Exterior
Check availability

Reviews of The Seyyida Hotel And Spa

4 out of 5
The Seyyida Hotel And Spa
Kijangwani, Stonetown, Zanzibar Town

Reviews

8.2

Very good

Rating 10 - Excellent. 61 out of 160 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 64 out of 160 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 21 out of 160 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 9 out of 160 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 5 out of 160 reviews" "

8.8/10

Cleanliness

8.4/10

Staff & service

8.6/10

Amenities

8.0/10

Property conditions & facilities

8.2/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

10/10 Excellent

Heather

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
I loved the botanical atmosphere of this hotel. I had a massive double room on the ground floor surrounded by plants which made it magical!! Pool area was relaxing. My favourite was the rooftop restaurant which had beautiful views of the seafront. I would definitely come back here. The location was very central to exploring Stone Town.

10/10 Excellent

Benjamin, Raleigh

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Excellent location…near the water and the old fort.
Stayed 3 nights in Feb 2024

8/10 Good

Alihussein

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2024

10/10 Excellent

Rubani

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
What a beautiful property! The staff was extremely helpful and supporting, felt so safe at this hotel.
Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2023

8/10 Good

Ed

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
It is a nice clean hotel in the perfect location so you need not to get a taxi.
Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2023

8/10 Good

Natalie

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Very nice hotel with really nice staff and great location. No TV but if you can watch TV via wifi on your phone it is not an issue.
Stayed 4 nights in Jul 2023

8/10 Good

Krystle

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Nice, clean hotel directly in the middle of Stonetown. Great breakfast and views from the rooftop. Only issue were the roaches in the room that I noticed late at night when I woke up to go to the restroom.
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2023

10/10 Excellent

Nancy

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
I liked the ambiance of the property. I loved my room, although I thought I had booked a room with a balcony. My room was great and I loved the AC. After wandering around the streets of Stonetown, the AC was refreshing. The rooftop dining area and views were great. The staff were helpful and friendly. Good location.
Stayed 3 nights in Jul 2023

6/10 Okay

ardita

Travelled with group
Liked: Property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Disappointed
Cheap buffet breakfast per $15/person. A joke
Stayed 4 nights in Jul 2023

10/10 Excellent

S

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Best Boutique Hotel in Stonetown
I love this gem of a hotel - beautifully tasteful rooms, fantastic location, and great staff. By far, this gem is my favorite place in Stonetown.
Stayed 1 night in May 2023

6/10 Okay

Sridhar

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Very Close to Forodhani gardens and all other places are walkable Distance from this property.you can see the beautiful Sea View From the Top of the Hotel (restaurant) . room amenities are Average .if you don't spend much time in room that s OK.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2023

2/10 Terrible

Juliette

Business traveller
Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Hotel was overbooked although we had paid
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2023
Response from The Seyyida Team on 26 Jan 2023
Dear Juliette,Thank you for your feedback. Kindly take it up with Hotelbeds as per your booking for the refund . We have allotments which had already been filled prior to your booking.Thank you once again for choosing The Seyyida Hotel & Spa.Kind regards,

6/10 Okay

Jonathon, Carrollton

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities
Like: Location, location, location. The view from the rooftop was nice as well. Dislike: No shower door (should have had one). Limited water pressure. Tons of street noise. Windows leaked from dew/humidity/rains.

10/10 Excellent

Jaie

Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2022

10/10 Excellent

Alyson

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
LOVELY ROOFTOP DINING AREA

10/10 Excellent

Alexzandrea

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Stayed 2 nights in Oct 2022

8/10 Good

Patrick

Travelled with partner
Liked: Staff & service
Overall for one night stayed, it was a good experience. Although, I thought that it was noisy outside, the bathroom needed maintenance, and some of the furniture appears that they needed cleaning. The restaurant was out of beers one afternoon, which seems unusual. There was gap/holes in the mosquito netting above the bed. It seems like the hotel needs some care and some love. The pictures on the website are not representative of the hotel.
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2022

