The Swahili House

10/10

Exceptional

23 Nov 2024

Daniel

Great friendly staff Unique well kept older building with a central location and access to the markets right outside the door

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

24 Aug 2024

Vanessa

Fabulous rooftop bar, great breeze, excellent included breakfast, very helpful staff. NO wifi in rooms, only at reception area and rooftop bar/restaurant. Located on VERY narrow cobblestone street with ONLY motorcycle access. NO taxi or car service directly to hotel. MUST walk 5 - 10 minutes from street through crowded souq/market area to reach hotel. However, you can call the hotel and they can send someone out to the street area in front of the market entrance to help carry your bags and navigate entrance to hotel. Good central location. Safe area. Pool in photo is deceiving as it is more like a very large bath tub or splash pool. It was not very clean!

6/10

Pleasant

19 Aug 2024

anne marie

The building architect amazing, the staff good, breakfast was delicious.the bed was so hard it was like sleeping on a wood box, which was with a box spring on the floor.Other guests also complaining.The bathroom has a big opening with no door. I asked him to credit it the dinner for the terrible nights sleep and my sore back, he said he could not do that.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

26 Jul 2024

Laura

A great stay in a beautiful and historic building.

We came to The Swahili House after a week-long safari in Tanzania. Our guide happened to know the manager at Swahili House and we met him upon check in. Our experience was great start to finish -- staff was so kind, a welcome drink on the rooftop terrace upon arrival, the room was clean and large, and the staff helped us arrange a city tour and transportation from the airport and to our next destination.

Friends_and_family Friends

8/10

Excellent

02 Feb 2024

Olivia

Very central location for Stone Town. Easy to walk to local attractions. Less easy to get back to but that is due to the many narrow streets rather and geography of the area and nothing to do with the hotel! The hotel is known by everyone so if you get lost someone will help you get back. It is noisy with building work going on nearby, calls to prayer, and the church bells ringing but we expected that to be the case and soon got used to it.

The air conditioning, fan and turn down service including bug spray were greatly appreciated. Great shower and toiletries provided.

Front desk and cleaning staff were very friendly and helpful. Most restaurant staff were also very good - 1 or 2 seemed to stand back and not help out much. The food was ok - some was excellent (the chickpea curry was delicious), but other things (tuna and burgers) we had better outside of the hotel. Happy hour includes all cocktails, beer and wine so well worth sitting on the roof top at sunset to enjoy some drinks with a great view.

As we stayed on the 3rd floor we were very grateful for the elevator. You cannot park outside the hotel so be aware you will need to walk from your transport to the hotel (short walk through market) - our driver helpfully took our cases for us.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

28 Dec 2023

Lisa

We highly recommend this stunning hotel in the heart of StoneTown. The people are wonderful and the rooftop restaurant has delicious food and spectacular views. Don’t hesitate! Book your room now.

10/10

Exceptional

31 Aug 2023

caroline

Lovely large rooms with wonderful roof top terrace and friendly, helpful staff.

Leisure Family

8/10

Excellent

26 May 2021

Lucia

Cute place

I liked the Swahili House, of course it’s right in stone town so an easy walk to any destination. The bed was big and comfortable. Only thing I didn’t like was that there is a door to the bathroom, but the wall doesn’t go all the way up so not much privacy there. Loved the rooftop, the wraps were good — wish we weren’t the only people there + more music would have been nice for it not to Ge so quiet. They also didn’t see our reservation or expect that we were coming!

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

07 Apr 2021

Olga

Awesome place

Amazing place, the staff is so friendly and helpful, love this place and I will be back for sure...

Self

10/10

Exceptional

05 Aug 2019

Marilyn

The Swahili House is a beautiful hotel nestled in the centre of Stone Town so it’s very easy to get around on foot. The staff were very nice and friendly, and the rooftop restaurant has a wonderful view over the town and the port. The wifi wasn’t so great; so be sure to let your loved ones know that your connection will be limited so they don’t worry about you. Otherwise no complaints! I look forward to staying there for my next visit to Zanzibar

Leisure Self

10/10

Exceptional

14 Feb 2019

Verified traveler

Great service and good value

The staff were really friendly and helpful. Very beautiful traditional rooms and very comfortable. Everything is walkable from the hotel.

