Entry level luxury
$300 to $500 a night
The upper tier
$800 to $2,000 plus
Private islands
Mnemba, and effectively nothing else
Stone Town
Restored merchant houses, a different offer
Book ahead
A year for Mnemba at Christmas
Included
Varies wildly, read what is not
The top end, in four lines
- $300 a night buys space and quiet. A serious kitchen, a beach that is not shared with a hundred people, and staff who know your name.
- $700 buys privacy. A villa or a small property with a dozen rooms, a butler if you want one, and no other guests in your sightline.
- $1,500 buys an island. Mnemba, effectively, and a handful of properties operating at that level.
- The step that matters most is the first one. Between $150 and $300 the change in what you get is larger than anywhere further up the scale.
Private tours and special dinners in Zanzibar
Private day: Jozani, spice farm, Stone Town. Your own driver for the day through Jozani Forest, a spice farm and Stone Town. Pickup is from the hotel, and the extra cost over a group tour buys the freedom to linger or skip.
Private Mnemba trip. A boat for your party alone to Mnemba, with snorkelling and a dolphin search. It costs more than a seat on the shared boat, and that is the point on a luxury stay.
The Rock restaurant with hotel transfer. The most distinctive table on the island, and the hotel transfer makes it easy from a resort. Book days ahead in high season, since a few tables fill quickly.
Romantic beach dinner in Nungwi. For a resort stay, a private table on Nungwi beach, photos included, offers a change from the hotel restaurant. Priced per couple; ask about the menu and the start time.
Jozani Forest, Spice Farm, Stone Town Private Tour
- 9 to 9.5 hours
- Hotel pickup included
- Free cancellation
4.8(137 reviews)
from$70per person
Check prices & availability
Private Mnemba Dolphin Safari & Snorkeling
- 4 hours
- Hotel pickup included
- Free cancellation
4.3(55 reviews)
from$70per person
Check prices & availability
The Rock Restaurant Reservation & Hotel Transfer
- 2.5 to 4 hours
- Hotel pickup included
- Free cancellation
4.6(70 reviews)
from$21per person
Check prices & availability
Romantic Beach Dinner on Nungwi Beach
- Free cancellation
4.5(24 reviews)
from$200per group
Check prices & availabilityAll activities in Zanzibar
Luxury hotels in Zanzibar worth booking
Seven addresses we would send a friend to, from the any-tide beaches of Kendwato the villas of the south east and one night in Stone Town. Each button opens the hotel's own page on Hotels.com. Mnemba, the private island, is not listed there.
Photo: Expedia GroupZuri Zanzibar
Kendwa, north west
9.4136 Hotels.com reviews
56 bungalows, suites and villas above a beach you can swim from at any tide. The best all-round choice at this level, if you book it in low season.
See prices for my dates
Photo: Expedia GroupElewana Kilindi Zanzibar
Kendwa, north west
9.423 Hotels.com reviews
Fifteen pavilions, each with its own plunge pool, all inclusive and adults only, on Zuri's sunset coast. The sea goes far out at low tide in front of it.
See prices for my dates
Photo: Hotels.comMatemwe Retreat
Matemwe, north east
Four villas above the reef, a plunge pool on each rooftop and a private chef per villa, twenty minutes by boat from Mnemba.
See prices for my dates
Photo: Hotels.comThe Palms
Bwejuu, south east
Seven villas, all inclusive only. The one people mean when they say honeymoon all inclusive. The tide goes out a long way on this coast.
See prices for my dates
Photo: Hotels.comBaraza Resort & Spa
Bwejuu, south east
Thirty villas on the same beach as The Palms, all inclusive only, and unlike its neighbour it takes children.
See prices for my dates
Photo: Hotels.comQambani Luxury Resort
Michamvi, south east
Six villas with full board or self catering. Michamvi faces west at its tip, so this is one of the few east coast addresses with a sunset.
See prices for my dates
Photo: Hotels.comPark Hyatt Zanzibar
Shangani, on the seafront
The town's five star, in the historic Mambo Msiige building on the seafront, with an infinity pool facing the ocean. The most comfortable night in Stone Town, and a little less Zanzibari than the merchant houses. Good after a long flight or before one.
See prices for my datesHotels.com ratings recorded in November 2026. Partner links to Hotels.com: prices and availability depend on your dates, and we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
What each price step actually buys
Per night for two in high season. The differences are concrete rather than a matter of stars.
| A night | What changes | Where |
|---|---|---|
| $150 to $250 | A good kitchen, a proper beach, and no coach parties | Kendwa, Matemwe, Michamvi |
| $250 to $450 | Fewer rooms, more staff, and a pool you can swim lengths in | Matemwe, Pingwe, Kiwengwa's better end |
| $450 to $800 | A villa or a twelve room property, private beach access, a driver on call | Michamvi, Matemwe, the north west |
| $800 to $1,500 | Butler service, a private pool per room, and genuine seclusion | The top handful on the island |
| $1,500 and up | A private island, all inclusive, with the best reef in Zanzibar off the sand | Mnemba |
Note that above about $400 the tide stops being a constraint, because the property has built its way around it. Below that it still decides your day. See the tide page.
