The Sands Beach Resort

Tanzania , Zanzibar
Zanzibar, P.O Box 791 Zanzibar, Pingwe, .
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50 reviews shown

10/10

Exceptional

13 Feb 2026

Toralf

Very pleasant stay. Room was cleaned twice a day and fulfilled our expectation. Very nice area and extremely service minded personnel. Food had a high quality with a wide variation of menues every day.
Be aware of the tide on that side of the island, some day you had to walk several hundred meters for having a bath.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

09 Feb 2026

Shaun

Love the hotel and staff, great location with superb food cooked fresh! Highly recommended

6/10

Pleasant

04 Dec 2025

Arshad

for the price charged the stay was considered okay as far as F&B was concerned. Food menu was fixed and basic with no nothing remarkable for both breakfast and dinner. rooms were decent and resort was nice otherwise. staff were also polite but language understanding needs more training.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

26 Oct 2025

Amy

You will be treated with warm, welcoming service from the moment you arrive and throughout your stay. The food included with the half board is very good with quite a few made to order items including omelets, waffles, and crepes at breakfast and fresh catch of the day fish and pasta at dinner. The rooms are glorious! We had the ocean view villa and it was HUGE!!! It was easy to find lounge chairs by the beach, and they all have shade umbrellas. It was so peaceful and beautiful out there. Warning: I did get sunburned even in the shade on the last day!! The beach does have a pretty varied tide, and the hotel provides reef shoes for low tide, which I recommend because there are sea urchins. There is also seaweed in the water near the shore. You will be provided with 2.5 liters of purified water in your room each day, and water is included at breakfast and dinner. Outlets are all British style 3 prongs, no USB. Power did go out intermittently but never interfered with anything. WiFi is good out at the beach, pool, and lobby but was spotty in the room. This is a quiet area north of Paje, so no other restaurants other than the resort. It was more reasonably priced than our American resorts with $15 pool drinks. They do use purified water for the ice in the drinks and the ChatGPT says they use purified water for all food prep too.

Friends_and_family Friends

10/10

Exceptional

10 Oct 2025

Pat

Quiet and relaxing

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

20 Aug 2025

Cassandra

Overall this is the perfect getaway! No distractions just the sounds of the ocean and the amazing staff! This is perfect if you want to getaway and truly relax! Options to explore are available. The pool is large and clean. The rooms get serviced twice a day. The bar was definitely my favorite spot!

Leisure Friends

10/10

Exceptional

04 Aug 2025

Omar

This is by far the best hotel we've stayed in in a long time, probably best ever.

The rooms are spacious and spotless clean. Every little detail is thought of. The beds are very comfortable and room service pass by twice a day to clean the room and for turn down.

The staff were all very friendly and helpful. Especially Khamis and John who went our of their way to make sure we are comfortable.

Food at the restaurant was also lovely and service there amazing. Staff are constantly keeping an eye on the tables, plates are removed the second they're empty, water refilled immediately after drinking etc. Downside here was the entertainment on the Swahili night, the guys were playing more western music.

The beach is very pretty, even at low tide which didn't impact our stay much. We swam 2 or 3 times in the ocean. Its not crystal clear water though, expect some sea weed. We weren't disturbed by any beach sellers like we saw on some of the other beaches.

Only slight down side is that there isn't much to do nearby at night. We drove one day to Paje and that was fun.

10/10

Exceptional

14 Jul 2025

Janet

Fabulous stay at this very quiet, clean, secure resort. Very comfortable room. Staff are very attentive. Beautiful beach. Highly relaxing! Really enjoyed the Swahili buffet and music!

