The Hilton Hotel DoubleTree Nungwi Zanzibar Review

January 22, 2020

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The Hilton Hotel DoubleTree Nungwi Zanzibar Island – Full Review

Review of The Hilton Hotel by DoubleTree in Nungwi Zanzibar Island. Zanzibar, Tanzania is one of the most beatiful Islands in Africa.

Hilton Hotel by Double Tree, from above at Nungwi Beach

So I just checked into Double Tree The Hilton Hotel on the beautiful island of Zanzibar. So is this hotel any good and worth the money? This review will be judged on 7 categories:

1. Room

I stayed in a sea view room for $330 USD per night. Theres a double bed here for 2 people. If you are a child under the age of 10 you can stay for free. So they put an extra bed here for free. There is a dresser table here. Which is nice and big you can put a laptop on. Mirror, theres a TV here. All surrounded by Zanzibar style timber.

But the TV had a pretty bad reception -it wasn’t that great. Bed sheets were nice and the pillow were fine, its nice and soft. But my girlfreind did have a problem – She found a big stain on the mattress. Ill put some photo evidence here if I get that. The power is great theres 2 USBs here. And a power and another power which is fantastic.

There is a big space for 2 suitcases here which is really good, I like that. Some art. Mosquito nets here which I never even used. But they look nice anyway. Then on to the tea and coffee facilities here which are good Fridge here which is fine. There isn’t much of a mini bar. A safe here. 2 dressing gowns they gave you. They do laundry here. Ironing board Plenty of space in there Sink is massive sink One big one, they don’t have 2 singles sinks. This is a washing area you can wash your cloths and then the shower is quite big as well, So its a pretty big bathroom really.

However, there were some small issues with the wood in the room. Which was weirdly sticky. They must have just varnished it or something. Even my head stuck to the bedhead.. Keep getting my head stuck to the wood. Hair keeps coming out.They on to the balcony. Its not a sliding door its a opening door, slams a bit but its fine. So if you get a sea view room this is the amazing view you get. Look at the ocean on that. Zanzibar is just incredible.

They were only minor issues with the TV, mattress stain and sticky wood. They rest of the room was good

2. Location

The Hilton Hotel is located in Nungwi, which is north of Zanzibar Island. About 1.5 hours drive away from the airport. In recent years, Nungwi has become the top tourist destination in Zanzibar with hotel rooms increasing 129% between 2008 and 2013.

There are many activities including diving, boat trips, Village tours or simply exploring the area yourself. So location is top notch. Its on the north of Nungwi which is a bit more peaceful to southern Nungwi which is a bit touristy and noisy sometimes. I love watching the locals fishing in the morning. Hanging out with the Masai tribe and gettign lost in Nungwi Village. Because the Hotel is facing north. I couldn’t get to see sunrise or sunset very well. You have to go for a bit of a walk to get a good view of that

3. Food & Drink

Both breakfast and dinner was included in the price. Breakfast was good which included some vegan options which was nice to see. Highlights for me included the cheeses and the impeccable poached eggs. One thing thats good about this place is the cups of coffee. They have large cups, unlike the small cups they give you in most hotels Looks like they get fresh coconut from the tree every morning as well, which is good. However I was disappointing with the mushrooms that looked like they came from a tin.

Bit disappointed with the croissants. They taste like bread really. Ive had better croissants elsewhere. Bit disappointed with that and the pancakes. Maple syrup. Its not really maple syrup. Some other syrup – fake syrup. I was looking forward to have pancakes with maple syrup. Unfortunately they didn’t have any.. Apart from that, everythings great. However, Noveza had problems. I havent found any cockroaches but. But she did take photographic evidence.

Im lucky tonight because you know what? Its African night. Dinner in the evening they had different theme nights. For every night. However I didn’t see any sea food night, which I thought would be the most popular. They food in the evening was excellent, it was varied. Drinks were great too but you pay extra if you want coffee like cappuccino or espresso.. They evening drinks are bit expensive But there is a happy hour. So cocktails by the pool which you got to do when your here. This is Pena Colada, Coconut which is very good and its got environmentally friendly strew which is really good. You dont often see that in Tanzania. Its just the cockroach for breakfast in the bread which was the main issue

4. Facilities

So facilities around the hotel are really impressive. The pool is really good with the bar. Pool is 1.44 meters high throughout so there is no deep end. You got wellness fitness center here.. Its full service, so you can have body treatments, massages, facials all that kind of stuff. They gym is open 24 hours 1 treadmill, 1 cross trainer, 1 bike, 1 little bench and some free weights and thats it., Fitness center is a bit small but its ok. So thats the sunset bar up there. That has the pool and fussball things like that.

So they got some really nice little facilities here. Im quite impressed actually Even though they dont have large ones like basketball. They do have volley ball.. So it has a private beach at Hilton. Which is different to the actual public beach down there. You see thats the public beach. Then theres the private beach. They just put sand on their land there.. So the private beach is quite quiet in the morning but gets a bit lively in the afternoon. I think because people start drinking and everything. So they have hammocks and benches you can relax and hangout in this private area. No one bothers you so its quite peaceful. Theres also a decent gift shop at reception area. The shop is really good actually items are quite fashionable. BIt expensive by good quality

And the highlight for me. Was the bowls.

The hotel also caters for special events and weddings as well.

Special Events at Hilton, Nungwi Beach

Only complaints for facilities is the gyms too small and they dont have any PCs to use internet but they said they will provide one if you want one . So I dont think thats a big deal at all

5. Cleanliness

Cleanliness around the hotel was excellent- spot on/ The restaurant is clean. the bar is clean, the pool is clean every day. See people clean in the mornings Even the private beach is really clean. I dont know how they clean the sand. Really good. And taps to clean your feet. When they actually work.. So the cleanliness around was really good. However, Noveza had some issues with the room. She got woken in the middle of the night by an uninvited guest in here bed.

6. Service

I had big issues booking the room at The Hilton Hotel, prior to arrival. Firstly I contacted by Double Tree, Dar Es Salaam. To go into their hotel and pay by cash, to guarantee my booking. So I just told them to charge my card. Just got off the phone with Bookings.com and my bank. The hotel have changed my bank 5 times. And the transaction has gone through my bank said. After calling Hilton Zanzibar, they assured me, everything will be sorted when I get there. So at the airport now. And now I just got a message saying my booking has been canceled Fortunately, when we got to the hotel the service was excellent. Looks like they are sorting it out straight away the room problem anyway
So thats a relief. And they sorted everything out All the service in the hotel was great from the hotel manager to the housekeeping

7. Value

OK its a bit expensive $330 USD per nigh. Very expensive as what you expect from The Hilton Hotel, anywhere really.
Even though everything here is fantastic they food, the beach and everything I dont know if you can justify that Thats like 3 times the price as a normal hotel I dont know. But you pay for what you get – everything here is really good. I dont now $330 USD is a lot of money so.

I’d recommend this hotel if you have the money