Zanzibar Stone Town, Tanzania

In the third instalment of the Tanzania series, I’ll take you to the incredible Zanzibar Island Stone Town, a 1.5-hour ferry away from Dar es Salaam. This post will be image-heavy and word-light because we only spent two nights in the Stone Town.

Zanzibar Stone Town is a fascinating place with a rich and tangled history that you can feel just by wandering its narrow alleys. The old town’s mix of Arab, Persian, Indian and European influences is everywhere, from the carved wooden doors to the grand yet weathered buildings.

Once a major trading hub for spices and, sadly, enslaved people, Stone Town has a vibe and beauty that makes you want to photograph every corner, engage with the locals, and soak in the sea breeze. It’s the kind of place where you grab a coffee, lose yourself in the maze of streets and stumble onto something beautiful or unexpected around every turn.

Park Hyatt Zanzibar

We called the Park Hyatt Zanzibar our home for two nights. The Park Hyatt Zanzibar is housed in the historic Mambo Msiige building, a landmark that dates back to the mid-19th century and stands as a testament to Stone Town’s layered past.

Originally built as a grand mansion by a wealthy merchant, the building features traditional Zanzibari architecture with Arab, Indian and European influences evident in its intricately carved wooden doors and elegant balconies. Over the years, it has served various roles, including a residence and government offices, before being carefully restored and transformed into a luxury hotel that preserves much of its original charm and character.

The Park Hyatt was in an ideal spot, right on the beach and next to the Stone Town. Everything we wanted to do in the Stone Town was within walking distance, including several coffee shops, local stores and overwhelming choices of restaurants. Right next to the Park Hyatt was another beautiful historic hotel called the Hotel Serena Zanzibar; we went there for dinner one night and had a wonderful experience.  

While the Park Hyatt sits right on the beach, we noticed that nobody used the beach chairs on the sand; this was likely due to all the vendors that approach you when walking on the beach. I didn’t find it too bad, but I could see people with fairer skin being targeted far more frequently than myself.

I chose the Park Deluxe Balcony King room at ~USD 1,000 per night which featured a private balcony overlooking the ocean, perfect for having a glass of wine (they included a free bottle at check-in) while watching the sun set. I love having a balcony when travelling; sometimes I want quiet time while still feeling connected to the city and having a balcony provides exactly that.

The room was large and well appointed. However, the shower pressure was a bit weak and the room was starting to show its age; the floor looked quite worn and the shower was slow to drain. Other family members noted their rooms had similar wear and had additional issues with toilets not flushing properly and other basic maintenance items which shouldn’t be present in a luxury hotel of this stature.  

I love staying in historic buildings and always choose a building with character over the conveniences of a modern build. In Yangon, I stayed at The Strand, in Luang Prabang, I stayed at the Victoria Xiengthong Palace and in Udaipur, I stayed at the City Palace Hotel. While I love the architecture, there are often tradeoffs in choosing these hotels.

The biggest tradeoff with the Park Hyatt was that the building itself was looking a bit tired and in need of maintenance. It’s always difficult for these hotels because they need to balance retaining the original heritage, while trying to meet demanding luxury customers’ needs. However, I think the Park Hyatt could implement some maintenance without impacting anything of historic value.

On the more positive side, the hotel’s location was perfect, the breakfast choices and quality were excellent (breakfast over the ocean is always a very special feeling), the service was up to par with what you’d expect of Park Hyatt and the hotel’s charm and historic nature were undeniable.

Given its prime location, excellent food and beverages and its history, I would consider staying there again. However, I noted several small boutique hotels throughout Stone Town that I’d like to explore first before staying at the Park Hyatt again. I’d imagine the boutique hotels would be far less expensive, but with the tradeoff of having no beachfront.  

Unlock Africa Expedition

This blog is not sponsored in any way. I pay for everything at the same price everybody else does, so when I give an entire paragraph to one company, it means that I really, really loved the experience and want others to share in the same experience.

Stone Town has so many small streets to explore, but we had two constraints:
1. Mom is 81 so we wanted to limit her walking to around 10,000 steps; and
2. We wanted to make sure that we hit the major spots so that we could prioritize areas to further explore in the coming days.

To make this process easier, we hired Imran at Unlock Africa Expedition. My gosh were we impressed with this young man. I fully expect him to be a Tik Tok star in the future and to be running a massive tour company one day. He was extraordinary. If he can channel even 25% of himself into a team of people, he’ll be wildly successful.

Conclusion

While we had specific reasons to stay at the Park Hyatt, I’d recommend people look at the various unique boutique hotels in the Stone Town for their first visit. I particularly liked the look of the Neela Collection. I didn’t specifically see these others, but the one Michelin recommends look great too.

Within the Stone Town, there are dozens of coffee shops, restaurants and small tea shops. I’d recommend doing the tour first and then setting aside at last two days to explore the old town. I wish we had spent more time in this part of Zanzibar and sacrificed a day or two on the east coast. We really enjoyed seeing the interesting mix of architecture, the beautiful doors (meant to stop elephants!) and the incredibly friendly people.

Next in this series will be our trip to the famed white sand beaches of Zanzibar!

Gear Used

Since this trip was going to include multiple stops including Bangkok, Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar and potentially a safari, I packed quite a bit of equipment. Fortunately, this all fit easily in my trusty 12 years old the Rimowa Original Cabin luggage and Peak Design 20L Everyday Backpack.

• Fujifilm GFX100S II
• Fujinon GF55 f/1.7
• Fujinon GF32-64 f/4
• Fujinon GF110 f/2
• Canon EF 100-400 USM II with Fringer adapter
• Fujifilm X100VI

All images were edited and processed in Capture One Pro Mobile using an Apple Pencil Pro and Apple 11″ iPad Pro M4.