4/10 Poor

Joanne

Disliked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Tired and in need of a refurb.
On arrival we were informed we'd been 'upgraded' as our room was in use for another guest. This was not an upgrade but a large family room on the ground floor for one night only. Unfortunately, the room was located next to an alley where mopeds and motorcycles were driven all night. We hardly had any sleep as we would be woken by the next vehicle every time we dropped off to sleep. Some passersby even knocked on the windows at all hours The bar ran out of normal beer and only had small bottles of lite. The kitchen could not make toast on request. The toilet for the restaurant/ bar area is disgusting and smelt of urine. The bathrooms in the rooms are tired and grotty. Cracked sinks, loose and broken toilet seats that don't fit the toilets. The electrics were so bad, they were dangerous. Bared conductors on the metal bed side lights being the worst example. Light switches that did not work and arced when switching, but did not turn on the lights. Only one bedside light and table for double beds in some of the rooms. Why? Air conditioning worked well in every room we used; three in total. Towels were well past their best and stained even after laundry. One of the reception staff and the cleaners were very helpful, but the rest of the staff just didn't seem that interested in doing a good job. Had a chat with other guests who'd also had to request different rooms due to late night noise issues or malfunctioning equipment. Would try elsewhere if we were to return.
Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2022

8/10 Good

Nawir

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
The locatoin, the staff and hotel is wonderful. I was in room 402 and would have like to see the bathroom fittings update and maintained, The toilet flush constantly made noice and kept running, the shower heat was blocked and the wash hand basin faucet was well worn. These are easy items to sort and keep looking fresh. I would still come back despite these as they did not affect my stay.
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2022

10/10 Excellent

HADEEL

Travelled with family, Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Location is superb, it is a clean and very well managed property, staff are friendly and service oriented and their manager 'Maureen' is very capable and professional..pleasure to do business with. what can be improved is more wheel chair friendliness to be introduced and somesort of a lift or elevator even if a tight/small external one so people with disabilities can enjoy your roof top restaurant and terrace and enjoy its breath taking views that are so memorable and among your best property assets or attractions.
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2022

8/10 Good

Jared

Business traveller
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Accessibility to all interesting places around Forodhani, staff very warm and supportive. Even allowed me a late check out on last day because i had an evening flight.
Stayed 4 nights in Aug 2022

10/10 Excellent

Shawn

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
I was so amazed by how friendly and accommodating the was to me. The setup my ride to a from the airport, and gave me dining suggestions of local restaurants. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. I will Highly recommended staying at the Sayyida when visiting Zanzibar.
Stayed 3 nights in Jun 2022

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Free breakfast was $15 per person
The room was enormous and beautiful. The location is great, close enough to walk to/from the ferry in daylight. The hotel would not honor the free breakfast that Hotels.com said we would get. But I blame that on Hotels.com because they subcontracted with hotelbeds.com and did not select the free breakfast option.
Stayed 3 nights in Jun 2022

10/10 Excellent

Okan, Beaverton

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Amazing location and property.. In the heart of stonetown. Beautiful views from the roof top and amazing food. Stayed here for 5 days and it our 12th hotel in zanzibar after 2 months of honeymooning and I must say it was a highlight of the hotel experiences.
Stayed 4 nights in May 2022

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Uncomfortable and dark
The greatest thing about this hotel is their talent for photo shop. This hotel was the worst we’ve stayed at in 10 years, incredibly noisy, bed was extremely uncomfortable and our room had no light due to facing a cement wall, an apartment from across the alley could look directly into our room. The staff was nice but the surroundings outside did not feel safe at night time.
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2022

10/10 Excellent

Mary Ann

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Excellent staff, great location a block from ocean.
Stayed 4 nights in Apr 2022

