Meliá Zanzibar: an honest review, all inclusive prices, rooms and the beach at Kiwengwa

Meliá Zanzibar review: is it worth the price?

For an all inclusive on the east coast, mostly yes. Meliá scores 4.6 out of 5 on Tripadvisor over 3,418 reviews, eighth of 33 hotels at Kiwengwa, and 8.6 out of 10 on Booking.com. The grounds are the first thing guests mention: 40 acres of garden above a coral cliff, a long way from the packed feel of the bigger resorts nearby.

The complaints are consistent too. Value for money is the lowest of its Tripadvisor scores, at 4.4. The food splits opinion, from "amazing" in a July 2026 review to "5 out of 10" in another the same year. International drinks are charged on the standard plan. And an August 2026 guest summed up the gap most reviewers describe: The Level feels five star, the rest closer to a good four.

Our read: book Meliá if you want a big, well run resort with a kids' club and a choice of restaurants, and book it between April and June, when the same room costs about 40% less than at Christmas. Go for The Level if you are a couple and the drinks bill matters to you. And accept the tide before you arrive: on this coast the sea leaves for part of every day.

Meliá Zanzibar prices by season in 2026

These come from Chalo Africa's published rates, read on 23 October 2026. They are per person per night, sharing a Meliá Garden room, all inclusive. Double them for the room. The Level is quoted on request.

September and October cost the same as January, for dry, breezy weather. And the gap between the cheapest season and the festive weeks is large: $193 against $327 a head, for the same room.

Other prices seen in October 2026 line up. Expedia showed $344 a night for two in November, $403 with taxes. Siyabona lists its "Fully Inclusive Plus" rate per room from $410 in November to $545 in August and over New Year. Our guide to the best time to visit Zanzibar explains what each window means for the weather.

Is Meliá Zanzibar all inclusive? What the plan includes

In practice, yes. Agents sell it all inclusive, and that is how almost every guest books it. The hotel's own 2024 fact sheet still mentions bed and breakfast, half board and full board, so ask for a lighter plan if you intend to eat out.

On the standard plan, for the Garden, Terrace and Family rooms, you get:

• All meals at Spice Market, the buffet, plus marked dishes in some of the à la carte restaurants.
• Selected drinks and snacks from 10 am to midnight. Local beer, wine and house cocktails. International brands are extra.
• A minibar restocked daily with two waters, two soft drinks and two small beers.
• Tennis, table tennis, the gym and sauna, the kids' club, the entertainment programme, Wi-Fi and the shuttle to Gabi Beach.

What it does not cover: the Library Bar from midnight to 2 am, which is paid for everyone, the spa, diving and excursions. All inclusive runs from 3 pm on arrival to 3 pm on departure. For how this compares with the other resorts on the island, see our Zanzibar all inclusive guide.

The Level at Meliá Zanzibar: what the upgrade buys

The Level is the hotel's premium area, 41 of the 159 units, rebuilt in the 2019 renovation. It is where the five star reviews come from. On top of the standard plan it adds:

• Premium drinks in every bar and restaurant, 10 am to midnight, and a premium minibar.
• The Level Lounge, with its own infinity pool, bar and à la carte breakfast from 7 am to 10:30 am.
• The Level Restaurant, 24 hour room service, and 30% off at Tamu, the cliff-top restaurant that is paid for everyone else.
• A butler in the Beach Pavilions, the Beach Suite and the villas, and use of the pool at Gabi Beach.

One rule to know: since 2023 The Level pool is adults only. Children staying in the villas can use the lounge, not the pool. The hotel does not publish the price difference with a standard room, and we found no agent that does. Ask for both quotes on the same dates. Whether it pays depends mostly on how much you drink.

Meliá Zanzibar rooms, pavilions and villas

The hotel's 2024 fact sheet lists 159 units in twelve categories. You will see other numbers online, from 124 on older agent pages to 185 on Tripadvisor: the figures below are the hotel's own. Every room has air conditioning and a fan, a 43 inch TV, a minibar, a safe and a mosquito net.

Which Meliá Zanzibar room to book

For a couple on the standard plan, the Ocean View Bungalow is the one to ask for: only thirteen of them, adults only, with the sea in front. The Terrace rooms on the first floor get more light and breeze than the Garden rooms below, for a similar price.

For a family, the five Family Rooms of 117 m² go first, so book them months ahead. For a honeymoon, a Level Beach Pavilion or a one bedroom villa with its own pool is the version of Meliá that reviewers rave about. Our page on where to stay in Zanzibar for a honeymoon compares it with smaller hotels.

Meliá Zanzibar beach: the Kiwengwa tide and Gabi Beach

Meliá is at Kiwengwa, not Nungwi, and that decides how the beach works. The east coast has a tidal range of 2.5 to 3.5 metres, and at low water the lagoon empties for hours. Guests in 2025 and 2026 say it plainly: the tides are "brutal", and "the tide goes out a long way so you can look for crabs".

Below the main building there is a 300 metre beach in a small cove under the coral cliff, with a private jetty. It is best for swimming at higher tides. The rest of the day, the pools do the work, as they do at every resort on this coast.

So yes, the hotel has a private beach, and in fact two. Gabi Beach, about a kilometre south, is the hotel's beach club: loungers, umbrellas, showers, a bar and a grill with wood-fired pizza. A golf cart shuttle runs there, every ten minutes according to the hotel. Seaweed and sea urchins come up in reviews, mostly older ones. The most recent we read did not mention seaweed at all.

