Kena Beach Hotel

Tanzania , Zanzibar
ZANZIBAR, Matemwe, North East Coast
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50 reviews shown

10/10

Exceptional

13 Aug 2025

Mark

A smaller hotel but with provided a great experience. The staff were outstanding from reception to the bar. The rooms were very cool (we had a family room) and large, clean and very well appointed. The restaurant always looked good with many options enough to satisfy kids too. The kids also loved the pool & table tennis games room. The Dive centre in the hotel was also excellent and one of the reasons we chose this hotel. It all worked well. Just over an hour from the airport but plenty stuff to do at or near hotel with Mnemba Island just a short boat ride away!

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

09 Jul 2024

ISABEL

Wow, wow wow!!!!!! Honestly, if I can give this place 10 out of 10 I would .This hotel was beyond my expectations. The staff went beyond and above the cleanliness of the room was top-notch. The food was to die for I am in Boston craving it currently. For anyone traveling to Zanzibar this is the place you have to go to. Beach is walking distance so it’s super convenient. Communication with manager was amazing even before I arrived fast and efficient. I would love to shout out The following employees that made my stay here in Kena Beach all worth it, Sarah, asteria,Elizabeth, Fadhil and Suniluman. Thank you all and look forward to my next visit. Hope everyone books with Kena Beach.

Leisure Self

10/10

Exceptional

23 Jul 2023

Katherine

Beautiful property with gorgeous rooms, great food, and attentive staff.

Leisure Self

8/10

Excellent

05 Jan 2022

Verified traveler

Beautiful Garden

Absolutely beautiful garden. Very helpful staff

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

05 Mar 2020

Verified traveler

Our family of 4 had a wonderful 3 night stay. The rooms were beautiful, beds comfortable, and the air con worked well. Turn down service to spruce up the rooms and set up the mosquito netting is a nice touch. The pavilion has impressive architectural presence which is brilliant planning for covering the pool (so its always a cool temperature), covering 2 the dining areas and the 2 bars. There were always enough lounge chairs covered in comfortable canvas with pillows and a few different options for shade. The staff was very friendly (although the bar staff seemed unenthusiastic most of the time). Bobo took us on a cool reef walk, but I’d recommend only fit people and children who are >9 participate. There are way too many spikey sea urchins, even with the sturdy fishing boots Kena supplies, if you stumble and fall on an urchin or rough coral, it would be a bad scene. The food was pretty good. Lots of selections for meat eaters. Only 1 or two options for vegetarians in the buffet. With some Indian influence on the menus, I’d recommend putting full Indian dishes into the rotation. Samosas, tiki masala, paneer dishes and even desserts. The flan and passion fruit mousse were the best dishes. My husband liked the Swahili dishes.
I’d also recommend that they place some hammocks around the property and add a ping pong table And fussball in the game room. My kids used the pool table and the dart board, more options would be nice. We enjoyed meeting the Maasai and picking out gifts

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

28 Sep 2019

Hollie

Beautiful resort on a quiet strip of beach in Matemwe. The staff could not do more to help!

Friends_and_family Friends

10/10

Exceptional

07 Aug 2019

Rafi

Kena Beach Hotel for perfect vacation in Zanzibar

We enjoyed our stay at the Kena Beach Hotel very much, the hotel is excellent, the stuff was lovely and supper kind, the rooms were perfect for our needs, very clean and equipped. Highly recommend!

Family

10/10

Exceptional

19 Nov 2018

Verified traveler

Just right for us!

Could t believe the amazing service we received! Excellent customer care.

Family

10/10

Exceptional

24 Oct 2018

Lisa

Amazing staff, great location. Wonderful place. They really went out of the way to help and make our stay special!

8/10

Excellent

21 Oct 2018

Imran

Amazing Staff

Very Nice Hotel. Amazing Staff

Family

8/10

Excellent

09 Oct 2018

Kena Beach Hotel has recently been renovated after coming under new ownership earlier in 2018, and it shows. Upon my arrival I was greeted with a welcome drink and cool towel. My room was spacious and felt brand new. There was a bathtub, plus indoor and outdoor shower. The grounds were beautiful and right there on the beach.

For breakfast there's a wide assortment to choose from (pastries, cereal, fruit, coffee, tea) and you can order an omelet, french toast, pancakes, or waffles. A special menu for lunch and dinner is created each day, and the food is delicious. One night I didn't like any of the desserts and I requested fruit instead, which was provided with a smile. As they continue to make improvements I hope they create a printed drinks menu for guests.

The hotel has a pool, onsite dive center, spa, and small gift shop. There are a few other resorts along the beach if you want to try a meal elsewhere, though I didn't do this. The staff was very helpful and they even come into your room at night to spray for bugs.