10/10 Excellent

Erica

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Seyyida is a convenient location for Stonetown Old Fort events (like Sauti Za Busara) and other sight seeing and shopping. The only downside is getting through a dark alley at night to the front entrance, but the area is quite safe. The pool is refreshing, and the rooms are very well-maintained and clean. Staff is very helpful with everything you need. I will be staying again next time I'm in Zanzibar.
Stayed 4 nights in Feb 2022

8/10 Good

Vicki

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The decor was tasteful. I loved the photos which were throughout the hotel...each photo included a description...the mixture of old (furnishings) with new...bathroom.....Although there was no elevator in the 4 story building, it was not a taxing walk. The restaurant was Amazing! The food, the staff (Mr. Massoud and Mundhir Said were attentive and pleasant) (Ms. Chichi Ally provided excellent meals). The housekeeping staff were accommodating and efficient. I had a much needed full body Zanzibar Spice massage (s/o to the therapist) Maureen Jollebo...was an absolute angel throughout my stay. I had experienced an unexpected delay in transit, which caused my initial hotel to be canceled. I was sad, frustrated and out of sorts when I arrived at the Seyyida. Maureen did all in her power to make sure I left Stone Town with a different impression...I will happily be returning to the Seyyida. The pool which was located within a few steps from my room was clean and relaxing...i am looking forward to another great experience at the Seyyida....#customer service matters!
Stayed 7 nights in Nov 2021

8/10 Good

Jake

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
I really liked this place and would stay again. But a couple of things let it down - the breakfast was poorly done, things like cheese, butter and bread are left out in the heat and flies buzz round the fruit. Cheeper hotels like Spice Palace are half price and have a better breakfast. The Pool is nice but it's in an atrium so you have to move about to catch or avoid the sun. The room I was in was big and really lovely, but there wasn't a refridgerator, and the shower only had cold water for most of the day. All the staff however were super friendly and helpful especially Cliffthon and Rita on the evening shift on the amazing roof terrace. That's why I'll recommend this place to friends. If they fix the breakfast this place will be amazing.
Stayed 3 nights in Nov 2021

8/10 Good

Clare

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
We were only in for a night but the dinner menu was ok and the room was comfortable and perfectly cool. The service could be a lot quicker and some staff did not smile at all when engaged. Overall though it is a beautiful place inside. Also the outside was a bit scary when coming in because there is no signage and you access the hotel through alley ways. This is particularly unnerving for travellers who are just following guidance from people they dont know. You could think you were being set up for a robbery. But once inside, the place is amazing and the room and roof views are to die for. Love the art pieces and thoughfulness of the designs too.
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2021

8/10 Good

tina

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Pretty place
It was very clean. Beds were comfortable and big. Wonderful roof top restaurant you can eat. It’s mainly Greek food. Breakfast buffet had a good selection even smoked salmon and home made baked goods. The building, the decor and the plants make up for a wonderful picture. Personally I appreciate tasteful decor which I really liked about this place.
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2021

10/10 Excellent

Plato

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Good spot
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2021

8/10 Good

ADEBAYO

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 3 nights in Mar 2021

10/10 Excellent

Karim

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Nice, recommended!
Nice hotel with a good location. Very close to the beach and all the attraction, places to visit, nice restaurants and Cafe and the ferry terminal. Staff are friendly and helpful. Breakfast is set menu but enough and simple, with a great view as it's on the roof top. Spacious room and nice decoration. Needs a little bit of maintenance and renovation but Ok.
Stayed 3 nights in Mar 2021
Response from Simonetta Carusi, Guest Relations Manager on 15 Mar 2021
Dear Guest, Thank you for your review and taking the time to write it. We will share all of your kind comments with our team and we hope to see you soon at Seyyida again. Regards, S. Carusi Guest Relations Manager

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Great View. The stage kept the property very clean. I wish I knew of the hotel sooner. Close to shopping and restaurants.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2021
Response from manager on 23 Feb 2021
Dear Guest Thank you for your positive feedback. We hope to have the chance to host you again in our Hotel

