Zanzibar, Tanzania hotel rooms at the Independent

"This was a very disappointing experience. I had arrived after a long day of travelling to discover that I had booked the wrong dates and was supposed to arrive the previous day. I always double, triple check the dates when I am booking, but I guess I made a mistake. Once this was realized, I was really hoping the staff would help me resolve this as painlessly as possible. I asked for any kind of break on staying another night, specifically said even $50 off (from $240) would be huge. They responded with a hard no. They made it clear that this was my fault and they had no intention of helping. "Go and check the apps if you want a better price" is what the manager told me. No attempt at all to be empathetic to my situation, with very much a "why should I help you" attitude. I would understand if the place was busy and it was costing them money to give me a break, but it was empty... based on the people I saw, I would estimate they were at 10-15% capacity, tops. In the next 20 minutes after this interaction, I had someone come into my room to "check on the water", then 5 minutes later someone came to "check my bed was made", and then 5 minutes later my wifi cut out! The wifi cut out about 5 times in the night I was there. The beach is also tiny and you will be swarmed with locals trying to sell you stuff. All that being said, other than the manager, the staff was very friendly."

"Lovely stay, nice staff, beautiful gardens "

"Faire un petit effort pour la nourriture, sinon très bien ! "

"Awesome atmosphere. Property is well maintained"

"Great time! Staff, food, and overall property were amazing. Will highly recommend it to anyone."

"Beautiful, serene property. Very private. Staff were amazing and went well above and beyond!"

"Lovely stay and excellent service."

"CAVEAT EMPTOR! BUYER BEWARE! Claiming to be a 5-star resort, they struggled to be 3 stars filled with short comings. To begin D of Z is definitely not disabled person friendly as there are stairs everywhere except into the pool where you must enter down a wall ladder. Bars and dining rooms are on the second floors or at least a few stairs up. Food was INEDIBLE. We lived on rolls, tomato and cucumber for 2 weeks. There was nothing to tempt us at all. Soup was hit and miss. Grilled meat in the evening was dire as were the pizza squares and brochette (white toast with chopped tomato, I think) Breakfast was ok as they offered fresh omelettes and waffles (if you asked for a fresh one and not the cold rubbery ones off of the buffet.) Lunches and dinners were always cold and over cooked. Chatting with the other guests we found that this was the complaint from everyone. Spices were not existent which was strange as spices are one of Zanzibar's high points. On one of our first nights, we went to the roof-top bar, the bartender left us sitting at the bar for 15 minutes without acknowledging us. When I commented that we would like a drink he responded with "You are not the only person in the bar" There were only 2 other people there! The resort also had limited internet making checking emails almost impossible. The rooms and bathrooms are beautifully designed, large and spacious. Dream of Zanzibar is not 5 star but more like a Nightmare off Tanzania. "

"Very nice and helpful staff. "