There are a few beach boys/vendors in the area, though no where near the amount as other beaches on the island. I thankfully was not bothered much. The hotel has a pretty large lounging area if you want to avoid the water front altogether.

This is the perfect place if you want peace and quiet, and to get away from everything.

8/10

Excellent

02 Sep 2018

Imran

Great Hotel, Super Nice staff

My Wife and kids stayed there for three days. We have changed to here after leaving Paradise beach hotel with total discontent. My Family totally loved Kena Beach Hotel. Thank You, Staff and management of KBH for turning their stay in to a very nice memorable vacation.

Family

10/10

Exceptional

28 Aug 2018

Verified traveler

Great stay

Great place, amazing food. Only downside are 1) no real snorkelling straight from the beach due o sea urchins (the hotel do provide free sea shoes out) and 2) high priced bottles water! View from hotel is great and staff are great too

Partner

8/10

Excellent

22 Oct 2017

Spacious rooms.

Nice beach hotel. Covered pool so a bit cold. Was very quiet when we stayed.

10/10

Exceptional

07 Nov 2016

Ben

The best place we stayed in 3 weeks touring

This hotel was a lovely place to stay. The staff bent over backwards to make our stay perfect, really spoiling us during our honeymoon. The food was good, accommodation very clean and the facilities excellent. The dive school next door had friendly and helpful instructors and good diving and snorkelling.

Everything had been thought through well from hammocks and pull down shelters outside if it got too windy to snorkelling gear and beach shoes to protect against sea urchins.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

30 Sep 2016

Kaspars

Total relax from digital World

Unexpected, but...it turned our as one of best trips ever! Mostly it happened due to return to Real World and lack of usual resort pamperings - missing foom service, very limited wifi and lack of TV enhanced real social relations between guests in resorts lounge, where ever present handsome Manager Cara and Andrea are going above and beyond to attend any query, one may have. Real family feeling, where every staff member truly cares about their guests. They bake the cake and all staff went out singing \"Jambo Bwana\" on our special day. Sincere thanks to Elwira, David, Eleonora, Jones and rest of truly friendly team.
Truly excellent chef, all meals are well prepared and well varied every day. There are 3 grill buffet evenings: International on Tuesday, Seaffood on Friday and Swahili night on Sunday. Rest of the week are ala carte Diners with fish/ meat/ vegetarian choices. I'm not a type of AI tourist, but this is occasion when i recommend it for two reasons - best quality and economically gives a lot of savings, if to consider also antimalarial prophylaxis with tonic & gin :-)
Absolutely safe country with most friendly people I've seen in decades, far away from crazy world turbulences, white sandy powder beach, reef walks, leisury walks or bike riding for miles on the beach, on site the best Zanzibar dive center, near by few local bars, but no active night life around - then you have to look on North beaches. I'll be back soon, before it is spoilt by civilization.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

10 Jun 2016

MENA

AMAZING TRIP

the team working there is more than amazing I felt like family with them they were always there to please us and to hear us. We were never missing of anything and the group in general was amazing. I also really liked the managers Kara and Andrea who were really friendly and were always making sure everything was ok!

Family

10/10

Exceptional

10 Jun 2016

Patricia

Friendly and humble staff and great food...

Partner

8/10

Excellent

07 May 2016

Jen

Lovely hotel, wonderful and accommodating staff

Had such a wonderful stay at Azanzi. The staff were waiting for me when I arrived late at night (after a flight that was delayed for 12 hours), ready to quickly get me situated in my room and make sure I was comfortable. The rooms are spacious and nicely decorated - love the outdoor shower!!! - and had a great time diving with the SCUBAFISH dive center team and taking one of the hotel's bikes out for a spin on the beach! Throughout the visit, the staff were so accommodating and attentive, always asking how my day was going and asking if there was anything else I needed. I wish I could've stayed longer, but will definitely be back!

10/10

Exceptional

11 Jul 2015

Lisa

Brilliant hotel with great staff

Really enjoyed 4 nights here in July 2015. The hotel has just had a bit of a paint job so in terms of facilities and appearance everything was perfect.

The room was comfortable with everything you could need. No safe in room but you could use the safe at reception which was fine.

Staff were brilliant. Really friendly and helpful.

We stayed all inclusive and the food was great. Because it is a small hotel you are not subjected to a huge dodgy buffet each evening instead you order lunch and dinner from a small menu which changes every day.

Location good right on quite beach. Would stay here again

8/10

Excellent

31 Mar 2015

Dion

Great value all inclusive

Wonderful stay and great value for money compared with some resorts in the area. Only minor recommendations would be to have more plug sockets in the room and it would be better if the swimming pool was not under a roof as you can not really swim in the sea.

