- Most of the hotels in Stone Town on Zanzibar are within walking distance of the area's beaches.Beaches of Zanzibar image by Towards Ithaca from Fotolia.com
Zanzibar is an archipelago off the east coast of Africa that is technically part of Tanzania. The main island of the archipelago, Unguja, is sometime also referred to as Zanzibar. Zanzibar City is on the western coast of the island, and Stone Town is the historic district of this city. UNESCO designated the Stone Town area as a World Heritage Site in 2000, due to its architecture and history as an African trading town. Hotels in Stone Town are mostly in the area's historic stone buildings, and staying in the area will give tourists a taste of the winding narrow streets of an 18th century merchant outpost. - The Zenji Hotel's focus, aside from providing accommodations, is to support the local economy. To that end, the furniture, art and food are all produced locally and the staff is all Tanzanian. The hotel has just nine rooms and suites, all with air-conditioning. Two of the rooms share a bathroom, the rest have private bathrooms. In addition, four of the rooms have private balconies. Free wireless Internet is available throughout the hotel and a complimentary breakfast is served on the rooftop each morning. The hotel offers a wide range of tours and excursions, including historical tours, Swahili cooking classes and a dolphin watching trip.
- The Kiponda Hotel is within 250 yards of the ocean and is in a building that was formerly a harem. The rooms range from singles to triples with one dorm/family style room that sleeps five. All of the beds have mosquito netting. Breakfast is complimentary and is served on the rooftop, which has an ocean view. The hotel features an in-house tour operator that can assist guests with airport transfers and also leads tours of the area including spice tours, marine tours of the smaller islands nearby and a tour of the Jozani Forest.
- The Swahili House hotel is located in the center of Stone Town in a 19th century-era former Merchant House. The building's 22 rooms and suites are arranged around a private central courtyard. All rooms have air-conditioning and private bathrooms. The rooftop terrace is home to the hotel's bar and restaurant, which three meals a day, including a Continental and full English breakfast each morning. The rooftop also has a Jacuzzi with views of the ocean. While the hotel does not lead tours, the front desk will assist guests in arranging excursions and airport transfers.
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