Check the tide for your dates before you plan beach days. Our Zanzibar tides guide explains when the sea is in on the east coast, and why the north west is the coast to pick if swimming at any hour matters most.

Meliá Zanzibar restaurants and bars

The hotel lists six restaurants and seven bars. The ones you will use:

• Spice Market. The buffet, for breakfast, lunch and dinner, with theme nights.
• Tamu. Swahili à la carte on the cliff, dinner only. Book ahead, and men need long trousers.
• Jetty Lounge. A set lunch, then grilled fish at dinner, on reservation.
• Pool Bar and Restaurant. Lunch and snacks by the main pool.
• Gabi Beach. Grill, fish and pizzas from a wood oven at the beach club.
• The Level Restaurant and Level Bar. For Level guests only. The Library Bar stays open until 2 am, paid.

The pattern in reviews: the à la carte places score better than the buffet. Book Tamu and the Jetty dinners early in your stay, since they fill up. If you want a night out, The Rock at Pingwe, further south on the same coast, makes a good half day.

Meliá Zanzibar with kids: kids' club, family rooms and the pool rule

Meliá is one of the family resorts of this coast, with limits. The kids' club takes children from four to twelve, and it runs in high season only. August 2026 reviews call it "a small room", and one says plainly: "If you have kids I'd not recommend staying here". A nanny costs $15 an hour.

There is no minimum age. Garden and Terrace rooms take two adults and one child under twelve; with two children you need one of the five Family Rooms. The Ocean View Bungalows and The Level pool are off limits to children. The grounds are large and spread out, which is pleasant for adults and tiring for small legs: expect to wait for the golf carts.

With toddlers, a resort on the north coast, where the sea stays in, is often easier. Our page on where to stay in Zanzibar with kidscompares the coasts and the kids' clubs.

Meliá Zanzibar activities, spa and entertainment

• Included. Floodlit tennis, table tennis, pétanque, beach volleyball, billiards, the gym and sauna, and a daily activity programme.
• Evening entertainment. A programme that is fuller in high season, as with the kids' club.
• The spa. Six treatment rooms and an outdoor pool of 21.5 metres. Treatments are extra.
• On the water. A PADI dive centre and kitesurfing at Gabi Beach, both paid. Diving trips go out to the Mnemba reef.

For snorkelling, Mnemba is the reef most boat trips from this coast head for. Booking it yourself is usually cheaper than the hotel desk for the same boat.

Meliá Zanzibar location: Kiwengwa and the airport

The hotel sits on the north east coast, about 4 km north of Kiwengwa village, on the stretch some sites call Pwani Mchangani. From the airport it is about 48 km, or an hour by road, and Stone Town is a similar drive.

The hotel arranges transfers at a supplement it does not publish. A driver booked yourself is often cheaper, and our page on Zanzibar airport transfers has the going rates. There is little to walk to outside the gates: Kiwengwa is a resort strip, and the quieter bay at Pongwe is fifteen minutes south.

Who Meliá Zanzibar suits, and who should book elsewhere

Alternatives to Meliá Zanzibar in Kiwengwa and beyond

The nearest resorts in style share Meliá's beach and its tide. Two are similar five star all inclusives with kids' clubs, and one is a step down in stars.

TUI BLUE Bahari Zanzibar

Pwani Mchangani

★★★★★Same size, same coast

207 rooms and three villas, all inclusive with a kids' club. TUI's own brand, so it often comes cheaper inside a UK package.

See rates on Hotels.com →

Neptune Pwani Beach Resort

Pwani Mchangani

★★★★★Bigger pools, more for children

Around 190 rooms, all inclusive and a kids' club. Children thirteen and over pay the adult rate, so check before comparing family prices.

See rates on Hotels.com →

Diamonds Mapenzi Beach

Kiwengwa

★★★★One star down, a lower bill

All inclusive on the same beach, with a kids' club. Children twelve and over pay the adult rate.

See rates on Hotels.com →

If the tide is the deal breaker, the same budget buys an all inclusive at Nungwi or Kendwa, where the sea stays in. And for a smaller hotel with more polish, see luxury hotels in Zanzibar.

Meliá Zanzibar practical details: fees, tax and who runs it

• Early check-in and late check-out. Before noon or until 6 pm, $150 per room each, according to the 2024 fact sheet.
• Infrastructure tax. Zanzibar charges $5 per person per night, paid at the hotel. Carry some dollars.
• History. Formerly the Zamani Zanzibar Kempinski, reopened under Meliá in October 2011, renovated in 2019 when The Level was built.
• Who runs it. Meliá Hotels International, the Spanish group. The owner of the building is not named in any source we read.
• Open all year. We found no closure or renovation announced for 2026.

Excursions from Meliá Zanzibar

Most tours on the north east coast collect from the Kiwengwa hotels: Jozani forest, the spice farms, Stone Town and Mnemba. Plan boat trips around the tide, the same way you plan the beach.

Tours that pick up at Kiwengwa

Prices, ratings and review counts as the partner lists them, read on the date shown below the cards. Check the pickup point is Meliá before you pay.

Mnemba snorkelling from Matemwe, Kiwengwa or Uroa

Pickup along the north east coast, three hours on and around the atoll.

4.5(93 reviews)· 3 h

From$40per person

Check availability →

Quad bike off road from Kiwengwa

Village tracks and the bush behind the resort strip, priced per bike.

4.5(37 reviews)· 2 h

From$90per group, up to 2

Check availability →

Prices, ratings and review counts read from GetYourGuide on 27 September 2026, and indicative. These are partner links: the price is the same for you.

Questions people ask about Meliá Zanzibar