love how clean the resort was the staff was amazing that’s what makes the the entire stay I will recommend this place to friends and family. New Years is the place to be at this resort we got to party with the staff which made the stay even better. Ally was the manager of this property and he was so sweet and accommodating to any needs we requested. We will forsure be returning, thank you for everything.

The food was over cooked and catered to Europeans. It was such a shame to see these fresh ingredients demolished the cook of each meat serviced. you can’t enjoy the beach outside the resort due to everyone trying to sell you stuff. I had to give 5 dollars to have some peace. The power went out everyday and we had to wait for our room because of the air conditioning going out.

beautiful property with a very lovely staff and atmosphere. special thanks to all the amazing people who made our stay a special experience like Ally, Milka, Hamida and Marwa. I really recommend experiencing this great resort for yourself, we hope to be back someday.

rooms, pool, location and restaurant were fabulous. restaurant staff were super friendly and very attentive. food was delicious and fish caught fresh. manager Ally was friendly and fantastic!

beach and bar service could be improved but apart from that everything else was great.

nothing

horrible service the staff was so rude and disrespectful. AC in the room wasn’t working, private pool was dirty and no one came to clean it even when we asked twice. horrible horrible service. very very rude

The Sands exceeded all our expectations in every respect. The accommodation was lovely and private, the dining area was beautiful, open and light, the food was exceptional, the massages enjoyed at the spa was the best I have ever had and most importantly the staff are efficient, professional, helpful and friendly. We will definitely return.

Nothing.

the location, the beach bar, the family villas.

for families with children: you needed to ask for extra permission to get an early plate of pasta for your kids before the official dinner time (7:30 pm). it would be great in the future if they could accommodate since your arrival the need of smaller kids.

quiet

I liked everything

Beautiful property, huge rooms (villa with private pool), stunning beach, very clean facilities, big common pool, luscious gardens with colourful flowers, very pleasant restaurant with a breeze, set up with a lot of privacy between tables, very friendly and attentive staff. the beach bar snacks and lunch were perfect. We spent a blissful four days winding down from a safari trip, relaxing in very calm and restoring surroundings. it was a pampering holiday. A visit to the nearby Rock restaurant is highly recommended (with advance online reservation). About 1 hr 20 minutes drive from Stonetown/airport - easy to find (even self driving).

I would have liked that some minimum drinks are included in half board option (sparkling water, one soft drink per person, espresso at breakfast for example). Dinner buffet options were fine but at time hit and miss (fish mostly overcooked). At breakfast, some cold cuts and sliced cheese for example would have been nice alternatives on some days. A local band on one evening per week at dinner would have been lovely. No gym and very few activities around (mostly all involve a trip to the Stonetown area).

lovely resort, beautiful beach, very friendly staff, gorgeous spot to relax and unwind, had a wonderful massage, Hassan at the beach bar makes great cocktails!

bed is really hard, they do recognise this and offered to put a mattress topper on which helped, would be nice to have fresh coffee at breakfast, filter coffee was not good

I liked that staff made our visit special by decorating our room with fresh flowers and a personalized message, as well as surprising me with with a birthday cake and song. Plus the world class customer service was exceptional.

I would have liked to experience the honeymoon package of a free bottle of wine on arrival, a couples message, and romantic sunset dinner on the beach. I suggest the 6 month newlywed requirement be removed, so couples celebrating their anniversary can experience the honeymoon package if staying 4-5 nights.

good location

twin room very small

Beautiful hotel with separate bungalows and villas. The bungalows were clean and comfortable, the cleaning lady passes twice per day. Rich and delicious meals and very welcoming staff. The alleys in the garden are surrounded by beautiful colorfull flowers and trees. Swimming pool is clean and very big. On the beach the classic sunbeds and big round like a bed sunbeds are place with a distance between so you can enjoy your privacy. You also have a beach bar, hammock, swings and a volleyball court all on the beach. The beach is very clean and not to turistic. I highly recomend.

Beach boys and maasai waiting on the public beach in front of the hotel just staring at you or approaching you to propose activities or to sell stuff all this while still on the hotel beach property.

