Zanzibar Serena Hotel

We recommend the Serena to couples on honeymoon or romantic getaway, who want to combine beach and cultural immersion without leaving Stone Town. It is also an ideal base for travellers exploring the archipelago by day (Prison Island, Jozani Forest) and returning to dine facing the port. Families appreciate the spacious rooms and the secure pool, yet the atmosphere remains resolutely adult in the evening.

The Zanzibar Serena occupies two nineteenth-century Omani merchant houses, restored in the 1990s while respecting traditional Swahili architecture. Lime-washed coral stone walls, carved Zanzibari doors, colonnaded inner courtyards, makuti ceilings (woven palm fronds). The rooms retain their original generous proportions, between 32 and 45 m², with private balconies or terraces. The whole forms a labyrinth of corridors, stone staircases and shaded patios that descend in tiers towards the sea.

The Baharia restaurant serves three meals a day on a terrace facing the ocean: continental and African buffet breakfast, light lunches (salads, grilled fish), à la carte dinners blending Swahili, Indian and Arab influences (biryani, octopus curry, grilled spiced fish). The Kidude bar offers cocktails and fresh fruit juices under a carved wooden pergola, open until 11pm. Room service operates from 7am to 10pm, simplified menu. Honestly, we come for the setting more than the cuisine, correct without being memorable.

The hotel stands on Shangani Street, at the western end of Stone Town, facing the Zanzibar Strait. The Old Fort and the House of Wonders are a three-minute walk away, the Darajani market ten minutes. The Shangani district is the calmest part of the old town, residential and airy, far from the bustle of the commercial alleys. Zanzibar International Airport is 15 minutes by car, free shuttle included. Stone Town is entirely walkable, yet allow for a guide to avoid getting lost in the maze.