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Best Hotels in Zanzibar City (2026)

Staying in Stone Town puts you within walking distance of the sights, restaurants and sunset bars, and most hotels occupy restored historic buildings. Shangani, on the seafront, is the most convenient area for first-time visitors and has the largest hotels, including Park Hyatt Zanzibar in the 19th-century Mambo Msiige mansion, the Zanzibar Serena Hotel and the beachfront Tembo House Hotel, which has two pools and a private beach area. The Neela Boutique Hotel offers contemporary design in the same area.

Inland, the lanes of Kiponda, Hurumzi and Gizenga Street are quieter and full of boutique character. Emerson Spice and Emerson on Hurumzi are antique-filled heritage hotels with rooftop restaurants, and Jafferji House has ten themed suites, cooking lessons and a coffee ceremony. Rooms in historic buildings vary in size and layout, so check details before booking. Many old-town hotels cannot be reached by car, have stairs instead of lifts and hear the call to prayer, so light sleepers should pack earplugs. Book early for the dry season from June to October and over Christmas and New Year.

7 places · Updated November 12, 2026

Our top 3 hotels in Zanzibar City

  1. Park Hyatt Zanzibar Luxury heritage hotel, Shangani, Stone TownLuxury seafront hotel in Shangani combining the 19th-century Mambo Msiige mansion with a modern wing, with 67 rooms, an infinity pool, spa and beachfront.
  2. Zanzibar Serena Hotel Luxury seafront heritage hotel, Stone Town seafrontSeafront hotel created from an 18th-century residence and the 19th-century Extelcoms House, with 51 rooms and suites, a pool, spa and rooftop seafood restaurant.
  3. Emerson Spice Boutique heritage hotel, Kiponda, Stone TownBoutique hotel in a restored aristocratic home on a pedestrian lane in Kiponda, with antique-filled rooms, a courtyard restaurant and a rooftop tea house.

Hotel

3. Emerson Spice

Boutique heritage hotel$$$Kiponda, Stone Town

Boutique hotel in a restored aristocratic home on a pedestrian lane in Kiponda, with antique-filled rooms, a courtyard restaurant and a rooftop tea house.

View details — Emerson Spice

Hotel

4. Emerson on Hurumzi

Boutique heritage hotel$$$Hurumzi, Stone Town

Privately owned 15-room hotel on Hurumzi Street with antique-style rooms, some with open-air baths, and a rooftop restaurant with sunset views over the old town.

View details — Emerson on Hurumzi

Hotel

6. Tembo House Hotel

Beachfront heritage hotel$$$Shangani, Stone Town

Beachfront hotel in Shangani, open since 1994, with sea-view balcony rooms, two pools, a private beach area, a gym and an oceanfront seafood restaurant.

View details — Tembo House Hotel

Hotel

7. Jafferji House

Boutique suite hotel$$$Gizenga Street, Stone Town

All-suite boutique hotel on Gizenga Street with ten individually themed suites, a rooftop restaurant, Swahili cooking lessons and a Zanzibar coffee ceremony.

View details — Jafferji House