10/10 Excellent

Amar, Sarajevo

Business traveller
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Excellent superb big comfortable caring central clean
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2021
Response from Simonetta Carusi, Guest Relations Manager on 3 Feb 2021
Goodmorning and thank you for your review

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Travelled with partner
Liked: Amenities, property conditions & facilities
Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service
It is a beautiful property set in a very old city, right next to the former palace. It is a stone throw away from the beach and some good restaurants. The hotel itself is ok, comfortable bed but the proprietor was not very pleasant. She was only nice to the white guests and completely ignored us or switched off our music at the roof top bar . The toilets kept clogging up . The breakfast was very bland overdone eggs always . The hotel gave us just 2 small shower gels for our stay of 3 days and doesn't provide tothpaste. At that price point you expect a bit more.
Stayed 3 nights in Dec 2020
Response from manager on 7 Jan 2021
Dear Value Guest Thank you for your review and your feedback as we always appreciated the comments of our clients. We are taking your comments as a constructive criticism which help us to improve our Business. i would like also to tell you that i feel sorry if you had this kind of feeling concerning the manager as i live and i work in Africa so many years and i love African people. I am surprise to read your review knowing my attitude to respect and to love all the people. But also i understand that this is just your opinion, it doesn't mean that this is the reality. I wish to have the chance to host you again in our Hotel to have the chance to improve myself where I have failed. With all my best Regards Manager

8/10 Good

Kyla

Travelled with family
Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Cleanliness
Very good location for visiting stone town, beautiful building and nice breakfast. The room was pretty but construction was very messy making it look unclean.
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2020

10/10 Excellent

Sarah, Florida

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Everything was just so perfect about Seyyida. The Location=perfect The decor=perfect The price=perfect The bedspreads=perfect The staff=perfect
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2020

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Business traveller
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
An easy walk from the ferry. Beautiful views from the rooftop restaurant and good food.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2020

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Breakfast was amazing in a great setting, well worth the money. Room was good although shower entrance felt a bit tight. Would stay here again!
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2020

8/10 Good

Russell

Business traveller
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
The hotel is in a good location in Stonetown and is situated close to the ferry. The rooms are comfortable, the AC works well as does the internet. I have stayed here before and will stay again.
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2019
Response from Catia on 11 Dec 2019
Dear Value Guest. Thank you for your feedback, we really appreciated.

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Perfect location, beautiful accommodations. Very helpful staff. Wonderful rooftop breakfast included! The view is spectacular. Great pool. Highly recommend!
Stayed 3 nights in Oct 2019
Response from Catia on 6 Nov 2019
Dear Value Guest Thank you for your comments; we are happy to know that you enjoyed your stay. We hope to have the change to host you again.

10/10 Excellent

James

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Unique blend of exotic yet contemporary hotel
First...they let us check-in 4 hours early and gave us a late check-out! When you are a weary traveler, little things make a difference. And the staff at the spa stayed late so I could treat myself to a pedicure! Second...we were treated to a welcome drink on their rooftop bar/restaurant. I simply cannot imagine a better spot to view the Indian Ocean and sites of Stonetown. And the menu was varied and entries delicious. Third...the room was vast! High ceilings, antique furniture, grand entrance to the bed, and the fabrics were colorful and cozy. All you needed-hot water, refrigerator, fluffy pillows and safe. Lastly, the location within Stonetown allows one to explore fully. Recommend Seyyida Hotel & Spa as a perfect spot to begin or end your trip in Zanzibar.
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2019
Response from Catia on 3 Oct 2019
Dear Value Guest Thank you for your comments. We are really happy to know that you enjoyed your holidays with us and we hope to see you again in the next future.

