Kilindi Zanzibar

Everything. Incredible design. Fantastic views.

Nothing.

Seclusion

Staff sometimes too attentive

Secluded and private property. Lovely staff, amazing service, you really feel special. You get a private butler, you have a designated sunset roof inside your villa. Live music on some nights.

Road to go there is horrible, make sure you get transportation from the hotel itself - outside drivers don’t know the place and you can get lost easily. When there is low tide with the water, it can smell a bit. Internet is okay, but definitely not enough if you need to stay online for a bit. Bathroom is open (no windows) to the wild, monkeys around.

The bungalows felt so quiet and secluded even a couple minutes from the main pool/bar restaurant. Staff were the best we’d ever experienced, so attentive and cheery. They made you feel like royalty and everything was so clean. Grounds were so well kept along with the private beach which was picture perfect. I could write a book about how good everything was but I couldn’t recommend Kilindi enough!

Everything was amazing. The staff is super nice and professional. The villas are breathtaking, food is very good. Thank you Kilindi!

The very friendly staff ! Perfect cleaniless!

Some salt and spices in the meals! The included wines and sparkling wine are terrible and really not at the general level of the resort. And by ordering champagne you get horrible glasses-so the champagne doesn’t taste as it could and should

This hotel is truly special and a once in a lifetime vacation. We arrived early and was greeted by friendly and professional staff who took us to our room. We were blown away by this, it was much bigger than the photos do it justice and the views were incredible. The food and drink choices were far better than we expected and we loved the fact that we could eat and drink any time of the day in any location. Breakfast, lunch and dinner could be served in your villa, in the restaurant or by the pool or beach. We mixed it up and took advantage of all locations. We loved the free cooking class and chef Helen taught us how to make 5 Swahili dishes which tasted amazing. We had Witness as our private ambassador who was incredible and really did look after us. The beach is very private and we loved the sunset bbq dinner where we had incredible seafood freshly cooked and the lobster was huge. Drinks included cocktails, wines, sparkling, beer and spirits. You could pay extra for premium but we felt this was not needed. The food menu is all Al a carte and you can literally order anything and as much as you like for all meals. The hotel also provided activities, if you wanted to get out and about you can walk to Kendwa beach which is lovely, much busier and has a totally different vibe to Kilindi. But we preferred to stay at the hotel as we went to Kendwa afterwards. We saw a lot of monkeys from our room which we didn’t expect, they were totally harmless, they can be noisy though so be aware of this. The staff in every area were incredible, our room was kept spotless and we even had little notes and small treat left. The service was above and beyond 5star. Honestly, this place is beautiful and you will not be disappointed.

Staff are very attentive and really do want you to have a beautiful experience and every day we were asked by the managers how our stay was, are we happy, are things good. We really appreciated this but felt sometimes this was not needed every day and especially during dinner times when it perhaps was a romantic meal. Only a very small issue but this is something for the management staff to reflect on.

This property is stunning. The main house, the spa rooms, the grounds, and the villas - all beautifully designed, light, airy, spacious. They have an Arabian / Grecian feel to them. The villas are a luxury in space, two plunges pools, various sitting areas. Greeted in the room with a (good quality) bottle of sparkling wine, inclusive minibar stocked, flower petals and messages everywhere. We loved the open nature of the rooms. There was no need to feel self-conscious as each villa is quite secluded. We had a wonderful view of the ocean. The lunch menu was especially delicious, in particular the tapas dishes, but all the food was good. The inclusive wine list was good, as well as the other drinks. We had spa treatments which were excellent, and in a beautiful setting, with the breeze blowing over you and the sound of birds. We had a private BBQ on the beach one evening, which was lovely, although dinner starts at 7pm, which was after sunset. For the beach dinners it seems to us that dinner should start half an hour earlier, so you get to enjoy the sunset. Various water sports options available at the beach, eg we used SUP boards inclusive. There was lots of wildlife around the property that we enjoyed.

The staff were very accommodating without being in the way or pushy. That said, our butler’s English was not very good, which led to mistakes / misinterpretations on a number of occasions. Eg bringing the wrong drinks, or not being able to answer questions. Many of the staff could speak excellent English so it was a bit of a shame that the person who was most regularly dealing with us couldn’t really understand us and rather than saying so would guess what we’d said. This was not a big deal though. There were some bees that visited us incessantly every breakfast time, but that is the nature of being in an open space I suppose! We enjoyed the beach, where there is plenty of space for the guests. That said, swimming was a little unpleasant as there was a lot of seaweed floating and we saw a number of jellyfish. Not the fault of the property of course!

Private space, great cocktails, attentive bar staff, absolutely brilliant cooking school with Hellen. Frank our housekeeper was amazing. Lots of good food (though the steak we had on our last night was SO tough).

Our ambassador wasn’t very proactive at offering services so we missed out on eating on the beach for example. Lots of reviews on Zanzibar sites mention two pools, or one off room, which ours didn’t have. If you’re a light sleeper you may struggle with the bush babies making noise and the skylight immediately above the bed.

Looking for Peace and Harmony - Go To Kilindi!! Beautiful Sunsets, Perfect for Couples Excellent presentation of the deliciously made food and to top it - you can have your food and drinks customised to your own liking! Outstanding service! Not forgetting the designated butlers that ensure that you are comfortable and have all that you need to ensure you feel at ease. Special Thanks to: Manager Andre Butler Daudi and Kilindi Team

Since it’s a very open property and located within the natural habitat - around the rainy season it gets a little busy with little crawlies and flies - check and plan accordingly.