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

18 Jan 2025

Verified traveler

Perfect place to relax

Our villa was super spacious, it was cleaned regularly, and it was nice to wake up in that beautiful garden. Service was very good, Mr. Ally and the team made us feel welcome and helped us with the early check out and late check out because of our flight times.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

23 Dec 2024

Jermaine

Great hotel to stay to escape the busy hustle and bustle lifestyle. It is beautiful and quiet. Food is great. The only crtique i have is there are frequent power outages in the evening. Overall I would visit again.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

16 Oct 2024

Oliver

Nice big villa

We did book a villa with an ocean view.
And we got a very nice villa, clean and very comfortable.
I would say it’s a bit of wasted money for the ocean view, because the villas are a bit behind the palm trees.
But in general very beautiful and nice.
Staff is very polite and friendly.
Was a good experience.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

07 Oct 2024

Jenny

We really enjoyed our stay at the Sands Resort. Each suite is actually a separate bungalow with large, comfortable rooms and wonderful AC. There is an onsite restaurant that serves all day as well as a beach bar that serves snacks/meals during the daytime. It was very relaxing to be able to have all of our meals on the property. The staff were all very friendly and professional. Everything about the staff and property was wonderful.

The hotel also offers excursions. The nice thing is that they are private which entailed having a driver and tours that were just for our party. However, I would not recommend doing the \"swim with dolphins\" excursion because there are too many other boats doing the same thing, and we didn't feel safe going in the water with so many boats moving around quickly to try to bring their passengers close to the dolphins. So, we stayed in the boat. Also, there were no life jackets available, and it was unclear how we would get in/out of the boat without a ladder or rope; the snorkel and other equipment was old, and we didn't get a chance to try the snorkel/mask before going on the water. We also did the Jozani Forest/Butterfly excursion, which was interesting to do to see the monkeys, mangroves, and butterflies, but the price the hotel charged seemed disproportionately higher than the experience merited; please note that I say this without knowing how much the hotel paid the driver to stay with us for several hours and for the forest guide.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

02 Oct 2024

Elias

We had such a Wonderful stay at the Sands. Great service and premises!

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

30 Sep 2024

Artur

The staff at this hotel were incredibly welcoming and helpful throughout our stay. The rooms were immaculate and very comfortable. We also enjoyed the delicious dinner every night.

Leisure Family

8/10

Excellent

21 Aug 2024

antonio

Relaxing on the beach

Quite good stay
Excellent food and location on the ocean side
Optimum service and very kind personnel

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

20 Aug 2024

Edward

Very nice, quiet place with a lovely beach and excellent staff. Very good food, too.

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

16 Jun 2024

Kara

Absolutely stunning. Service beyond amazing. Quiet with gorgeous gardens and beach. Easy access for SCuBA diving. Incredibly friendly staff and felt completely safe with masai warriors guarding the hotel. Food was phenomenal
Would absolutely go back.

Leisure Self

10/10

Exceptional

19 Apr 2024

Shari

The service was excellent. Everyone was very friendly and courteous. We really enjoyed our stay here

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

02 Apr 2024

Mark

Location was tranquil and just what we were looking for at the start of our Zanzibar holiday. All the staff were amazingly welcoming and friendly. The team led by Ally are a credit to the hotel. The dining experience was quite special and we very much enjoyed the fresh barbecued fish at night, especially the huge tuna that a slice and thickness of your liking was cooked there and then and served to your table….in fact the staff even do your toast for you in the morning ! Overall hotel was perfect for our family of 4 including teenagers - if staying I would recommend a rental car to explore the local area, good deals can be found on arrival at the airport, we paid $30 USD a day and rental car company collected from hotel anywhere on the island for $20 USD.

10/10

Exceptional

21 Mar 2024

Nasser

It's a great hotel, with great staff. Very simple, yet clean and well kept. No TV in the rooms which could be nice as the evenings are quiet with not much activity around the area

Business_and_leisure Self

10/10

Exceptional

03 Mar 2024

Kelly

We had a marvelous stay. Incredible beach staff went the extra mile always. We cant recommend this destination enough. 5 stars all the way.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

01 Nov 2023

Philip

We had a great stay at the Sands. The staff were amazing, from Mr. Ally the GM to the executive chef and the cooks like Thomas who took care of us. The food was first class - this goes for breakfast right through to dinner. Amazing food and fantastic service. The beach was beautiful, clean and safe. We could not have asked for more. Even the Masai security guards were great! We loved it. Would definitely recommend the Sands in Zanzibar. We'll be back.