We were at the Sands Beach Resort for two weeks. An amazing experience. The staff at this hotel was so nice, always here to managed everything. In another hand, room, food, location, beach, activities, all was great as well. I recommend this place for sure! Special shout out to Ally and Hasan (members from thé staff) without them, our vacation didn’t get the same taste… Hakuna Matata!

Beautiful resort, well maintained. The bungalows are cleaned twice a day, We could see the palm trees and the nice garden directly from the spacious bed. There is a large glass front with mirrored glass, so you can see out, but others cannot see in (at least during day time, at night you can draw the curtains). The air condition is very quiet and we had free WLAN both in the bunalow as well as on the beachfront . Our bed was initially a bit firm, but the staff changed it to a softer mattress cover, then it was perfect. We had two issues (safe would not open, my fault) and one day the toilet had no water, both were fixed immediately. A special thanks to the staff manager Ally. He is the kindest person and always has an ear for you trying his best to make your stay perfect. The whole staff is very friendly and speaks good englisch (besides other languages). Food was very tasty, We did not try everything but the vegeteables, fruits, rice, soups, juices, breakfast pancakes, omelettes and deserts were great. A special treat was the catch-of-the-day, grilled fresh by the grill master every evening. We really enjoyed the wide, open african style restaurant. Coctails at the beach bar were very tasty, expecially the pina colada, which was served in a freshly cut and nicely decorated coconut. The white sand beach is gorgeous, but you can only swim in the sea at high tide, due to the flat beaches in Sansibar. At low tide it retreats for hundreds of meters. So the spacious and tidy pool was a great complement to swimming in the sea.

Overall, there is not much to complain about. As the beach is a public beach, there are always some of the "beach boys" around, trying to sell you anything. While this was somewhat annoying at first, a friendly "no thank you" usually keeps them away.

landscape and nothing more

We chose this hotel based on the reviews giving it a rating of 9, however it was beyond overrated to the point we thought we’re in the wrong hotel and couldn’t believe it’s a 4 star. My advise is get as much snacks as you can so that you don’t starve. There’s no such thing as room service/dining, in fact there’s no telephone in the room. You may use your phone to call or whatsapp to contact the reception but only if their wifi actually worked in the room! Also if you’re ordering food at the bar do it 1 hour earlier because that’s how long it will take. Meals timings are decided on certain times and not available at any other time you wish (also there are no restaurants in walking distance around the place so there’s no option but taking a taxi - which is a ripoff for a 5 minute drive USD 20). You may want to avoid certain types of food at the hotel restaurant as we got food poisoning which lasted for 3 days from “Catch of the day” grilled fish. The food at their breakfast buffet was uncovered so you can imagine the amount of insects flying around the dishes and level of hygiene. The warm water in the shower lasts only for 4 mins max and expect some friends with you in there (lizards/small spiders.. etc) that is the indoor shower. The swimming pool is really really dirty and no can even touch it. The one positive thing about the place is the landscaping and garden view however that couldn’t make up for the bad experience. The beach area is nice but you can barely enjoy it with the local people coming and waiting from outside the hotel following you and trying to sell you drugs/trips. We’re definitely not coming back and don’t recommend it at all.

Beautiful vacation at the sands, thanks to hassa boy, Rachid, the chef, Ally, Julius Khamis and all the ladies in the restaurant. You guys were amazing. !

The food was excellent especially breakfast. The sea view villa was huge with a large wrap round veranda and the staff were lovely

It was quite isolated which is not really a problem if you just want to chill

The location of the resort is beautiful. There is a great bar on the beachfront where kids could play for hours and we could enjoy lots of drinks and food. There was a great variety in the breakfast and dinner buffets with fresh and tasty food everyday. The dinner on the beach one night was a great surprise and the Swahili night was very entertaining. The pool was kept super clean and was always so inviting. The best thing were the staff who were super friendly and welcoming, particularly with the kids - big shout out to Mr Ali who would play with the kids so we could eat in peace! The authenticity of the place is second to none and is not something you would be able to experience from a 5* chain Hotel.

The ONLY feedback I would give would be to put a few more soft furnishings such as rugs/mats in the villas so that kids can play without you having to worry about them falling on the hard tiled floors.

All was just fantastic! This resort deserves a 5 star

Nothing!!!