Partner

4/10

Poor

19 Mar 2015

Verified traveler

4 Star, I dont think so!!!!

The hotel must have been rated years ago. There is now way that this is a 4 star, 2 at a stretch. The pools paint is peeing, the pool table is ripped etc.
The Spanish operations manager is extremely rude and has no idea how to treat clients. I arranged transfer from the ferry, it got charged to my room at twice the local rate. The place is shocking, but the food and local staff where very good.

Family

10/10

Exceptional

25 Jan 2014

Chris

Exceeded all expectations

The great service started before we even arrived. After we found out our flight was delayed, I called ahead and they left two dinners and an appetizer plate for us in our room. We slept great and enjoyed our breakfast, lunch and dinner the next few days. We did the complementary reef walk with a guide from the hotel and it was fantastic. It got us super excited about the reef, so we booked a snorkeling trip with Scubafish (on site, but a separate company). The people selling things on the beach weren't a problem. They stayed off the beach that belonged to the hotel, and even when we decided to walk down the beach, they didn't bother us. The room was great. Lots of space and I loved the double sinks and a separate outdoor shower in the huge bathroom. We had a basic garden room, so I assume all rooms have the extra sink and shower. The whole property is very clean and well cared for. The wifi is only accessible in the lobby/front desk area, but you shouldn't be on it much anyway - the beach is just too beautiful to waste time on your phone or computer. We had the all-inclusive package. Even though it didn't include all of the drinks they offer, the extra drinks we got were very reasonably priced. Long story short - we loved every minute of our stay at Azanzi and would recommend it to anyone looking for a carefree beach vacation on Zanzibar.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

08 Jan 2014

Verified traveler

This resort is well placed. It needs some upgrades and renovations (the bathrooms, in particular, need some work) but the beach is lovely, the food was good, the staff were welcoming, and overall, we enjoyed our stay.

Family

10/10

Exceptional

16 Oct 2013

Martin

This is where you want to stay

We spent 2 nights at Azanzi and it was way too short! Upon our arival we got a room upgrade and stunning welcome drinks! We had the all inclusive package and it was so worth it! All meals were excellent!

The resort is on the beach close to a bunch of activities Zanzibar has to offer. The resort staff are so helpful in arranging transport and guides for various activities!

My wife had her birthday during our stay and the staff made it extra special by baking a cake and singing for her.

All of the staff is very friendly and it felt that we had to say goodbye to very good friends when we left!

Thank you for all the staff at Azanzi for giving us a holiday to remember!

4/10

Poor

10 Oct 2013

DoubleAA

Overrated

This is the sad moment of our stay in Zanzibar. I was fooled by the ratings of this hotel. This hotel did not live up to expectations for many reasons: room barely adequate for the steep price paid, bathroom like a student dormitory one with very very cheap components, negligence (we had to ask to change the whole bedding). We were surprised to find that this hotel has no TV nor Internet in the rooms. For an hotel that isolated and without other amusement at night, you can imagine how bored we were during those three nights spent there. I am not saying that is bad, I want to point that should have been clearly stated. Ownership and Travel sites should market this hotel as a specialty hotel (Scuba diving, isolation) and that it is not really suitable for the normal tourist. If you are looking for isolation, to be solitary or confined, this might be for you however. Also, the hotel layout is uncommon and the swimming pool is almost unusable because the water is always cold throughout the day. The swimming pool is not really exposed to the sun. It seems it was solely designed for scuba diving training. I stayed in four hotels in Tanzania/Zanzibar during two weeks. Sadly, this is the only one I cannot recommend.

2/10

Poor

05 Oct 2013

Verified traveler

No power !!!

I stayed 3 nights and for more than half the time no power was available. This meant no flushing toilet, no running water, so not even a cold shower, and what's worse warm beer! No apologies to me, no trying to make it up. Alos on arrival the floor flooded due to a plastic pipe coming undone in the bathroom sink. Overall a poor experience for the price.

8/10

Excellent

31 Aug 2013

Marvin

Best summer holiday in years!

A holiday that delivered exactly what we wanted. The Azanzi Beach hotel delivered the right balance between activities and a relaxing holiday. It was really nice to stay in a beach resort that is not your standard hotel block complex, our room has a genuine authentic feel to it with amicable space divided up well and lovely furniture that was well looked after. The private decking with jacuzzi was a really nice touch as well as the outside shower. Ideally located on the beautiful beach which was in extremely close proximity to they hotel bar! The communal facilities were all well kept and the staff were very friendly and helpful. There was a good selection of food at meal times, alternating between buffet and al a carte, but always pleasing.