10/10

Exceptional

24 Oct 2018

Jo

Very Friendly staff and reception. Nice central location makws sightseeing easy within Stonetown. The hitel has an authentic feel and loved the rooftop bar where I could watch the sun set and the day unwind.

10/10

Exceptional

09 Sep 2018

James

Nice Hotel

Swahili House is a great hotel in the Stone Town. It is within easy walking distance of anything in the Stone Town. The staff are friendly and the rooftop bar is a nice place to chill and have a drink.

Family

8/10

Excellent

19 Feb 2018

David

Characterful hotel

Stayed 1 night in February 2018. Hotel is full of character, having been built for visiting family of the sultan

8/10

Excellent

01 Mar 2017

Ange

Central, historic and with lots of charm.

We spent 3 nights at Swahili and thoroughly enjoyed all aspects of our stay. Room was comfortable and super clean. Staff - reception, bar/restaurant and general were extremely helpful at all times.

6/10

Pleasant

04 Jan 2017

Brian

Unique

Unique place to stay. The room was a little small. Other than that it was a comfortable stay. Love stonetown.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

02 Jan 2017

AISHA

Check in was unpleasant. According to Swahili house they never received confirmation from hotels.com. Kept us waiting for over 3 hours

Family

6/10

Pleasant

15 Jan 2016

Janine

Quaint

Great staff, true to \"felt like a sultan\"

Family

10/10

Exceptional

04 Dec 2014

Verified traveler

Outstanding Historic Romantic Getaway Hotel

Incredible place. Excellent location in old Stonetown. The rooftop restaurant serves a delicious breakfast as well as lunch and dinner, with a side of spectacular city views extending to the ocean. Friendly and helpful staff. Steep staircase, but worth the climb. It appears they are currently constructing an elevator, though we were never disturbed by any construction. Very clean, with the courteous staff opening and closing the massive curtain-size mosquito netting around the bed at morning and night. Complimentary drinking water and excellent breakfast was a nice touch. Highly recommended. Will stay here next time I'm in Zanzibar for certain!

Family

8/10

Excellent

29 Nov 2014

Lana

Historic oasis in Stone Town

We stayed at this hotel for 2 nights, and thought it was great! It's right in the middle of Stone Town and fits perfectly into this historically rich town. It's one of the tallest buildings so the views are fantastic for both our room balcony as well as the roof top restaurant and terrace. The roof top restaurant was definitely the highlight, it's a beautiful oasis with a phenomenal chef, so good we ate all our meals here. The room was large with 20 foot ceilings and suited the local cultural experience. It wasn't perfect in condition, but we weren't expecting perfect or we'd have stayed at a big commercial hotel. It's an excellent location for a tour of stone town. They are currently renovating and adding an elevator, but we welcomed the excersize of the stairs to the roof top personally, and it's completely worth it to see and eat on the roof top. The service was very good, and the grounds are private and we'd recommend to any one staying in Stone Town.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

03 Oct 2014

Verified traveler

A great Zanzibar stay!

The Swahili House is beautifully decorated and an interesting design. The rooms are amazing with massive beds and mosquito nets and a fan inside the mosquito nets. We didn't need the air con. The stained glass windows and wooden shutters add a beautiful touch and the views over Stone Town are fascinating. The bathroom is quaint but clean and the steep wooden stairs a good work out! Don't worry about carrying your cases though because there are awesome staff, who are extremely fit, to help you! The reception staff couldn't be more helpful and the free wifi in the courtyard is a great bonus. Highly recommend it!

Family

6/10

Pleasant

05 Feb 2014

Morgan

A bit overpriced for what it was. Don't take elderly people here or anyone with walking difficulty. It's around 100 stair steps to the restaurant. Wifi is not available in room, only by the reception -outside. Location itself is fairly convenient. Hotel itself is a unique old building, kept pretty clean. I have a feeling from what we saw elsewhere in Stone Town, that it doesn't get much better without maybe paying much more? Only spent one night here but really would have avoiding staying in Stone Town as a stop before Nungwi. A few hours in Stone Town was plenty.

