This exclusive hotel (4 rooms in main house, 2 in adjacent villa) is located in Pingwe, which is right at the top of Paje beach. It is quiet, serene and absolutely beautiful. As soon as you enter the informal reception area you are floored by the paradise view. We had coconuts and Malibu on arrival and given an explanation of the property and area by the owner/manager Inga. We were told about the high/low tides and the sandbank across from the hotel, easily reachable by walking and some swimming at low tide, from which there were corals and snorkelling opportunities. The property provided sea shoes (to prevent stepping on sea urchins) and snorkelling gear. I had the best snorkelling of my life there and no one was around. The food provided by the adjacent restaurant of the same name had some excellent choices. The breakfast was good, although a couple of mishaps on the orders despite us writing it all down on the provided forms the day before. The atmosphere of the property is relaxed with lots of nice touches. Location is perfect for a quiet, restful, and stunning experience with the wonders of the sea. The sand and sea are wonderful here for swimming. We had previously been in the northern beaches around Kendwa which we found not as pleasant.

As mentioned, couple of mishaps with breakfast. Otherwise nothing - all great.

A Touch of Perfection at Boutique Hotel Matlai Hospitality: Experiencing the hospitality at Boutique Hotel Matlai is like embarking on a journey of warmth and attentiveness. The level of customer service from every staff member sets a new standard for what exceptional hospitality should be. The hotel's adept butlers seemed to know our schedules better than we did, going above and beyond to create an ambiance of seamless luxury. A heartfelt thank you to Jesus, Dereck, Hashim, Gideon, Ramadan, and Snaqira - each one of you added a unique touch to our stay and will be fondly remembered. Their expertise shone when they organised an unforgettable and deeply romantic dinner for our proposal, which can only be described as truly stunning. Location: Boutique Hotel Matlai is a serene oasis nestled in a uniquely beautiful beach, further elevated by the Rock Restaurant, one of the island's finest culinary destinations. From this prime location, we had convenient access to an array of island tours, while also being within a comfortable distance to the vibrant small town of Paje, rich with additional restaurants, dive shops, bars, and surf shacks. For those considering a visit to Mmenba, it is a bit of a distance, but rest assured, the immediate surroundings offer more than enough to explore and enjoy. Amenities & Tours: The hotel boasts a wealth of amenities including a lovely swimming pool, an excellent restaurant, and a cozy bar, not to mention a Cinema room that adds a touch of romance to any movie evening. Their collection of high-quality equipment for snorkeling, paddle boarding, and kayaking invites adventure at your leisure. The hotel excels as personal 'holiday planners', taking charge of organising tours around the island in a manner tailored to our preferences. Thanks to them, we experienced incredible trips including a private boat tour with snorkeling, an exploration of Muluum cave, a tour of Stone Town complete with stellar dining

We genuinely have no negatives. Maybe a negative is that there isn't much happening on the beach? But that was a positive for us as we wanted somwhere quiet - if you want more activity simply go to Paje 15 minutes up the road.

The most incredible hotel, absolute perfection. Staff were friendly and attentive. Rooms are lovely, beautifully decorated and hugely comfortable. Property maintained incredibly. Food diverse and tasty with dinner served into wonderful “surprise” locations. Cinema was so lovely. Touches like choosing bath salts, room scents, gorgeous leaving gift and bedtime stories just enchanting. Head butler Eustus and his team are beyond amazing and the welcome from Tim and his assistant manager phenomenal.

That it was fully booked so we couldn’t spend our full Zanzibar time there.

The hotel is a private piece of heaven where you can unwind and relax away from the crowds. Our room was very spacious with a beautiful bathroom and incredible view. All staff are super helpful and kind.

The food for was okay but not superb

Great facilities, staff, food, vibe. We loved every single thing.

