not do that.As for the room itself, we appreciated the unique style of it - it isn't one of those cookie cutter hotel rooms that could be anywhere in the world. Our room had a downstairs with a couch, then upstairs the bed and a travel cot for our daughter, with mosquito nets. The rooms were pretty open air - so you had to use the nets, and they sprayed in the evenings, which helped somewhat with the bugs. The openness also allowed a lot of rainwater inside. There was a ceiling fan for the bedroom, but it still was pretty hot/ humid. I would also note that the pillows smelled, like they had been in storage for a while and not washed, but we were able to find throw pillows that were ok (we did not mention to the staff, as we forgot whenever we left the room). The bathrooms were completely outside - which is cool in theory, but not so enjoyable when it's raining/ night (an umbrella is provided). The provided soap smelled really nice!Overall, if you appreciate an outdoorsy style, but still want the luxury of a nice hotel, this is a great option, and great location!

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• User:_gerryminicar

  Trip type: Family

  Indigo Beach Zanzibar … warm Welcome and Lovely Staff and Very Peaceful and Relaxing

  21 Feb 2025

  Indigo Beach is perfect if you want a quite relaxing hoilday ,the Staff are lovely and very friendly the food is excellent and nothing is to much trouble ,indigo beach is not far away from other tourists attractions but is a hour or so away from Zanzibar ,you will need to wear some sort of foot ware if you go into the sea etc as there are very fine shells but the sand is very soft and the sea is very warm ,indigo beach as 2 lovely swimming pools to cool off and relax by ,the hotel can book your tours and taxis so not a problem and even give you a early morning call if required also offer a packed lunch if your going out for the day, rooms very some basic but clean but you are not staying in your room your only sleeping in it so not going to say much about the rooms as l said the rooms very but the rooms facing out onto the beach look lovely . Can’t fault Indigo Beach ,lovely hotel,Lovely Staff ,Lovely Food

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• User:Luisa G

  Trip type: Friends getaway

  fantastic week in Zanzibar

  03 Oct 2024

  we spent a week at Indigo Bay and it was excellent. Very quiet hotel and beach, good food and an incredible staff in service. On the day we arrived we had a problem in the room and Omar quickly solved the situation in the best way and did everything to make us feel good. In my opinion, only the bathrooms in the rooms need to be improved.Thank you Indigo Bay people for the days spent thereLuísa

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