Kiwengwa Pongwe Forest Holidays from £1,524

The hotel was absolutely beautiful. The rooms were spacious and really decor was nice. The staff were all friendly. They also had a nice gym. The app didn’t work the entire time we were there. Restaurants on the app said booked however we were able to reserve at the front desk. When we got to the restaurants they were very empty each night. Probably because no one could book on the app. They never replaced our towels. We would return to our rooms and dirty towels would be removed but then we had to call the front desk to receive new ones. The food left much to be desired. Almost all of the food was over cooked. We had better meals off the resort. Drinks options on the all inclusive plan were very limited. The pools closed early at 6pm. Even the adult pool.

Overall the property has a lot of potential. The grounds were quite overgrown and unkempt, and the rooms while tidy, had poor finishing particularly with respect painting, where there was paint all over everything. The timber shutters on the terrace doors were broken, one set didn't close at the bottom. The wifi was very unstable through the property, and could not maintain a connection. In the room it did not work at all, and I was unable to do my work until later in the first evening when the IT person was able to install an additional AP in my room. The food in the restaurant was OK, nothing to write home about, and would expect more for example from breakfast, where the fruit selection was limited despite there being an abundance of fresh fruit varieties from street vendors on the roadsides not far from the Resort. The staff were adequate, but lacked the bubbly, friendly and enthusiastic energy that I've experienced almost everywhere across East Africa.

Our stay at Diamonds Mapenzi Beach had several positive aspects. The location is good, the pool area is nice, and the staff are friendly, welcoming, and helpful throughout the stay. That said, there are a few points worth being aware of. The rooms appear more worn in reality than the pictures suggest, which detracts from the overall impression. In addition, the food unfortunately falls below expectations. Considering the price, the culinary experience could have been significantly better. This becomes particularly noticeable when compared to similar hotels in destinations such as the Seychelles or Cape Verde, where the food standard is often higher within the same price range. It is also worth mentioning that the Hotels.com Gold benefits (Early/Late checkout, Upgrade) do not seem to apply here (even when listed on confirmatio). However, this appears to be more an issue with Hotels.com rather than the hotel itself. Overall, a perfectly acceptable place to stay, but somewhat overpriced for the experience it offers.