Leisure Friends

10/10

Exceptional

22 Sep 2023

Vincent

The resort was 5 star! The staff was so helpful and attentive.. Ally the manager made sure everything was perfect! No only would I recommend this resort … we are going back! The perfect place to kick back a d get away from the hustle and bustle. Stone town is not far and a flight to Dar es Salaam was on 34 Dollars !!Just go and relax !

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

20 Jul 2023

Shaarik

The Sands is a terrific resort, located on a beautiful beach, with incredible facilities, terrific food, and an amazing staff. Highly recommended.

Go Deeper: The Sands Zanzibar Beach Resort is amazing. We stayed here with our two daughters in July 2023 and had an incredible time. This followed a safari on the mainland and then two nights in Stone Town at which point we were ready to relax and enjoy the beach. The Sands was exactly what we needed

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

07 Jul 2023

Meagan

The Sands was amazing! It was an oasis of beautiful beaches, a large pool, and great food. Highly recommend!

Business_and_leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

03 Jul 2023

Amanda

We recently spent 10 days at The Sands Beach resort. If you want entertainment, night life and things to do this isn’t the place for you. There doesn’t appear to be much on the main road leading to the hotel and the nearest town of any note is Paje a 15 min drive away (taxi $25 return) Here there are lots of bars and restaurants.
There was a slight mix up with the transfer the hotel arranged but this was quickly sorted out.
We were met with drinks on our arrival and cold towels. Much appreciated as we had 2 long flights. We arrived at the hotel early 10am and were shown straight to our room by Ally, the guest relations manager who goes out of his way to ensure that you have a great stay.
The hotel was very quiet probably no more than 5-6 rooms occupancy out of 20 rooms for most of our stay. Our room had been upgraded to a sea view. The rooms themselves are basic but huge. The bedroom consists of a comfortable king size bed with mosquito nets and crisp white sheets, a chair, desk and luggage storage bench. A separate area had a wardrobe, shelf space and a safe. The bathroom was huge, with shower and one sink. There is a water heater but this only sufficient for one shower. The soft furnishings in the rooms need updating they are dingy and old fashioned, plain brown curtains and brown light shades with tassels on. This could easily be improved with some bright colours. Outside you have 2 chairs and a table on the veranda. The rooms are cleaned daily to a good standard.
Isaya a

10/10

Exceptional

19 Jun 2023

Daniel

We visited Sands Beach resort in mid-June for three nights.

On the plus side, the staff (including Ally, guest relations manager) was consistently friendly, welcoming, and aimed to please. They were VERY accommodating, allowing a very late checkout with no additional charge, since our unit was not booked the evening of our checkout.

The grounds of the resort were quite beautiful too. As was the beautiful pool area. Also the villas were very spacious. The meals were great and the servers were very attentive. They \"hovered\" a bit too much, but I'm sure they were trained this way. Americans may not appreciate \"hovering\" quite as much as Europeans. Not sure. Beach bartenders were also wonderful: Hassan and Isaya. Even the massage therapist was terrific!

On the negative side: Our villa (and most others, we were told) had no WiFi. This was only available at the pool, restaurant or beach. The villa had very low lighting. Ally did offer to change to brighter bulbs but we opted not to bother them. Also the cabinet doors in the kitchen were all broken. We didn't need these cabinets but this issue was easy to spot by routine housekeeping, so they may have a limited repair budget. Finally, the resort would occasionally have power issues. They have their own generator when the local utility goes out, but if it ran too long, they might need to shut down ALL the WiFi. This happened just once or twice. Normally, the WiFi in the public areas was great.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

10 Feb 2023

Wayne

Outstanding staff and spacious accommodations

Outstanding resort in Nungwi. From the time I arrived until my departure the service was top notch. If there was an issue it was resolved quickly to ensure you had the best possible time at The Sands resort.

The gentleman named Ally was like having a vacation angel watching over you to make sure you were enjoying your time there. He constantly checked on us and other guest. We appreciate him for doing so.

The food was delicious and each day a different selection of items. There were 2 chefs and both visited out table after dinner on various days. They did a great job. On separate days there was the whole tuna carving station one day and dorado carving stations another day, delicious as well. One of the chefs tried out his recipe for American pancakes on us Sunday morning and this recipe definitely needs to be a permanent part of Sunday breakfast, they were so good. The wait staff was great we had one gentleman a few times and he was great at anticipating our need’s and making dinner a pleasant experience.

