Clove Hotel

A friendly, budget hotel in the heart of fascinating Stone Town, with Dutch management and sociable roof terrace

Stone Town is a fascinating, vibrant, colourful place. Its narrow alleys teem with traders and tourists, veiled women and mbao-playing men, studded wooden doors to imposing mosques and crumbling Arab houses. But – to new arrivals, especially – it can seem noisy, confusing and more than a little seedy.

What you need is a friendly, central base with a helpful and informative manager; and this 8-room hotel, freshly refurbished and cheerfully run by Dutch-born Lisette and her colleague Lisenka, is just the job. She first fell under Zanzibar’s spell in October 2002; a year later she had sold her Amsterdam hat-shop and taken over this run-down hostel; eight months on and she had gutted it, replaced all the waterworks, commissioned new coconut-wood furniture and re-opened it as a guesthouse for grown-up backpackers. Her dynamism feeds through to her staff: “You name it and we’ll organize it” is their pledge to guests. The atmosphere is casually sociable, its huge roof terrace serving as an open-air sitting room where guests get together to swop diving stories or plan spice tours over a beer from the honesty bar.

Highs

• Homely atmosphere and attentive staff, who can book tours, tickets and taxis
• Communal roof terrace with day-beds, small library, honesty fridge and sea views
• Great value for money
• Large beds (unlike most traditional Zanzibari beds)
• Small garden-restaurant in front of hotel
• The family rooms are a good choice for families on a budget

Lows

• Very Noisy location (but very central)
• Small bedrooms without much of a view
• No seating or storage space in rooms
• No swimming nearby, and of course no pool – but that’s what the east coast is for
• Don’t expect the Sultanesque opulence of its $200+ neighbours – this is essentially a budget guesthouse with no mod cons