Boutique Hotel Matlai

Tanzania , Zanzibar
ZAZNIBAR, Michamwi-Pingwe
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20 reviews shown

10/10

Exceptional

03 Feb 2024

Jonathan

A beautiful small resort with just 6 rooms in two separate buildings. Very attentive and friendly staff. Lovely pool. Beautiful gardens. Long white sand beach right in front of the rooms is perfect for walks and swimming (with sea shoes, and somewhat tide dependent).

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

29 Dec 2022

Kristina

Thank you, Matlai, for super happy memories!!

There are lots of beautiful boutique hotels everywhere in the world, lots of them have just a beautiful facade, but missing that special personal touch that actually makes the difference by bringing up good emotions and making you always remembering the place.
Matlai gives you that experience and you will want to come back, because everything here is simply very very very good - location, views, facilities, service, food, comfort, design and details, happy staff, peace ... you will not miss a thing from your luxury beach stay!

Self

10/10

Exceptional

12 Nov 2021

Patrick

A Boutique Hotel worth of its name.
The team will welcome you with a smile from the heart and you will have the most pleasant stay in a place that is close to a piece of heaven on earth!
You will not have to worry about anything as the Matlai team will get all your needs covered from out trips to transportation to snorkeling gear to anything you might need.
The outdoor cinema was a charm and the beach bar was great.
Do not hesitate to book your stay with Matlai Hotel.
You won’t be disappointed.
special thanks to Justus and Mohammed from the Matlai team

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

14 Feb 2020

Ellyn Dryden

Best hotel I have ever stayed in!

If I could give this hotel a higher rating I would. Everything was perfect from the time we arrived to when we left, our only regret was we wish we had booked for longer! We stayed for 2 nights as part of our honeymoon.
Inge arranged our airport transfer, when we reached the hotel we got out and didn't need to pay (they put it on our room bill) and took our cases to our room, handed us fresh coconuts with Malibu and got us checked in quickly. We arrived late and ordered our dinner which we ate on our balcony served by the hotel butler.
I love the little quirks of this place:
- You can eat anywhere you like and there are SO many beautiful spaces!
- Cooked to order breakfast you can eat whenever you like and as much as you like with local delicacies
- The room balcony was beautiful and incredible views
- Food is exceptional and well priced
- Service is also exceptional
- It's so relaxing, peaceful and quiet
- The bath and local bath salts are a beautiful touch
- I LOVED the bedtime stories!
- The room spray choice is such a nice touch
- The hotel bar/ restaurant is well decorated
- All the décor is outstanding
- You can pay for everything on your card, even hotel transfers

Do not hesitate about booking this, we would absolutely come back.

Traveller tip: Don't waste your money going to the Rock Restaurant for over priced, below average food and poor service. Eat here and get amazing food for incredible quality with exceptional service!

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

29 Jan 2020

Verified traveler

Mátlai boutique hotel is a dream and a little piece of paradise, the owners (manager, director) Tim, Inge and the rest of the staff specially Muhammed, justice and Regina made our stay very special, the view of our room was amazing, the food and service was impecable and We were able to borrow the snorkeling gear (free to use) and we were also able to watch a movie in the outside cinema setting at the hotel (quite romantic and another movie 🍿 in our room.

The matlai hotel is my favorite place and I hope I can be lucky enough to come back every year, it was the most special 5 days I have had in a long time. Thanks to the matlai team for sharing and giving us such a special time.

Ana Beltran

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

07 Jul 2019

Julian

A piece of paradise in Zanzibar!

Paradise! Both in terms of service and grounds. Totally recommend this hotel to those looking for a unique experience in Zanzibar.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

22 Mar 2019

Simone

Best hotel we have ever stayed at!

This hotel is a 10/10, you will not regret booking it.

The owner Inge is very helpful and attentive from the moment you book and all the staff during our stay was phenomenal. This hotel is a very good value, especially considering other hotels with similar offering are more than double the price. From the food, to the service, to location, to the individually decorated rooms, everything was perfect! Given there are limited rooms and the hotel is located on a large property, it also never feels crowded and you can enjoy your privacy.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

20 Feb 2018

Elizabeth

Book it already. Amazing time.

Amazing hotel with the bestest of service. The owners were beyond nice and the staff was the most enjoyable and professional. Great experience and would definitely stay again. Only thing that could be improved is the wifi speed.

Family

10/10

Exceptional

06 Dec 2017

Verified traveler

Great hotel, amazing staff

I turned up and was very slightly disappointed. However, the staff are amazing and more than made up for my initial thoughts
Great location and a walk away from The Rock

10/10

Exceptional

19 Nov 2017

Terri

Heaven on Earth!