8/10

Excellent

09 Jan 2014

Keen Traveller

Enjoyable stopover

We stayed at Swahili house for 1 night to experience Stonetown before moving on to a beach resort on the east coast of the island. The location is perfect, within walking distance from the main sights and close to the airport. The reception staff were very friendly and helpful, and the hotel has a nice layout with rooftop restaurant. Overall perfect for our stay. (Just a note that the bathroom is open plan onto the bedroom so if you are sharing with someone be aware that you will not have the privacy of a closed bathroom.)

10/10

Exceptional

18 Nov 2013

Samantha

Loads of characters, great views and superb staff

This was a super stop-over for us. The staff were attentive and friendly and the rooms had so much character. Something to note though is that there is no elevator, and it is a tall building. The high up floors have patios and a fantastic view (as does the breakfast / restaurant area) but you have to climb a lot of steps to get there. The porter did bring our bags up though. It would have been nice to have is an in-room mini fridge because with the heat one drinks a lot of water. But really I would recommend Swahili House with no hesitation.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

29 Oct 2013

OJN2013

Kind people

The stairs are going to be hard for elderly people - especially climbing to the rooftop dining room

Family

2/10

Poor

12 Oct 2013

Maria Teresa

Never again

Place is cool and in very good location, but staff is rude, their credit card machine doesn't seem to work, and it looks like they steal money from the guests. (Our notes got swapped to fake ones while we were away on spice tour.)

8/10

Excellent

19 May 2012

Alex

Wonderful view

Great place to stay, room 2 is stunning. Roof top bar/restaurant is wonderful but the stairs are steep and there is not lift so only the fit should visit.

10/10

Exceptional

12 Nov 2011

Verified traveler

Stonetown up close and personal

We arrived late at night due to delayed flight issues and lost baggage, the hotel is a short walk from where a taxi can park but safe and intriguing. The hotel staff had closed up for the night however the night receptionist was delightfully accomodating in arranging for the the kitchen and bar to be opened up for us as we were travel weary by then- 10pm! This was no mean feat as there is no lift to the top floor-96steps up! Our room was at the top so we were glad we had no baggage- due to it being lost! We had icy cold Gin and Tonics and a delicious chicken salad, the barman and the receptionist spent time with us telling us the history of 150 yr old hotel and the surrounds. We were treated like long lost friends. The building is fascinating and the room well appointed though basic, cool, enormous comfy beds, mosquito nets and a hot shower. You won't need early wake up calls as you are ear level with a mulitude of mosques calling the faithful, enchanting if not competely deafening. We were very sorry we didn't stay longer to do this grand old lady justice. Breakfast was delicous with the best coffee. To spend an evening having sundowners overlooking Stonetown's rooftops would have been awesome.

8/10

Excellent

30 Dec 2025

Patrick

À very authentic retreat in the middle of the old town, just a stone throw away from the amazing Darjhani souk. Kind and helpful staff

Leisure Self

8/10

Excellent

30 Nov 2024

TOMAS

Atendimento foi incrível, o prédio é antigo mas relativamente bem conservado

Partner

8/10

Excellent

04 Jul 2024

Linda

The rooftop bar was extremely good, wonderful view and great service. The breakfast is absolutely fine. The room could use a new mattress and maybe some furniture like a table or something to hang your stuff. But all in all definitely a recommendation.

6/10

Pleasant

04 Jul 2024

Sanne Mussa

Didnt meet our expectations

With the price paid, the hotel didnt meet our expectations. If the price is lowered to around 70 USD per night, I would say the hotel is okay.

Breakfast was boring though.

Friends_and_family Friends

6/10

Pleasant

29 Feb 2024

Jutta

Die Menschen dort sind sehr nett und zuvorkommend. Das Haus ist sehr schön, im alten Stil.
Das Frühstück lässt zu wünschen übrig. so könnte z. B. auch Erdnussbutter ohne Zucker, Produkte ohne Weizenmehl, wie z. B. Reismehl-Kokos Fladen angeboten werden. Die Dachterrasse ist wunderschön.

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

25 Nov 2023

Celia

Super séjour

Super séjour au cœur de stone Town . Idéalement situé pour visiter la ville . Établissement et décoration typique . Petit plus pour le rooftop au petit déjeuner qui est super agréable .
Nous avons adoré notre séjour !

