The Loop Zanzibar

Set directly on the sand in Jambiani, on Zanzibar's east coast, the beach here runs white and fine for 7 km, exposed at low tide into a wide bank for walking and swimming. The colour of the water shifts with the tide, from pale shallows to the deep blue channel beyond the reef. Rooms are built from natural lime and wood rather than concrete, each with a veranda facing the garden, beach or ocean; the Beach Ocean View room, at 30 m², opens straight onto the sand with its own sea view. Air conditioning runs alongside ceiling fans, and hot water comes from solar panels, part of a low-impact approach that extends to LED lighting throughout. The bar and restaurant area is built around reclaimed materials — pallet sofas, old electrical spools as tables, walls painted with street art — under a broad makuti roof open to the shore. It is an unusual room for Jambiani. At high tide, guests take out kayaks or a catamaran, or snorkel the reef just offshore; at low tide, the sand bank becomes a walking route running both directions along the coast. A Water Sport Centre handles kayaking, sailing and snorkelling trips, while the Kite Centre sits a short walk along the beach for lessons on the open sand bank. The restaurant serves a Swahili and Italian menu, with fish landed daily by local fishermen working the same waters.