N/A

The staff is beyond friendly and helpful. The room was great, bed was very comfy and a big bathroom with great shower and buthtub. The hotel is very private and there are many great places to sunbath and relax. Breakfast is served on your balcony, which makes it also very private. Wide range of possibilites to chose from. Dinner is served wherever one wants it. Overall great food. The beach is clean, one can snorkel (best at low tide) and go to the sandbank just in front of the hotel. Overall we had an outstanding stay and totally recommend staying at Matlai.

very well cleaned, staff very helpful and kind, room was ready early morning… didn’t need to wait for check in

We stayed at Matlai to round off our honeymoon in East Africa and it was the best place we’ve ever stayed. If you are looking for a romantic, peaceful and quiet hotel with beautiful rooms, wonderful staff, creative touches and breathtaking sea views, this is the place for you! (If you prefer music or beach tunes, try Upendo down the road). Matlai is an oasis of calm, and has been designed thoughtfully and cleverly. There are only 6 bedrooms on the whole site which for us was a huge plus (and one of the reasons we booked) as it feels very private and secluded. We often had the pool and surrounding area to ourselves which was amazing. In Asili house there are four rooms - each one thoughtfully designed around one of the elements. We were in moto (fire) which was on the first floor (rather than ground) with an incredible balcony. We loved having our breakfast on the balcony, watching the tide go out, and relaxing there throughout the day on the beanbag sofa. We loved the location - great snorkelling is a short walk away (we saw lots of coral and fish), and the rock restaurant is 10 minutes along the sand. Our room was gorgeous and spacious, and if you appreciate well designed bathrooms you are in for a treat - the bathroom in moto was massive and felt so luxurious. It has amazing wooden etchings, a freestanding bath which I loved, as well as a great shower. The staff look after you so well without it ever feeling too in your face. Hashim, Derrick and Mohammad were so helpful and good-natured, and it was great to meet the owner Tim too. Their friendly and thoughtful approach really elevated our stay; they're a great team. We enjoyed selecting our meals each day - you can choose the location and time for your breakfast and lunch/dinner. If you pick ‘surprise’ the staff will choose an area for you set it up beautifully. You have the area completely to yourself, so it feels extra special. Overall, this was an unforgettable stay and I hope we can return!

Nothing.

beautiful, great location, excellent service.

The perfect place for a relaxing getaway. Matlai was the grand finale for our honeymoon and we had a wonderful time. We loved that there are only a few rooms and lots of options for lounging. Many times we were the only people by the pool and it felt like we had our own private resort. It is right on the beach so you can easily go for a walk or swim. They have snorkeling gear and water shoes that you can borrow (I highly recommend taking their shoes as they cover your whole foot). Even during low tide if you walk/swim straight from the hotel you can get to the waves due to a sand bank. There are also people on the beach with boats who you can pay to take you to an area with coral for snorkeling and to see starfish of all colors of the rainbow, all within 10 minutes of the hotel. The rooms are great. Spacious, all of them have an amazing view, good products, are well decorated, etc. The bed is very big and comfortable. They also have thoughtful items like a beach bag, a nicely stocked mini fridge, bedtime stories they put on your bed at turndown, and a cell phone that you can use to contact the butler within or outside of the hotel grounds. The food is fantastic. The best food we had in all of Zanzibar. The breakfast is phenomenal. They typically serve it to you on your balcony that has a perfect view of the pool and the ocean. They have a 3 course dinner option and can set up a table in a surprise location. There are lots of options to set up tables in their gardens or by the beach. Make sure to do this one night! The beach bar also has great food. Their cocktails are delicious and creative as well as their homemade ice cream. There are other restaurants that are walking distance but I would even bother, the food is not going to be as good. The Rock restaurant is just a 10 minute walk from there (it was a cool experience but we would have rather eaten at the hotel). All of the staff was so nice and attentive (but not overly attentive).

nothing

There are not enough superlatives to describe Matlai! The villa/room/pool/property were amazing, a lot of thought went into the smallest details. Very clean, convenient, spacious, ... The hotel is located in a more quiet area of Zanzibar, which we loved after some days in busy Nungwi. We booked half board, what we usually never do, but we did not regret it at all. Food was delicious and loads of options available, even vegan. Even though this is a bit of an upscale hotel, the prices of food, drinks, spa are kept very reasonable. Which is rare and we appreciated that a lot. Tim and his staff are VERY friendly and attentive and will go out of their way to give you the best stay possible. If you're reading this, I can only tell you one thing: do NOT hesitate and book your stay at Matlai!