The hotel offers numerous activities on and off site, all advertised and organised by the hotel. The adjoining diving school (Scuba Fish) offered a great range of water based activities and the staff there were very friendly and helpful. We would recommend the scuba diving and the snorkelling trips, swimming with dolphins was an unbelievable experience!

The hotel management were very hands on and engaging which is a dramatic change from the usual hotel resorts where you never even see the management.

This hotel offers a great mix between activities and relaxation and it seemed that all guests were like minded, which created a friendly environment with a good balance of interaction but own personal space too. Would recommend!

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

19 Aug 2013

Caroline

Chilled and relaxed

Beautiful setting and a nicely finished hotel.
All staff were very friendly and attentive. We used the diving facilities which were well run. We stayed all inclusive and the food was different everyday and delicious. The beach was quiet and we didn't get hassled. We had a fantastic stay here and highly recommend the hotel.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

26 Mar 2012

Verified traveler

Devine

Heaven on earth. Unfussy, simple, restfull and peacefull. Came home totally recharged. As an added bonus the diving was also fantastic.

8/10

Excellent

23 Feb 2025

Verified traveler

Relaxing stay

We had a lovely stay at Kena beach hotel for 13 nights.
Rooms was very spacious. Beds were comfortable and equipped with moskito net. Every evening the rooms are sprayed with bug spray.
Little terasse outside with a rack to dry swimwear or other small things.
All staff was super friendly and nice.
Pool is covered with roof so it was not getting too hot, the sea was always very warm. There is also sun loungers and sofas both in sun and shade.
We decided to take all-inclusive, which was fine, but not that many drinks to choose from. But it was enough for us.
The location is quiet and peaceful.
Be aware that the tide makes it possible to swim in the sea, only at high tide. And if you take a walk at low tide, beware of sea urchins.
There is a dive center at the hotel which we used.

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

13 Feb 2025

Abduelkadir

All in all very good

10/10

Exceptional

10 Mar 2019

Virroart

Très bel architecture de l’hôtel, chambres très spacieuses, jardin luxuriant. Coins ombragés autour de la piscine. Plage magnifique et très calme. Centre de plongée directement à l’interieur l’hotel ce qui facilite les excursions. Nourriture variée et personnel au petits soins. Top !

Leisure Family_with_children

10/10

Exceptional

27 Feb 2019

Verified traveler

Les dîners servis à table étaient excellents mais les buffets très décevants

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

17 Feb 2019

Yannick

Excellent

Kena Beach Hotel est recommandable en couple, seul ou en famille. Nous étions un couple avec 1 enfant de 6 ans. Le personnel est formidable même attachant. La gérance est à l’ecoute quasi 7/24 et volontaire de répondre à nos désirs et caprices (lol). La cuisine est excellente et je ne parle pas de l’environnement avec accès direct sur une plage absolument magique. Les chambres sont très bien entretenues et spacieuses. Franchement rien que du bon, allez y sans hésiter!!!! (parole de français exigeant).

Family

10/10

Exceptional

02 Jan 2019

Christine

Perfekt! Sehr schöner Strand, tolles Essen und super Service!

10/10

Exceptional

29 Oct 2018

Rina

relaxing stay at Kena Beach

Very nice and relaxing family holiday in a small hotel by the sea. Very nice hotel, kind personnel, good food, nice pool, nice beach. Big room. Could warmly recommend :)

Family

10/10

Exceptional

26 Sep 2018

Kyoungchul

편의 쉬실분 추천 합니다

상대적으로 저렴한 가격에 기대 하지는 않았지만 너무 좋았습니다 편안하게 쉬다고 왔으며 능귀에도 머물렀는데 능귀보다 편의 시설이 좀 부족 할뿐 호텔만 따지면 완벽했습니다

Partner

8/10

Excellent

25 Aug 2018

Alex

Sehr gut

Schönes Zimmer und eine sehr gelungene Anlage

Family

8/10

Excellent

24 Feb 2018

Concetta

Posto molto bello scarso servizi genere.

