Top 5-Star Hotels in Pingwe

My fiancé and I visited Karafuu over New Year - a trip that we had planned in March 2023 already. After numerous emails with hotel management, we were pleased upon our arrival to see that all requests had been attended to. Our room was beautiful- sitting on the cliffs with a very clear view of the ocean. The staff were all very friendly and the overall hygiene was impressive. However, it was downhill from there. Our aircon in the room did not work the first night - and as we only arrived at 2am, we were desperate for much-needed sleep which was impossible in the heat and humidity. We complained to management the next day and they sent maintenance to our room to inspect - the answer they gave us was that there was a voltage issue all over Zanzibar and that their generator was not able to meet the requirements 24/7. We asked them to please just keep the generator on during the night as that was when everyone would be in their rooms - but our request fell on deaf ears as we did not sleep yet again. This carried on for another 3 days whereby maintenance kept being sent to our room even though they could not fix the issue. We were highly annoyed as Karafuu is supposedly a 5-Star hotel - but without aircon! My fiancé and I eventually resorted to sleeping outside on the patio with make-shift beds. Really not on!! Luckily it wasn’t mosquito season but we were utterly disgusted about this situation. You cannot not have aircon when you are a 5-star beach resort with ＞30 degrees Celsius heat and 90% humidity every day! As for the food…. we were expecting fresh seafood every day but were very disappointed with what we were given. None of the seafood was fresh - in fact it smelt so bad that neither my fiancé or I even wanted to eat it. I decided to give it a try on two nights and both times regretted my decision. We both had upset tummies every single day - most likely due to the very poor refrigeration of all the food. On New Year’s Eve, the people sitting next to us threw up due to the rotten shellfish that was served at the buffet - and we had to pay $80 supplement per person! My fiancé ended up having 2 pieces of pineapple for dinner - the most expensive meal we have ever paid for. We chose to do the half board option instead of all-inclusive and just as well because the all-inclusive drink list was so limited that most people had to spend additional money anyway so that they could have what they wanted. All in all, we enjoyed the pool, beach and people but won’t be rushing back to Karafuu. You really need to up your game with basic amenities such as aircon, as well as your food - otherwise you might be down rated to a 3-star hotel in the near future.

Abbiamo alloggiato per 6 giorni con mia moglie in una delle stanze di Shanuo a Zanzibar dopo una settimana di safari in Tanzania. Abbiamo scelto di non soggiornare in resort e puntare su una location più immersa nella realtà locale. La scelta non poteva essere migliore, ci siamo pentiti di non aver fatto 1/2 giorni in più! La stanza non é troppo spaziosa ma ha tutto il necessario. La terrazza e la vista spiaggia / mare sono impagabili! Si ha accesso diretto al mare da Shanuo con l'alta marea e la struttura dispone di vari lettini e materassi fronte mare per rilassarsi e prendere il sole. La zona, Pingwe, non è troppo turistica, a meno della presenza del celebre ristorante The Rock. Si sta in estrema pace. Ci sono i cosidetti ”beach boys” ma non sono fastidiosi ed insistenti. La spiaggia è meravigliosa, fra le migliori di Zanzibar. Le maree, che si susseguono in due cicli giornalieri, non costituiscono un problema. Con la bassa marea si creano fantastiche piscine naturali. La zona retrostante le strutture sulla spiaggia è occupata da case di locali, i quali non arrecano fastidi o problemi ai turisti ma, anzi, fa sentire maggiormente immersi nella realtà locale. Ci sono tre buone alternative a scelta per la colazione (salata, yogurt e musli, frutta pancake), accompagnate da biscotti, latte, succo, caffè, tea e torta. Le quantità sono più che giuste, evitando gli sprechi dei classici buffet. La struttura non ha ristorante ma sulla spiaggia ci sono almeno 3-4 ristoranti validi, in particolare di fianco a Shanuo c'è il ristorante ”The Wishing Tree” (mix di cucina locale, italiana e internazionale), dove abbiamo cenato divinamente 5/6 sere con sconto per i clienti Shanuo del 15%. Ultimo ma non per importanza, lo staff e la manager, Gillian. Lo staff è composto da ragazzi locali, estremamente disponibili e professionali, tra cui, si vede, c'è un ottimo clima. Gillian è fantastica, sempre a disposizione per qualsiasi necessità dei clienti, soprattutto per organizzare tour ed escursioni grazie ai ragazzi di fiducia della struttura e dare consigli customizzati sulla base delle proprie priorità. Prezzo e rapporto qualità / prezzo imbattibili.