Zanzibar Sultan Sands Island Resort

Sultan Sands Island Resort Zanzibar is a small resort with lovely beachfront location & beautiful grounds. It is very good value if on all inclusive package. Overall we had a relaxing stay & would say it was a 3-4* hotel & compared to other places we have stayed in Tanzania was as we expected so were not disappointed.

The rooms are clean, spacious with extra large comfortable beds & small seating area plus balcony.

Very nice clean pool with large sloping entry at one end which was lovely to bask on. Between the pool & the beach was a sanded area raised overlooking the beach with plenty of loungers & helpful pool staff.

Restaurant has tasty & varied buffet meals with live cooking stations serving,fish,sea food,grilled meat & pasta.

Excellent small spa. I had 2 quality treatments (facial & reflexology) which are among the best I have had.

The beach is ideal for walking along, clean broad & long. The tide does go out a long way at times but there are tide timings in reception & when tide was in it was wonderful to swim in with very few rocks etc underfoot.

There are beach sellers but after there initial approach left us alone when asked. We visited Masai Mike's shop(see pic).

Friendly, helpful staff, reasonably good value, clean & tidy cabins, good food, and fun entertainment every night.

What's not to like? This resort is reputed to offer better than average value and the experience is pleasant, so go for it and enjoy your beach experience in Zanzibar! One tip:

Stone Town is a fascinating place worth a night or two, so I recommend staying there before or after your beach experience at the Sultan Sands, rather than day-tripping.


Sultan Sands dinners are served buffet style, and were quite good. Every night offered a different form of entertainment.

A dance band one night, an African drum concert the next, a Masai dance exhibition the next, etc. All were really fun. Seating was outside around the pool or just inside under an awning. The evenings were balmy and delightful.

Keep in mind that you need to exit the controlled grounds to go out to the ocean, at which point you will be hassled by people hitting you up for money or wanting to sell you something. Again, this is Africa, and this kind of thing is inevitable.

It takes an hour to an hour and a half to travel from the east coast to Stone Town, so a day trip is easily possible.

However, I recommend you actually spend a night or two in Stone Town before or after you trip to the Sultan Sands.

Stone Town has an absolutely fascinating history and vibe, not to mention many interesting restaurants and bars, so it is worth a day or two in its own right.

Bottom Line: the Sultan Sands offers solid value for a Zanzibar beach resort. Keep your expectations realistic, and have a good time!