Never in my life have I been to such an amazing hotel! Beautiful ocean views, gardens, lounging areas. The only thing better than the breathtaking hotel itself is the amazing staff. So incredibly friendly and helpful, they made you feel like you were the most important person there. And the food....delicious! If there was more than a 5 star rating, this place deserves it! Everyone should have a chance to visit this place at least once in their lives, truly paradise on Earth! - Adam and Terri

10/10

Exceptional

07 Sep 2017

Roberta

zanzibar paradise

Boutique Hotel Matlai is a wonderful place to stay - everything from the beginning to end was perfect!
All the staff was amazing, Tim the general manager was friendly and helpful. The room was well designed, spacious, had every comfort needed. Our room was a few feet from the beach - incredible view - couldn't ask to for a better location. With only 6 rooms great attention was paid to all details and to making every guest feel as if they were at home. Food was very good and it was the only place in Zanzibar that we found could make a good aperol spritz! We had a fantastic 4 day stay - I would only change one thing - to have stayed longer!

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

23 Nov 2016

Verified traveler

Beautiful!!!

Breathtakingly gorgeous private place right on the beach! Wonderful staff and delicious food! Its like a private paradise and once youre there you just want to remain napping on the bahari overlooking the ocean and never leave! Only fault is slow wifi but its not even needed because you just want to forget the outside world when youre there. Definitely will recommend it and be back!

Family

10/10

Exceptional

06 Aug 2016

Verified traveler

Wonderful hotel, great experience

True luxury, beautiful hotel by the sea. Recommend Villa Kidosho for honeymooners

10/10

Exceptional

17 Apr 2016

Heather

A little piece of indulgent paradise!

What an amazing stay at Boutique Hotel Matlai! From the butler service to the private pool to the great transport to and from the airport - will definitely come back!

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

12 Apr 2016

Verified traveler

Opulence at a great price

We stayed at the Villa Kidosho, Mwezi (Moon) room, which is a 2-room house with private balcony, salt water pool, dining area, and plenty of reading and lounging areas inside and outside. Also, there was a butler. Yes, you read this right, there is a butler 24/7. You can summon the butler with a cell phone that you can use in town (might need to reset the phone when you get off the property). Tim, the co-owner/manager with his mother, Inge, did a wonderful job of coordinating trips to Stone Town and to Cheetah's Rock, a must-do. The taxi people he uses are secure and prompt, so leaving things in the taxi for a while is no issue with security. This was low season, and we were the only ones in the entire hotel for a few days, which was quite pleasant. 1/2 board is breakfast and dinner included, which has a large menu selection that is made to order. This was truly a royal treatment.

10/10

Exceptional

26 Nov 2015

Jeroen

Like royals

We had a great stay here on the final days of our honeymoon.
The service and facilities were just perfect, we were treated like royals!!

Partner

8/10

Excellent

01 Oct 2015

Thomas

Small and friendly

Beautiful small property with great rooms and gardens. Loved the ability to eat when and where you like. Service was very friendly if a bit slow at times. While you are free to request dishes, the actual range and quality delivered depends on the limited availability of produce and sometimes lead times that surprised us. The beach is nice for long walks, but swimming is subject to the tides as everywhere on Zanzibar. During low tide the plentiful rock pools are an attraction for explorers.

Family

10/10

Exceptional

28 Jul 2015

Paul

Very convenient boutique hotel

Four great rooms with each a butler for all your wishes. Nice pool almost on the beach. For quietness and relaxing. Superb!

10/10

Exceptional

18 Mar 2025

Håkan

Ett underbart supermysigt boutiquehotel.

Fantastiskt mysigt boutiquehotel. Verligen en pärla. Mycket god mat som serverades i restaurant, på rummets balkong eller på ett av flera ställen i den fina trädgården (man valde själv ställe varje dag). Mycket trevlig personal, alla hälsade och pratade gärna. Ett drömställe - vi längtar tillbaka.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

26 Dec 2024

Monica

Bellissimo boutique hotel, con pochi appartamenti molto belli, ogni particolare è curato con attenzione per il benessere dei clienti. L'appartamento dove abbiamo soggiornato, il Maji, è molto grande con patio e giardino esterno e vista mare. Il personale molto professionale e gentile, sempre pronto a soddisfare qualsiasi esigenza. Ashim, che ci ha seguiti durante il nostro soggiorno è un ragazzo fantastico, molto professionale, discreto e educato.
Il ristorante è davvero ottimo,
con tante proposte interessanti, cucinate con gusto. Complimenti allo chef. Abbiamo usufruito anche del centro benessere, Maryem e l'altra ragazza sono davvero bravissime. Abbiamo passato una settimana incantevole e speriamo di poterci tornare presto. Lo consiglio a tutti coloro che voglio rilassarsi e godersi lo splendido mare di Zanzibar.
Personale accoglientw e pronto a so

Leisure Partner