Zanzibar Serena Hotel

Set on the Stone Town seafront, Zanzibar Serena Hotel was restored from two historic buildings and opened in 1997. Fifty-one rooms and suites occupy the structure. Every unit features whitewashed walls, high ceilings, carved wood furniture, brass lanterns, and a private balcony facing the Indian Ocean. Standard rooms hold a king-sized bed with mosquito netting or twin beds; interiors follow Swahili design with arched niches and fretwork cabinets. Prime rooms add four-poster beds and L-shaped balconies equipped with outdoor seating and a double hammock. The honeymoon room offers a four-poster bed draped in netting and its own ocean-view balcony. The Executive Suite separates a bedroom from a sitting room with television and minibar; the bathroom contains both bath and shower, and the L-shaped balcony repeats the hammock and cocktail area.

Baharia Restaurant, steps from the shore, serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner blending international and Swahili dishes; Swahili banquets take place poolside each Friday. The rooftop Terrace Seafood Restaurant overlooks the bay and prepares fresh-caught fish and shellfish. Masahani Bar stocks cocktails, wine, and beer, and live Taarab performances occur regularly. A spa, outdoor pool, and fitness centre operate on site. Guided excursions include snorkelling at Pange Sandbank, walks through the Darajani Market and former slave chambers, and dhow cruises in Menai Bay Conservation Area. Jozani Forest, Zanzibar's only national park and home to the red colobus monkey, lies within reach by road.