Stay Report: Maru Maru Hotel
comment below and let me know your thoughts :)
comment below and let me know your thoughts :)
Just steps from the Fordhani Gardens, seaside,
and the Fort is a great boutique hotel - Maru Maru. The hotel is situated next
to Fordhani Gardens and the Fort and the hotel is centrally located to walk
anywhere around Stone Town from here. I
found the hotel through my search for places to stay in Zanzibar, and it was
very easy to book the hotel online.
After booking, I communicated with the general manager via email who was
very responsive and nice. I had also booked an airport transfer from hotel, and
the car was there when we landed. It was
a nice and smooth transfer to the hotel.
The only negative aspect about the hotel is the
location, as it is located down a street but a little off the main road. During the day it is fine, but at night it
can be a bit tricky to walk from the street to the hotel. The hotel looks updated but it is an older
building in Stone Town so the lobby is a bit narrow. The lobby contains a small waiting area, the
check-in desks, as well as stairs to access the upper floors. Check-in went smoothly and we were shown to
our room.
As I was traveling in a group, I had booked 2
rooms – and the rooms were available either had 2 twin or 1 Queen bed; I had
booked one of each. Both rooms were nice
and a good size, but the room with the 2 twin beds was a little bigger. The rooms were centered around an open
courtyard so it was nice to have an inside/outside feel. For the room with the Queen bed, as you
entered the room the bed was to the right while to the left was a chest with a
TV on top. There were nightstands on
either side of the bed and a mosquito net on top of the bed. Further into the room, you stepped up and on
the right was the bathroom while on the left was the armoire/closet. The bathroom was nice, modern and updated and
had nice toiletries that were made by a local women’s group. The room was nice but it was a bit compact so
while it easily fit two people, it felt cramped when more people were in the
room.
The room with the twin beds was laid out
differently and had significantly more space.
As you entered into the room, in front of you were the two twin beds,
with a nightstand on each side and each had a mosquito net. Against one wall was the armoire/closet,
while next to the door was the chest with the TV on top. Further along this wall was the entrance to
the bathroom, which contained a sink, a toilet, and a shower – all were modern
and nice, and again toiletries were made by a local women’s group.
Breakfast was included and that is served on the
rooftop lounge/restaurant which had amazing views of Stone Town and the
ocean. The lounge was also open in the
evening so you could enjoy an amazing sunset – the only downside at night is
that there is not enough lamps/candles/light so its pretty dark up there. Breakfast was standard cereals and toast, with
fruits and an egg station. Coffee, and
hot chocolate, were made by a machine.
In addition to the breakfast, another amenity provided by the hotel was
wifi. The complimentary wifi was
available in the room and it had good speed.
Overall, it was a nice stay at the Maru
Maru. The hotel is nice and modern, the
service is very good and attentive, and the location is very good. As I said, the hotel is located only a couple
of steps away from Fordhani Gardens and the only negative thing about the hotel
is the entrance/lobby. To get from the seaside/Fordhani Gardens to the hotel,
you have to walk up a road that a night is dimly light (during the day, this is
where all the taxis hang out so creates easier access to taxis). There are
plenty of people walking and we never had a security issue, but it is something
to consider. The lobby is right off the street so there is no major entrance nor
a big sitting area; not a big deal to me but some in my group cared about that. If you can overlook that, you can enjoy a
really nice boutique hotel in Zanzibar.
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