Premesso che Hotels.com lo consiglio a tutti perché hanno la cortesia e la competenza di soddisfare ogni richiesta,
Il Resort lasciato molto andare giù operai che lavoravano durante il giorno tipo cantiere mentre riposa partiva la sega circolare etc posizionato molto bene sul Mare ampi spazi però poco curato sia all entretata dove trovavi una reception inesistente no rete Wife solo in alcuni momenti appariva,servizi navetta scesi dall aereo non c’era ci siamo arrangiati con taxi privato la segretaria era incompetente è mai presente no servizio di cambio moneta è molto caro cibo poco pesce è sempre le stesse cose da mangiare esempio una bottiglia d’acqua piccola 2 dollari.
Escursioni non proposte dalla reception infatti tutti le
Facevano private più economiche ed esaustive.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

01 Aug 2017

Finn

7 dage på Azanzi Beach Hotel i juli måned

7 dage på Azanzi Beach Hotel i juli måned, det er ikke muligt at bade på stranden før sidst på eftermiddagen pga. revet og tidevandet.... maden på hotellet er noget kedelig og for dyr.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

15 Feb 2016

Verified traveler

dejlig hotel .men skam den ligger paa vestkysten

dejlig hotel ,super venlig personale .maden okay . med all inklusive ,drikke vare heller ikke nogle problem ,
ialt dejlig sted , men skam den ligger paa vestkysten hvis man forventer at hoppe i vandet . strand bunden er ikke til at gå på ,, men selve stranden er dejlig ,frisk vind fra vest

10/10

Exceptional

16 Jan 2016

Margarita

Лучше чем мечты...

Очень понравился сервис, персонал заботливый, еда очень вкусная, на медовый месяц подарили ужин вдвоём на пляже с шикарными морепродуктами. Единственный минус, то что океан уходит и купаться невозможно, но в 30 мин. езды есть лучшие пляжи острова Нунгви и Кендва.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

14 Jan 2016

Markus

kleines ruhiges Hotel im \"afrikanischen Stil\"

Sehr ruhiges Hotel direkt am Strand unter südafrikanischer Leitung, großes Zimmer (extra gebucht), netter Empfang, sehr teurer Transfer (über Hotel), Küche (meist afrikanisch) ok (bei AI), Anfahrtstraße erschreckend, aber dann ... Hotel ok, sehr gut um einfach ein paar Tage zu relaxen, auch Tauchbasis vorhanden (nicht genutzt, soll aber laut anderen Gästen sehr gut sein). Baden im Meer wegen vorgelagerten Riff nur bei Flut möglich

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

22 Sep 2015

Toma

Alles ist einfach TOLL!!!

Wir haben 4 Nächte mit All Inclusive dort übernachtet und Erwartung hat uns übertroffen. Das Essen war unglaublich LECKER - so frisch, täglich verschiedene Menü. Außerdem sind Personal supernett und hilfsbereit, sehr fröhlich! Wir waren wirklich traurig als wir das Hotel verlassen mussten... Wenn wir irgendwann wiederkommen, dann hier gerne wieder übernachten!!!

8/10

Excellent

23 Aug 2015

Verified traveler

Gutes Hotel

Wir haben unsere Flitterwochen im Azanzi Beach verbracht. Es ist ein sehr offenes und schönes Hotel. Der Strand wundervoll (aber wie auf Zanzibar üblich natürlich gezeitenabhängig). Man konnte aber schöne Touren durch das Riff machen. Schnorcheln oder einfach am Strand relaxen und den Service genießen. Das Essen war absolut genial.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

10 Mar 2015

Johan

Great place on a calm beach

Great staff and food, calm place with good snorkelling/diving a 30 min boat ride away.

Really nice place, not the best beach for swimming though.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

26 Jan 2014

Tomas

Mycket gemytligt och trevligt hotel på Matemwe

Azanzi Beach hotel är ett mycket trevligt och härligt hotel. Trevlig stämning och skön atmosfär, familjärt med en stor blandning av nationaliteter. Bra pool som oftast ligger i skuggan. Solstolar dels inne på hotellområdet och dels precis utanför på stranden. Restaurang en trappa upp som serverar frukost och middag. Vid poolen ligger en bar och en lunchrestaurang. Även en trappa upp finns en bar. Bra priser i baren! 500 meter liggen en liten enkel by med möjlighet att handla dryck.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

22 Jun 2013

Verified traveler

Belle hotel pour tout public (couple, famille)

Très belle hôtel, pas trop grand donc assez convivial.
Les chambres sont spacieuses et agréables.
Le restaurant (midi et soir) est bon avec des menus différents chaque jour de la semaine (le petit déjeuner est quelconque)

10/10

Exceptional

26 Feb 2013

Gilgen

Traumhafter 20km langer Sandstrand

Wunderschöne, gepflegte Anlage. Toller und aufmerksamer Service. Essen war sehr gut. Der lange Sandstrand lädt zu ausgedehnten Spaziergängen ein. Nach wie vor sehr unberührter Teil von Zanzibar, kaum Hotels und sehr wenig Touristen. Bevölkerung sehr nett und nicht auftringlich.

Partner