Name: Sultan Sands Island Resort
Address: Po Box 3276,Kiwengwa, North East Coast, Zanzibar, TZ

Sultan Sands Island Resort

Zanzibar · Tanzania

Po Box 3276,Kiwengwa, North East CoastView location

20 reviews shown

6/10

Pleasant

30 Aug 2025

Tia

The hotel could use some updating, as the rooms feel quite old-fashioned. While some staff were friendly, service was inconsistent — I had to ask multiple times for drinks.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

17 Jan 2024

Nancy

We enjoyed!

A last minute booking that really delivered. There was an actual beautiful beach to walk on. Exceptional entertainment, variety and flavorful food, great staff.

Friends_and_family Family

8/10

Excellent

08 Nov 2022

nena

It is amazing hotel, cosy and sweet…

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

04 Sep 2022

David

Amazing, lovely place to stay.

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

03 Feb 2022

Jakub

Everything was really nice.

Leisure Family

8/10

Excellent

01 Aug 2021

Verified traveler

Friends

We had a fun stay at Sultan Sands. It was very beautiful and the service was good. The location does feel a bit way from things and locals on the beach prevent any swimming or relaxation because of the constant selling.

Friends_and_family Friends

10/10

Exceptional

27 Jul 2021

Michelle

Great Stay, looking forward to return one day

Fantastic Stay!, comfortable, polite staff, Spa was amazing , Food was excellent and accommodating for Food Intolerances. Some of the Sunbeds could do with being improved, Cider, Rose and Procecco on the AI menu would be be a great Addition :)

Friends_and_family Family

6/10

Pleasant

12 Jan 2021

Emmanouil

Not a 5* hotel, but nice location and beach

Hotel is NOT a 5* as shown on hotels.com
Hotel is 4* so check again before book

I paid for 5* but I realized soon that its not the case. Dinner mediocre boring food buffet, some fish and some beef cooked for guests but nothing special. I ended up eating pasta 3 days in a row.
No wine list, only one available lager beer.
Breakfast had limited options, Juices not fresh, some deserts were ok.

Pool service not available. When asked for some food at the pool around 15-15:30 bcz our kids were starving they sent us to go to next hotel. When we asked for advertised kids room they sent us to next hotel. Even spa massage etc are done in next hotel (Blue bay). Only option at pool was to stand in line with all the ALL inclusive guests to order something.

Asked for baby crib twice, reception said they had no cribs available (too many families) but later a cleaning lady saw my wife with babyand offered to bring a crib

Expect some locals to try sell trips/coconuts/souvenirs on the beach, but for me its part of the experience, so nothing to worry, just smile and avoid them. Security always around so not worries.

Wifi was not good in room, but worst was that our room was connected with next room by a locked door, so we could hear almost all noise from next door guests.

Live music everynight and good atmosphere in general ! Personal was happy to help and with smile. When asked at receptiona at checkout about not being a 5* as advertised, they ignored me unfortunately...

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

21 Oct 2019

Verified traveler

Property and location are both great. Really enjoyed our stay. All staff and bar tenders was amazing. Dass really went out of his way to ensure our stay was extra amazing.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

08 Oct 2019

Pradeep

Great hotel, in a very beautiful location and lovely staff. We stayed there for six days and didn't want to leave! From the check in to check out, everyone was there to make sure we had a fantastic holiday and they always had a smile for us. Fantastic beach and really good evenings shows. Would definitely go back to Sultan Sands in Zanzibar. Thank you very much everyone and Special thanks to Dass!

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

13 Sep 2019

Verified traveler

Very nice rooms, food and nice staffs
Nice beach we enjoyed,a lot

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

06 Sep 2019

Sameera

Sultan Sands Stay

Our stay at Sultan Sands was nothing short of amazing. The service was exceptional. Dass, went over and above to ensure we had a good stay. We travelled with elderly people and the rooms provided were perfect for them to walk to and from the beach and/pool area.

On an all inclusive package, the food was good and a huge variety of food everyday.

The beach area is beautiful and sitting on the pool loungers on the beach was ideal to unwind.

The location is also very good. Not too many tourists but at the same time it's not in the middle of no where. The snorkeling Centre on the resort makes it so convenient to travel out.

We were particularly impressed with the service and value for money.

Only suggestion would be is to have a kettle in the room for those who would like to have tea in the confort of there room.

On the whole, a really nice place to stay at where you will get exceptional service and value for your money.