That we only stayed 2 nights!

The staff was wonderful, they do everything to make you feel at home. Breakfast is outstanding

Food could be improved but good overall.

beautiful place with caring staff!! i 100% recommend whether you're travelling solo or as a couple. I can't wait to go back. bathrooms are great and airy. they have the cutest turn down service. (they give you a little African story for bed time!!)

there were too many switches in the room.

This hotel is very very special. I was very lucky to celebrate my birthday here last week. Since it is a small hotel the staff are able to take care of your every need. From the fresh juice every breakfast, fresh bread at dinner, surprise meal locations everyday and a mobile phone they let you borrow to make sure you have comfortable stay - I really cannot fault Hotel Matlai. Exceptional location with perfect service.

The butler service (Justice and Andrew) was superb - they were able to get the mobile COVID testing team to the hotel in order to meet our flight arrangements, and were also able to secure us a great lunch reservation at The Rock down the beach.

While the food was delicious - if you asked for a meal to be at a certain time, the delivery of the actual food was about 45 minutes later. While the "meal" started at a given time, that meant juice/coffee - so if you would like to eat at a certain time, account for the time spread between first course/drinks and main course.

everything

nothing

Great employees - very friendly and helpful and amazing service - you feel spoiled all day long and they're always around if you want food, drinks... The hotel and rooms are very nice, especially the small details. Since they only have a few rooms, you feel like you're almost alone. Room service is great so it feels like youre entering the room for the first time every day. Low- and High-tide make a big difference in how the beach looks, with high tide you can swim right outside the place, with low-tide you can walk out to a sandbank and if youre a good swimmer you can reach an amazing coral reef by foot - my highlight for sure. Also boat tours to great snorkel reefs and a place filled with colorful starfish can be done right outside only a few minutes away- i was surprised how beautiful the underwater-wildlife was.

We really loved our stay at Matlai You will feel unique and the staff will take ver good care of you The hotel has a splendid view on the sea, the room is very well decorated, lot of small attentions We could have stayed forever

Nothing

amazing property abs absolutely 5 stars. exceptional service and food. perfect gate away location.

nothing. everything was amazing.

Wonderful place - luxury spaces, cosy atmosphere, highest quality of tailor-measured service, every detailed made to perfection, beach with no annoying beach boys

Nothing, everything was perfect

Everything!! Simply a gem!

Couldn’t find anything wrong.. literally perfection.

Everything! The staff were incredible and every detail had been thought of! The service and friendliness of staff is something I’ll not forget, they honestly make it an experience and nothing was too much trouble. The rooms were beautiful, so clean, and the views are something of dreams! I hope I can visit again in the very near future.

There’s nothing not to like! My only 1 improvement recommendation would be to have better coffee! I’m a bit of a coffee snob and feel like other than Zanzibar coffee house in stone town a good coffee isn’t easy to come by!

I booked the suites and was upgraded to villa Kidosho. What makes this boutique hotel deserving of its perfect score is the attention to details and service. For example, at night you get turn down service with sprayed room perfume of your choice. You also get a cell phone where you can contact one of the 2 butlers on service as well as security, if necessary. Everyone there was very friendly, from Tim to Muhammad, Andrew, and Catherine. Everyone was great and accommodating. The rooms and bathroom in villa kidosho are HUGE but I’m sure even if you book the suites you’ll love them too. I did 4 nights in Nungwi and 3 nights here, but now I wish I did 4 nights here and 3 in Nungwi. Highly recommend!!

Nothing, everything is great

Everything was great. The staff especially Mohamed, Andrew and Justus were very welcoming and made us extremely comfortable. The service is very personalized. The room was very clean and nice. It had great view over the ocean and it was private. The food is very tasty, and they are flexible on when and where would you like to eat. They even arranged dinner for us in our balcony and another breakfast by the pool. They also made sure to give us take away breakfast because we were leaving very early. There is very good wifi coverage in the whole hotel.

Nothing

Truly amazing stay Lots of small attentions from the staff, top notch service, and very romantic place We loved our stay.

Nothing really