Name: Zanzibar Rock Resort
Address: Pongwe Beach, P.O. BOX 257, Pongwe, Pongwe, Pongwe, Pongwe, 2199, Tanzania
Rating: 9

Restaurant

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Transfer

English

Italian

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Pets allowed

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At the resort

Zanzibar International Airport

Zanzibar Rock Resort

Pongwe

We visited The Rock restaurant as a last treat to round off our holiday.  The experience is so worth a visit and we thoroughly enjoyed our meal.  Yes, it's slightly expensive but you have to accept this is the price for dining in such a unique location.  This was probably one of the most talked about visits of our holiday that all my friends commented on.  We loved the experience and would recommend a visit if anyone is holidaying in Zanzibar.

Amazing location!!!

Lunch, cocktail, starters were good, the sea food platter fabulous. The place is one of a kind. Nice waiters, good English. Loved it. Wish I could come back, but it's a long way from Sweden for a lunch 😎

Splendid sea food platter

Overpriced Food and Not really enjoyable 
Quality was okay 

Staff was really Nice! The best Service we had in whole Tanzania. But unfortunately food didn't taste good... 
Would not recommend it ! 
Sometimes you feel like a walking Atm in places like this 

Only Went for Dinner 

Walked over from pongwe bay resort for lunch at low tide. People were nice but didn't speak English well only Italian. They try hard but the food was just ok and service was pretty slow. Only three places to eat in the area so give it a shot!

Just Lunch

I stay in an awful of a lot of hotels for work and I wanted something more natural/eco and less artificial for this stay over the Easter long weekend. Zanzibar Rock Resort was just the medicine I needed.

Sit in the bar area sipping a drink with the cooling sea breeze in your hair and just watch the tide race in and out over the sand flats - it's mesmerising. Then when the tide has come in enough, take a dip in the deliciously warm sea to freshen up before going off to read a book on a sun lounger until it's time to eat... That was how I spent the time  - bliss.

The location is hard to beat:

 - it's on the ocean side of the island so the breezes are refreshing and the water is clean

 - Pongwe beach is known as one of the very best beaches on Zanzibar and the resort is literally perched on a tiny rocky island IN the beach. It is also truly beautiful with white sand and turquoise water - no filters or photoshop required...

 - all the beaches on Zanzibar are tidal, so at low tide it is a bit of a walk (for the love of god - take beach shoes, not flip flops, there's sharp things in the sand and lots of rays in the shallows) out to water deep enough to swim in - but it only needs to be half tide to be able to swim directly off the island. Though there isn't a beach on the island, there are steps down to the water and sun loungers everywhere.

The villas far exceeded my expectations... They are completely naturally constructed from branches and woven palms - really expertly done. They are large and airy with big four-post beds draped with mosquito netting and they also have ceiling fans - no energy-hungry aircon here.

There is a separate toilet and a shower room. The water pressure in the villas is very low (my friend reported the same in his villa on the other side of the island) - but that isn't a problem when you are swimming in the sea at least twice a day.

Although the resort is 'eco' that certainly doesn't mean it's dirty. The whole place is incredibly clean with absolutely no mould or mildew to be seen or smelled anywhere (my pet hate). There are also far fewer flies and mosquitos here than anywhere else we were in Tanzania. I did not see a single cockroach on the island either.

The restaurant/bar areas are the same very natural construction and set out on the outer point where the sea breeze keeps the heat down and the beer and cocktails flow freely.

The food served was simple but really really good... You can tell when the cook just loves food. I had all sorts of things from the menu and took advantage of a fresh catch of prawns that was made into a delicious curry. Zanzibar is the spice island after all, the flavours were fantastic.

My friend is vegan and I couldn't believe how amazing the staff were to actually create a daily changing menu of completely vegan food for him. Just incredible - he was extremely impressed.

The guys Abdul and Noah were so awesome. We were frequently the only people on the island and they were so friendly it really made the weekend great.

Tips on finding the resort: go to the Northern end of Pongwe and lookout for a small white sign with "Zanzibar Rock Resort" on the beach side of the road - it's easy to miss. Then drive all the way down the tiny sandy road and then get out and keep walking straight until you get to the beach and you will see it. Try to time coming and going with low tide, though there is a boat they can ferry you with.

Electricity on Zanzibar: this is a tiny African island, as such, expect the power to go out fairly often and stay off for long periods. Don't forget that means no wifi, charging devices or using ceiling fans while it's off .  I'm actually glad there's no backup generator in the resort, it would destroy the serenity. Just make sure you do what you have to on the internet and recharge everything whenever it's on.

A note on getting around: taxis on Zanzibar can be daylight robbery, I mean trying to charge USD $160 for an hour's drive type of robbery... My advice would be to either pre-arrange a driver to take you wherever you want to go at a daily rate, or renting a car and driving yourself. It's not quite as hair-raising as some posts I've seen suggest, but do ensure you have all the proper paperwork as well as some spare cash on hand... And beware the unmarked hidden speedhumps...

Highly recommended for relaxing 

What a magical, unique place! Cannot be beaten with regards to location. Stepping right into the calm ocean from our balcony, the best cocktails made by friendly Noah, best views in Pongwe, not being incessantly harassed by 'beach boys'... but compared to other (higher ranked) resorts we stayed at, the food, drinks and city tax was excessively expensive.

Zanzibar Rock Resort

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