I live in Tanzania and often visit Zanzibar and Sunrise wins the price of worst hotel experience on this otherwise wonderful island!

The rooms were dirty, the pool was dirty and the food was – besides being ridiculously over-priced – some of the worst I’ve had in Tanzania!

But worst of all was the service: The staff was rude, not at all service-minded and mostly just made you feel in their way! They even went behind our back and negotiated a three times higher price with the taxi driver, who was to pick us up after three very long and expensive days at Sunrise!

Sunrise has gotten great reviews in several guidebooks. This can only make me doubt the credibility of these books. At least I learned to check Tripadvisor before my next hotel booking!

You should absolutely avoid that hotel and should find much better alternatives on that superb spot. This is just very high price for the level of service and quality of accomodation you get. Rooms are dark, small, with an horrible fusty smell. Food is disapointing, expensive...and scarce. Hopefully, there was a much better value local restaurant next door! The swimming pool is just OK but that does not justify the whole lot. The hotel might have been OK...ten years ago. Since then, the owner has made no investment, considering clients as cash-cows and keeps trying fiddling a few dollars each day : prices are displayed in $, which is usual, but the exchange rate used was less usual!

After an exhilirating safari experience, most travellers to Tanzania head to Zanzibar to lay on a beautiful white sandy beach, be served exquisite cocktails, and doze off into a blissful sleep whilst listening to waves lap the shore. Sound too good to be true? Well -yes it is. Having travelled to Vanuatu, Tahiti, Bali, Malaysia and the gorgeous Whitsundays in Australia my expectations were high when I booked into the Sunrise Hotel on Zanzibar, but first impressions told me that this property was not in the same league as I've experienced elsewhere.
It is quite noticeable when the designers, management and staff have paid attention to detail at a resort but Sunrise is severely lacking in this criteria. Dusty, plastic flowers adorned the half-filled fish pond leading to reception, the colour scheme and design of the bar and restaurant equally tacky, and when I had to open a padlocked door to access my room, I sensed that all was not well at this hotel.
I fully accept that in Africa there are cultural differences and expectations when it comes to hospitality. Oft-used phrases In Tanzania such as 'Hakuna Matata' (No worries) and 'Pole Pole' (Slowly slowly) should give the naive traveller an indication of the prevailing attitude amongst hotel staff but at Sunrise Hotel it took on new proportions as we attempted to order cocktails when most ingredients were unavailable and order meals when items were either at ration levels or out of stock.
Prices for meals at Sunrise were calculated in US Dollars and after having travelled most of Tanzania and even dined at the Serena Hotel in Stonetown, almost everything on the menu was in small proportion and simply not good value for money in comparison. US$9 for a dry, canteen standard spaghetti bollognaise may be good value in London but definately not good value in Africa!!
There are many other resorts along this eastern strip of Zanzibar, and although we were told upon arrival that it was 'unsafe' to venture far from our resort, we found that there were many other beautiful resorts, restaurants and bars along the beach and that it was most likely 'unsafe' for the resort owner as guests started to realise that much more mirth and merriment was to be had at neighbouring resorts along the Bwejuu and Paje beaches.
Any traveller wants good value for money, and they don't mind paying a bit extra for a smile and slick service but this will not be found at Sunrise Hotel and I'd advise any prospective traveller to Zanzibar's beach hotels to research well and whilst the package may look good, what you are delivered may leave a lot to be desired.

The breakfast was less than appetising and the service ranged from mediocre to bad. The food was over priced and the tiny portions left us hungry. I could not get anything to eat from between 2.30pm and 7pm because the kitchen closes. The rooms were clean but very simple. They were also very damp. Bring a bug spray because there are so many ants and creatures all over the room, especially the bathroom. No one told me the tide goes out for half the day, so be prepared to sit at the pool. The beach is beautiful, but my friend was stung by blue bottles and you cant walk very far out because of sea urchins. We were not able to snorkel at the beach either. I would not go back there.