Karafuu Beach Resort and Spa, Zanzibar, Tanzania

Send a travel request to Karafuu Beach Resort and Spa

Write/Modify a Review about Karafuu Beach Resort and Spa

Karafuu Beach Resort and Spa

What we do at Karafuu Beach Resort and Spa

One of the most luxurious hotels on the east coast of Zanzibar, Karafuu Beach Resort & Spa has been granted an international five-star rating. It's ideally located on a blissful stretch of palm-fringed beach with white sand and dazzling blue water - just what you're after. The spacious, cool reception area under makuti (palm thatch) is impressive, especially when you're visiting the resort for the first time. You instantly know you're in a top-notch hotel. There is an enormous pool around which you'll find guests soaking up the sun. The clientele is largely international, so you'll hear a variety of accents. A little further along is the beach with a generous strip of sand with sun lounges set a good distance apart from each other. Warm hospitality comes naturally to the Swahili staff, who are impeccably dressed in long, robed uniforms. You are welcomed with the traditional greeting of karibu and we found there was always someone on hand to assist with a smile. We rate the service at Karafuu as excellent. The hotel has all the expected facilities: fully-equipped Diving centre, boutiques, tennis courts, gymnasium and Spa. The rooms are extremely comfortable and styled in a modern Zanzibar theme. They provide a welcome relief from the sun when you've spent the day by the pool or diving and lazing on the beach. The eastern side of the island is greatly influenced by the tide. You can sunbathe on the beach and slip straight into the water and swim far out when the tide is high. When the tide recedes, you have to wade out to the fringing reef, which can be fun if you want to look for marine life in the shallows. Karafuu is the only hotel on the east coast where you can enjoy a comfortable and safe swim in the ocean at low tide. A concrete path in front of the hotel leads you from the beach to a permanent natural depression in the ocean bed just 200 meters offshore, offering a giant natural swimming pool deep enough for small boats to moor in. The hotel, opened in 1995, is aptly named after the Swahili word for cloves, karafuu, which grow in abundance on Zanzibar (especially on Pemba).