The beach bartenders were funny and great with the drinks and food service for lunch. The housekeeping staff was also excellent. I had to do some work one day and observed them cleaning the room. I doubt there was a spot missed as they were very focused on making sure the room was refreshed properly.

When I return to Zanzibar I’ll split my time between Nungwi and Kendwa. I will definitely revisit The Sands resort in Nungwi. I wish all the staff the very best.

Friends_and_family Friends

10/10

Exceptional

23 Oct 2022

Benjamin

Amazing!!! All was perfect!!!

All more perfect and better than we can expected! Thanks a lot for making our honeymoon a reality!

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

15 Jun 2022

Geert

Good place to stay it is great

Nothing to say.
It was just great especially after the negative experience at konokono beach

Partner

8/10

Excellent

30 Apr 2022

Verified traveler

Great people and ambiance

This hotel had the best staff we had the pleasure of meeting! The service was amazing, the beach was great (very low tide until afternoon though), room was fine also.
The only bad thing to mention is the food, wasn’t the best, but we also had worse.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

02 Feb 2022

JEANETTE Shari

The best resort I’ve ever stayed at. The staff were so friendly and my bungalow was absolutely beautiful. I am so sad now that I am home because I want to go back!

Leisure Self

10/10

Exceptional

22 Jun 2021

Verified traveler

Had an amazing experience at this hotel. The villas were spacious and clean. The food at the restaurant was delicious. The staff and management were able to take care of all of our needs with no hesitation.
Would definitely stay here again.

Leisure Friends

10/10

Exceptional

22 Apr 2021

Verified traveler

mazing stay

Very good service, excellent food offered as well. Highly recommend villa with private pool, as you can relax even more than in the general area. Beach bar is very nice as well.

Friends_and_family Friends

10/10

Exceptional

19 Mar 2021

Verified traveler

I liked everything about the hotel. I stayed for only 6 days but i wish i would have stayed longer. The villas are very private with no interaction or noise from other guests. The staff are also amazing, very attentive on the guest’s needs.
The hotel is right at the beach with white sand and very good to go swim, though it’s not possible to swim during low tide.
I also loved the menu, there’s a great variety of foods on all meals which are mostly buffets and a la carte menus on some nights.
I would definitely come back here whebever i visit Zanzibar

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

15 Mar 2021

Daniel

A must stay location in Zanzibar

I had a wonderful time staying at the Sands the lovely team of staff worked so hard to make the stay so enjoyable I was sad to leave. From catering to our every needs in the kitchen to helping us get a local mobile SIM card we were so well looked after. Special thanks to Semeni, Hassan, Milka, Hamida, Alfred, Ziada and Lucas

Friends_and_family Friends

10/10

Exceptional

15 Mar 2021

Daniel

Amazing place, amazing staff, worth every penny

Amazing stay, the staff were all so helpful and friendly. Thank you to Semeni, Milka, Hamida, Alfred, Lucas, Hassan, Edgar and Ziada for making our stay so comfortable and enjoyable

Friends_and_family Friends

8/10

Excellent

16 Feb 2020

This is a very nice property. Staff are exceptional. The beach is still on the northern side of the island where there is alot of coral so many not the best for yound kids who want to swim. I would aome back. Very pleasant and relaxing

Leisure Self

10/10

Exceptional

21 Dec 2019

Yousef

This is the best hotel to stay in Zanzibar, I cannot believe that this hotel was super, we are very happy, the staff is helpful, the food was delicious and perfect ,

I love it

Friends_and_family Family

8/10

Excellent

21 Nov 2019

Verified traveler

In a Lovely quiet position in spacious grounds the resort has large comfortable rooms. The food choice was pretty good and always well presented but needs better coffee with breakfast!

