Sunshine Hotel

A great little property set on Matemwe beach

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Review

As with quite a few of the newer properties to Zanzibar, the Sunshine Hotel has aimed squarely at the lower end of the price range, while offering such amenties as aircon as standard. The Sunshine hotel is probably one of the better new properties in the Matemwe area and gives a great beach, good pool, simple rooms and a good overall experience. As with many of the newer properties, the plot may not be all that wide (giving it a slightly squashed feel), but this is a small price to pay for what is a great hotel.

Beach

To the very south of Matemwe, the beach here is actually very good and, even at low tide, it is possible to get into the water. When Zanzibar gets its beaches right it really is possible to get everything that you are after. It is true that this has become one of the busier beaches on the island, but there is good reason.

Rooms

Simple but efficient is how we would describe them. Using the polished and poured concrete as a plinth the bed looks out to the glimpses of sea. The only room that really gets a view is the upstairs honeymoon suite (called Blueberry). Both honeymoon rooms have their own, very small, plunge pools..the others have a balcony with table and chairs…but they are absolutely fine. No aircon, but good breezes here allow this to not be an issue.

Layout

As with many of the newer places, it can feel a little squashed as they have had to squeeze the rooms into a narrow plot of land. The front area, with interconnecting pools, bar/restaurant and beachfront work well, although, again, within a thin confine, it means that many people end up squashing into a small area.

Features

Simple but well designed hotel. Best rooms are the honeymoon suites.

Feedback

Moving onto the Sunshine resort. This was a very nice resort with picturesque views, the staff were friendly and the owners were welcoming though not much going on in the resort. Unfortunately the white sand beaches were covered in seaweed which later i found out was introduced to the environment in the 80's to provide food and material for the locals which is great for the locals but not so when promoting clean white beaches also we had to wait for hightide to be able to swim avoiding the harsh coral below. Speaking of the locals, after a while the constant pestering for snorkeling, trip to spice mines or stone town meant that long walks on the beach were not very long and sitting round the pool became the better option. I think we spent way too much time in Zanzibar as we felt 3-5 days would have been enough time on this Island as there really wasn't much to do and thanks to government tax the Island wasn't cheap.

Mike and Rachel, October 2012
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