10/10 Excellent

rachel

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Central Stone Town Boutique Hotel
Calm oasis in a bustling area of Stone Town with beautiful rooftop terrace
Stayed 3 nights in Aug 2019
Response from Catia on 3 Oct 2019
Dear Value Guest Thank you fro your lovely comment. We hope to have the pleasure to host you again in the next Future

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Travelled with partner
Disliked: Amenities, property conditions & facilities
The pictures aren’t a great representation of what your actually getting, the room looked much larger and the balcony should not be classified as a balcony since there was barely enough room for a chair. The staff were pleasant but under trained. In the restaurant every meal we ordered something and it wasn’t available. When we were finally able to order something available it took a long time to receive and was inconsistent to what we had previously ordered and enjoyed, particularly the cocktails. In our room there was a broken toilet seat, a leaking shower, calcium buildup in the shower head meant it sprayed all over the floor and the bedside table PowerPoint was hanging off the wall. It was great to be able to book tours through reception but the description for what could be anticipated was very poor, a two hour tour for $35USD ended up being a four hour tour for twice as much plus a tip. Although maintenance issues were communicated to management on check out just to give them a heads up the owner didn’t seem bothered and tried to excuse the shower head due to poor water when the night before we stayed in a resort which had no issue only half an hour away. Unfortunately as much as the staff were pleasant and the location was good we won’t be staying again.
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2019
Response from Catia on 30 Aug 2019
Dear value Guests Thank you for your comments which always help us to improve our Business. First of all we want to apologies for all the inconveniences which you reported during the check out. As we explain an apologies to you during the check out, the maintenance problem will be fixed immediately. We are really sorry to give you the impression to bothering us, that it was not our intention as all comments from our clients are helping us to improve and to learn to be better. We hope to have the chance to host you again in the future. With Best Regards

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
What a fantastic hotel! I absolutely loved my room- I booked the king suite and it was huge- suitable for 2 couples as the room has separate areas with 2 king beds and in the middle is the bathroom. Both sections have a seating area and one has the tv. Internet connection wasn’t the best but it was better in the lobby. The restaurant offered a fantastic breakfast- the bacon was beef and a bit hard to chew though. The location is perfect to access the ferry terminal- about a 4 minute walk. Wonderful location is stonetown! I will definitely rebook. Also, the pool was a little iffy but there were plenty of chairs to lounge and chill. The staff was friendly and had 24-hour coverage.
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2019
Response from Catia on 28 Aug 2019
Dear value Guest Thank you for your feedback. We are very happy to hear that. The comments always help us to make more happy our clients. We hope to have the opportunity to see you again in the future.

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Disliked: Room comfort
Comfortable little hotel
Overall nice hotel with nice small pool. Very friendly staff and clean rooms. Only problem was the mosquito net was poorly set up and didn’t close up which left with extremely bad sleep.
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The Seyyida Hotel & Spa is an amazing hotel in the heart of stone town. It was based in a great location close to many historical attractions and also the Forodhani Park night food markets. The rooms were decorated beautifully in Swahili-style and were very clean with daily housekeeping. The rooftop restaurant overlooked the ocean and was perfect for sunset drinks. The morning breakfast was delicious with a variety or eggs done any way and fresh fruit and an array of pastries. A highlight was the pool area after a day of exploring and the heat of the days it was a treat to cool off in a quiet oasis. My partner and I loved this hotel and area so much we extended our stay an extra night, a total of 3. I cannot excel the staff more on their service. They truly went above and beyond. I unfortunately fell ill after our trip to the Serengeti and the hotel staff were extremely helpful.I needed medication to be delivered from Dar Salaam to the local pharmacy, the staff organised drivers to arrange pick up and communicated with the doctor on the where abouts. The manager of the hotel was also extremely helpful on the situation recommending appropriate health facilities to go to and was always checking on my progress . We felt extremely safe in this hotel and felt like we built a strong rapport with the staff. So much so, in the case of leaving our GOPRO with a driver in Paje over one after staying at seyyida we contaccontacted the hotel manager to see if she could help u
Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2019

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2019
Response from Catia on 12 Jun 2019
Dears value Guests Thank for taking the time to write a review, we really appreciated your comment. Looking forward to see you again. Regards Manager