Family

10/10

Exceptional

07 May 2019

Jilna

We chose Sultan Sands for a 6 day family trip to Zanzibar. It did not disappoint! The hotel itself was amazing, beach was pristine but most of all the service was exceptional. All the staff were amazing but Dass Bangar (Resort Manager) truly went above and beyond. He was kind enough to provide a room closer to the beach for my elderly parents and happily catered for a vegetarian and a vegan in the group. That was just the tip of the iceberg when it came to exceptional service. Our family holiday would not have been the same without his constant care and attention. From all the Surani/Shah family... Thank you for a holiday experience we will never forget.

Family

8/10

Excellent

23 Dec 2018

Fahad

Good property with Amazing staff. The breakfast and dinner buffet was good and for the three nights I stayed in Sultan Sands, the food never felt repeated. The beach is neat and clean. Recommended.

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

15 Oct 2018

Heather

Perfect for a week relaxing in Zanzibar

We stayed all-inclusive (good choice given the drinks prices) All the staff were really laid back – sometimes maybe a little too much but just go with it and chill – after all it’s what you are there for.
We had a lovely garden room. They are semi’s. Ours was quiet but I guess it depends on who’s next door. The TV had lots of channels including 3 film channels in English. The shower leaked & the bathroom floor got quite wet. There was a fridge in the room & we were left a large bottle of water each day in the room. The room had both two pin and English plug sockets.
Generally the food was pretty good – plenty of choice even for me as a vegetarian. Except Saturday night pool side buffet night was bad. It was all outside and cold. The entertainment was pretty low key which was great for us. Mostly just a band playing by the pool and some background music. The second week they did aqua aerobics in the pool which was loud & slightly annoying – we’d gone there to relax.
The resort is pretty small & if full would be a bit cramped. Sunbeds are close together and the bars can get busy.
The beach boys can get a bit tiresome. But if you just say hi & sorry you are not interested they are not too bad. Do take beach shoes – The beach is lovely – soft white sands but there are spikey urchins etc that could cause injury!
When we arrived we were the only Brits – it was mostly German. Everyone was friendly but the Manager was English & all the staff spoke English so I don't know why?

Partner

4/10

Poor

08 Sep 2018

Katarina

Unpleasant experience

After the whole day of travelling we have finely arrived to the hotel, we had to wait for a long time to get the room and when we did they came knocking after half an hour telling us we have to change the room and they took us to the smaller room which is next to the bar with a loud music. Even though we booked and payed a larger room they insisted we stay in the smaller one, after a lot of argument they gave us another room saying we cant stay in the first one due to booking of another guest which made no sense since we booked that room. We also booked all inclusive, when we arrived they didnt inform us about what is included in the price so until last day we didnt know what we actually payed for. Some of the staff were really amazing but some of them very rude we felt uncomfortable asking for anything. We transfered to another resort which is truly a paradise and continued our trip. Overall experience i wouldnt recommend this resort .

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

02 Jul 2017

Maude

Relaxing holiday

Perfect resort to enjoy Zanzibar. I had my own little hut with an ocean view. The food was buffet style but varied from day to day. It was very clean. I had a good massage in the spa facility. Depending on the tide, the access to the ocean might require a long walk but there are two nice pools to compensate. Good for couples, families and solo travelers who are looking for tranquility.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

05 Dec 2016

Verified traveler

Great Staff and Beach but not so great hotel facil

This is weird because the hotel should get a 7* for its Staff and Beach however the hotel facility such as bedroom should get a 3*.
We weren't impressed with the facility so we asked for our room to be upgraded which they did to the sister hotel BlueBay, next door.

Wonderful staff and great food, perfect performance too.

2/10

Poor

01 Jan 2011

Lisa

\" Worst Hotel Stay in Our Vacation History\"

Two days into our stay, the phone woke us at 6:30 am. To ask us if we were checking out. We said no, we had two more days and tried to go back to sleep. They called our room every hour on the hour until I went to the front desk at 10:00 am. I was told they had no record of our reservation, and that we would have to check out. After producing the confirmation in writting, we were told it was a mistake on our part, and that we would have to change rooms. There was a family checking in that wanted our room. After telling them that our family was just as important as the one checking in,we were told the manager would find us later and that this would HAVE to be settled!!!!!! They were very disrespectful, and it was so stressful our son had a panic attack- not exactly the family vacation memories you want to cherish!!!! To make a very long story short we were harassed, they would not clean our room for 24 hours, the manager never sought us out and we only saw the manager because we demanded to see him upon check out and told them we would just wait. Never an apology for ruining the remainder of our stay. If you choose this hotel, choose cautiously bring everything in writting and duplicates- then you will still be told you're wrong! We have traveled a good bit and this is the worst we have ever been treated!

Family

10/10

Exceptional

02 Feb 2026

Mirko

Tutto okay

Partner