Kinazi Upepo Hotel in Zanzibar

Yum, yum. With the acquisition of a new chef who specializes in sushi and Thai food, Kinazi Upepo Hotel in Zanzibar is certainly miles ahead of other restaurants in the area.

We tried about five different dishes and they were all delicious. Can't wait to go back to try more of the menu.

We stayed at this resort for 2 weeks in a wooden bungalow right next to the beach. The interior of the bungalow was nice, the bed comfortable, and the view out of the window absolutely amazing.

The bungalow has an open structure - a window net instead of glass windows and there's a gap between the walls and roof.

The advantage of this is that it's always aired and cool inside, especially that there is usually a fair amount of wind in Paje.

Other Hotels and Beach Vacation Lodges in Zanzibar

The disadvantage of the open structure is a feeling of limited privacy, and the ability of mosquitoes and other animals to get into the room through the gap between the wall and the roof.

The bed has a mosquito net, but we somehow always managed to get a few mosquitoes inside the net, which would then have exclusivity in biting us during the night.

Overall, we were very comfortable and happy staying in the bungalow, and it was really just like living on the beach. Also, for 40$ a night for a double room, it was good value.

Breakfast at the hotel was a very frugal fruit platter, with a few thin slices of fruits and a small banana, a glass of fruit juice, instant coffee or tea, and a choice of eggs (spanish, omlettes, or scrambled) or crepes, and a bun.

There's a restaurant a few hundred meters north down the beach called Malaika.

It's a small, locally-owned unimpressive shack with four tables next to the beach, but the service there is really good, and the food is absolutely amazing.

We ended up eating all our lunches and dinners there for over a week. The place is really great if you like seafood.

The beach in Paje is beautiful, especially when the tide is coming in or going out. It's not a very good place for swimming though.

The tide goes out around 2km, and even when the tide is in, the water isn't very clear and there is a lot of sea weed floating around. Kite surfing is the water sport which prevails in Paje because of the frequent wind.

I think hotel security could do a more to stop touts from talking to guests sitting on the hotel's