What the first step buys
Between three hundred and five hundred dollars a night you get a genuinely good resort: a decent stretch of private beach, a pool that works, competent food and a room you are happy in. Baraza and its peers sit here. Zuri at Kendwa is a step up, from about $790 a room on half board in the 2026 low season, and Kilindi, its smaller adults only neighbour, from about $676 per person all inclusive.
This is where the value is. The jump from a two hundred dollar hotel to a four hundred dollar one changes the holiday. The jump from four hundred to eight hundred mostly changes the thread count.
What the top step buys
Above eight hundred dollars you are buying exclusivity rather than quality. Mnemba island is the clearest example: twelve bandas on a private island inside a conservation area, all inclusive, and no other guests beyond those twelve.
That is a real thing to buy and it is not a con. What it is not is a better bed or a better dinner than the tier below. It is fewer people, and on an island where the beaches are getting busier, fewer people is what the money is for.
The Stone Town alternative
The restored merchant houses in Stone Town are a different proposition entirely: rooftop terraces, carved doors, eighteenth century rooms and the call to prayer at dawn.
They cost a fraction of a beach resort of comparable standard and they are the more interesting stay. Two nights there at the start of a trip, then the beach, is how a lot of experienced visitors do it.
All inclusive at the top end
Above about six hundred dollars a night, all inclusive stops meaning a buffet and starts meaning everything, including the wine list and the boat trips. Mnemba works this way.
It changes the arithmetic considerably. A resort at four hundred dollars room only, with two people eating and drinking properly, lands close to a place at seven hundred all in.
Read what is excluded rather than what is included. Spa, diving and imported champagne are the usual carve outs even at the top.
Villas, which are underrated here
A staffed villa with three or four bedrooms costs less per person than four resort rooms and comes with a cook, a housekeeper and usually a driver.
For a family or two couples travelling together this is the best value at the top of the market by a distance, and it is not what booking sites surface.
The trade is that you are catering for yourselves in the sense that somebody has to decide what to eat. Most villas solve this by shopping for you on request. If you want the villa and its pool without running a household, The Residence Zanzibar at Kizimkazi is a resort made only of pool villas. Eleven private villas, with prices, are in Zanzibar villas and boutique hotels.
Getting there in the style you paid for
Ninety minutes in a taxi from the airport undoes a certain amount of the effect. The good hotels arrange a transfer that meets you inside and it is worth taking.
Helicopter and light aircraft transfers exist for the north east and for Mnemba, and cost a few hundred dollars. For Mnemba it is the standard arrival.
If you are combining with a mainland safari, the light aircraft network connects the Serengeti airstrips directly to Zanzibar without going through Dar.
What to ask before paying $500 a night
At this level the differences are concrete rather than a matter of stars, and five questions separate the properties that earn it from the ones charging for a photograph.
- What does the beach do at low tide, in front of this hotel? Above roughly $400 a night the good properties have built their way around the tide. Below it, the tide still runs your day.
- How many rooms? Twelve is a different holiday from sixty at the same price. This is the single most useful number at the top end.
- Is the beach shared with day visitors? Some expensive hotels sell beach access to the coach trade. The ones that do not will say so plainly.
- Is a driver included, or on call? Fifty to ninety dollars a day otherwise, and at this level it should not be a line on your bill.
- What is the flight or transfer arrangement? Ninety minutes by road from the airport to the north coast. Some properties fly you instead, and it is worth asking.
All inclusive at the top end
It works here for a reason that has nothing to do with greed, and it is worth understanding before dismissing it.
| All inclusive | Room only | |
|---|---|---|
| The tide | Four hours a day with no swimmable water, filled by a pool, a spa and a bar you have already paid for | The same four hours, and a taxi to fill them |
| Eating out | Possible, and you have paid twice | The point of being on the island |
| What it costs | $300 to $650 a night for two | $180 to $450, plus $80 to $150 a day on food and drink |
| Where it suits | Kiwengwa, the north east resort strip | Matemwe, Michamvi, Pongwe, the northern tip |
| Honest verdict | Good value if you rarely leave. Poor value if you came for Zanzibar | Better for anyone who wants the island rather than the hotel |
The test is simple and nobody asks it: do you intend to leave the property? See Kiwengwa for the coast this applies to.
Questions people ask about luxury hotels in Zanzibar
What is the most exclusive place to stay in Zanzibar?
andBeyond Mnemba Island, a private island with twelve bandas inside a marine conservation area. It is all inclusive, costs well into four figures a night, and books out a year ahead over Christmas.
Is luxury in Zanzibar worth the price?
Up to about five hundred dollars a night, clearly yes, and the difference from a mid range hotel is obvious. Above that you are paying for exclusivity and privacy rather than for quality, which is a legitimate thing to want but worth being honest about.
Where do celebrities stay in Zanzibar?
Mnemba island, mostly, and a handful of private villas on the north east coast. The appeal is the same in both cases: no other guests and no way for anyone to arrive uninvited.