Friends_and_family Friends

10/10

Exceptional

15 Jul 2023

eddy

The place is amazing, with beautiful decor and beautiful view form the terrace. I would definitely go back.

Leisure Friends

10/10

Exceptional

12 May 2023

Magdalena

Fantastic accomodation, very friendly and competent employees, quick answers, good airport transfer and on time, just enjoyed the hotel the second time and I would come again. Thank's to the host, warm regards Magda

Business_and_leisure Self

8/10

Excellent

22 Feb 2022

SAMIA

Bien

Hotel propre, grande chambre mais pas de vue agreable. Service peut etre parfois très lent (j'ai attendu une fois plus de 2 heures pour avoir mon diner!). Staff très sympa. Hotel situé dans les petites ruelles donc un peu inquietant la nuit quand on est seule.

Self

8/10

Excellent

14 Feb 2022

Tulin

The staff is very friendly and the hotel is very nice. Only dissappointing thing is the breakfast. For this price i was expecting a more wide breakfast.
For example: not just boiled eggs but omelette, avocado etc.

Friends_and_family Friends

10/10

Exceptional

09 Jan 2019

Marie

Mycket bra!

Hotellet och dess personal var jättebra, läget var lite opraktiskt, åtminstone om man som vi hade mycket packning eftersom man var tvungen att gå i smala gränder under pågående marknad , det var väl det enda negativa...

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

28 May 2018

Solenne

À faire absolument!

Personnelle adorable et hôtel magnifique!

Partner

8/10

Excellent

01 Mar 2018

Dirk

Prima hotel midden in de stad.

Goed verblijf, fijn personeel, ruime kamer, goed restaurant met prachtig uitzicht over de stad.

8/10

Excellent

23 Feb 2018

Verified traveler

Alles gut. Lediglich “Aussenpool” ist ein wenig irreführend. Es handelt sich um ein kleines Becken (30cm tief, etwa 2 x 4m). Definitiv nichts zum Schwimmen.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

16 Oct 2017

Mª Jesús

Estupenda estancia

El personal de recepción y limpieza espectacular. El personal de la terraza deja mucho que desear. Excepto 2 personas, los demás son unos maleducados.
Estuvimos super bien en este hotel céntrico. Por descontado que lo recomendaré

10/10

Exceptional

27 Jan 2016

VIDAL

Óptima conto voltar de novo com netinhos mais novos irão adorar

Family

6/10

Pleasant

25 Nov 2014

Berit S.

Ok hotell med personlig sjarm

Positivt: Stor og god seng. Koselig hotell med fine dekorasjon/kunst. Godt renhold og service.
Minus: mange trapper for å komme til rommet. Ikke internett på rommet. Upraktisk med åpen toalettløsning og delvis innsyn til dusjen.

Family

8/10

Excellent

20 Nov 2014

Piotr

just a visit

Nice view in the Restaurant at the top - don`t forget your camera.

Money Exchange oposit the Hotel.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

09 Nov 2014

Hermann

Einfaches Stadthotel

Zentrale Lage in der Stadt. Das Hotel und die Zimmer haben eine Auffrischung nötig. Schöne Dachterrasse mit Restaurantservice.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

30 Jan 2014

Verified traveler

Prima locatie, hotel wat rommelig

1 probleem: we hebben via Expedia full board geboekt, bij aankomst zei het hotel dat er B&B geboekt was.
Er gaat dus iets fout met het doorgeven daarvan, was een hoop gedoe! Geen leuke afsluiting van de vakantie.

Locatie is leuk, eten te duur en niet bijzonder, uitzicht en ontbijt zijn top, service ok, kamers niet super. Uiteindelijk kregen we een luxere kamer, maar de airco bleek al wel 3 maanden kapot.

2/10

Poor

14 Jan 2014

Anni

leta videar

Inge bra område provade 3 rum ingen fungerade Ac, lortig pol, vi beställde väckning samt taxi då vi hade ett flyg att passa mitt i natten, varken väckning eller taxi fans, receptionen var till och med stängd.

6/10

Pleasant

11 Jan 2014

Seso

Superbe batisse, trop peu exploitée

Restaurant beaucoup trop cher malgré la vue et l'environnement. Privilégier les chambres aux 1er et 2ème étages - le 3ème est étouffant !!

Family