The staff were brilliant always helpful an charming although sometimes a little slow at the beach bar

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

03 Aug 2019

Chad

Relaxing beach resort

Great little resort on a beautiful beach. Stayed in a multi room house with a private pool. Very comfortable. Helpful at planning activities. Staff was all so friendly, especially the ones at the beach bar and at the restaurant. Very clean and the AC worked great

Friends

10/10

Exceptional

18 Jul 2019

Verified traveler

Staff were amazing. Property felt safe. My family and I thoroughly enjoyed our time there.

Family

10/10

Exceptional

09 Mar 2019

Verified traveler

Wonderful, relaxing place to just chill out. The staff were amazingly friendly and helpful. Our ocean view villa was spacious and immaculately clean and the food was also very good indeed.
Really fantastic all round and we were so sad to leave. Not much more I can add, really.

10/10

Exceptional

01 Sep 2018

shaz

Fantastic beach front hotel

My 7 year old daughter and I travelled to Zanzibar for the first time. What a fantastic and warm welcome we received from the staff who simply were marvellous throughout our stay. The hotel was is on the sea front with a beautiful white sandy beach and can only be described as a tropical paradise with colourful well maintained gardens and a large pool. The accommodation is in bungalows which gives lots of privacy and is quiet which is ideal for families and couples. The only thing i would say is the bed is a little too firm. Dinner and breakfast is included which is great as I rarely needed lunch alough my daughter did as dinner is served at 7:30 pm . The food was super, mostly a buffets with lots of choices and options. The chef was great and came to meet guests during their first meal. I am definitely planning to return to the hotel.

4/10

Poor

12 Feb 2018

Verified traveler

Will not stay here again

Food was awful and very overpriced. Don't eat here. Go down the beach to a local place. The spa was awful. I had bruises after the massage and left bleeding from three fingers after a manicure. And it was very over priced. The only thing this place has is a nice beach.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

24 Jan 2018

Verified traveler

Peaceful and quiet hotel to relax in!

The hotel is clean and spacious and the staff are very warm and welcoming. We had 2 x sea view villas but they were set quite far back from the beach. As a result, although we could see the sea, it was not a front line view as we had expected.
The dining experience was good and they staff in the restaurant were very attentive and friendly too. The food was good and varied - especially if you're a fan of sea food.
The hotel has some day beds where all 4 of us could lounge around all day by the beach. Awesome!
What was not so good:
Although the bedrooms were nice, spacious and clean, the bathrooms had chipped tiles and grouting was coming away - but it was still acceptable. The hotel offers room service, but to order it you have to walk to reception as the rooms don't have phones! One final thing missing was that there were no staff taking orders for drinks or snacks around your sunbeds etc... You had to go and order from the beach bar and they would be delivered to you.
Overall, would I go back? Yes! The personal attention from the staff of this small hotel (max around 54'ish guests) and the peace and quiet made it an excellent place to go and recharge. Would be even better if they sorted out the few issues mentioned above.

Family

10/10

Exceptional

16 Nov 2017

Javier

Great place to enjoy a nice beach. Very helpful staff. Great food at the restaurant.

Family

8/10

Excellent

08 Sep 2017

Verified traveler

Friendly spacious beach side hotel

The Sands has recently been renovated which might explain why it was quieter than other hotels on the Dongwe beach stretch. For me the quiet and serenity was blissful and the layout of the compound means even if the hotel is full you wouldn't be disturbed by your neighbours. Rooms are clean spacious and all have a sea view. Super friendly and helpful staff. Only tiny gripe is the lack of proactive waiter service at the beach beds or by the pool. Also lunch menu really poor and costly ($14 for a small margherita pizza) but on the plus side you have the excellent Fishers restaurant 2 mins walk down the beach. I feel this place will mature into a gem of a resort but meantime I recommend highly as a serene quiet special place to stay.

8/10

Excellent

30 Nov 2016

William Brad

Beautiful, quiet hotel right on the beach.

We loved our stay. We were one of a few guests during our stay. We had a great staff that took care of us. We loved the size, the decor and the comfort of the two bedroom villa. The only hiccup was the hot water heater didn't work well or it wasn't big enough for the whole villa. Overall, we had a nice stay.

10/10

Exceptional

14 Nov 2025

Arne

Perfect Stay. Large Villas and very caring staff. Special thanks to the Chef and John :)

Leisure Family