This is a beautiful Moroccan-style boutique hotel on the quiet, picturesque east coast of Zanzibar. It consists of five recently built villas with ten private suites. We stayed in Palm Villa 2. All of the villas and the hotel itself have been tastefully decorated with some excellent paintings and furniture to match the Moroccan architecture. It is right next to the beach, where there is a reef, a lagoon and tidal flats which provide a stunning view.

The service was excellent – it was the end of the season and we were the only guests, so we were able to spend a week being thoroughly pampered by the attentive and charming staff. Nothing was too much trouble, as long as we were content and enjoying our stay. The manager was hospitality personified, as was his assistant.

Our room was on the first floor, with a large balcony overlooking the sea, and was spacious and well-appointed: a comfortable bed, easy chairs, an excellent en-suite bathroom with a powerful shower – perfect for relaxing and enjoying a high standard of comfort. We also had access to a higher terrace which provided a welcome breeze from the sea, and a wonderful panoramic view of the coral reef below.

The local village has some restaurants along the sandy beach, but the cultural interest, market, shopping and (presumably) nightlife is in Zanzibar town, a 50-minute car journey on a good road. We chose Kikadini Villas for its seclusion, its elegance (see the website) and its tranquillity – after a week's strenuous safari in northern Tanzania, it turned out to be just what we had been hoping to find. A (new) swimming pool gave us great pleasure, and unless the tide was right in we could walk a long way in either direction on the white coral beach.

What did we find least satisfactory? Zanzibar’s electricity supply when we were there was unreliable. As with many hotels at that time, our hotel had to rely on its own generator, which to preserve its life was kept on for about half the time, so that the shower was not always available when we wanted it and the fan switched off at midnight, leaving us on most nights to be cooled by the breeze. Given the problems with electricity supplies, the food was of reasonable quality although the the choice of wine was very good! The promise of a more powerful generator and two international chefs for next season will mean that Kikiadini will provide exactly the right unhurried, tranquil ambience and high standard of service and comfort that would rate five stars by our reckoning.

We stayed for 8 days, and were treated to a wonderful holiday by the friendly and professional staff at Kikadini. The place is an architecural pearl with trememdous attention to detail, colour and light. Right on the beach we would have been happy to stay for many more weeks. The food is excellent and the drinks are cold. We'll be back some day soon. Greetings from Kampala/Norway

This beautifully designed Morroccan style hotel certainly has the 'wow' factor! Sitting on the edge of a beautiful stretch of palm fringed beach is this fabulous oasis. We stayed in villa Pwani - our bedroom had doors opening out onto a shaded seating area overlooking the beautiful turquoise sea. We could go up onto a private roof terrace (although be warned that the wooden stairs are very steep!) via a central courtyard area with fantastic views, a dining area and even an open air bath! A great area for sunbathing by day and star gazing by night.
The tide goes way out each day exposing a very interesting reef which you can wander out onto and watch the villagers going about their daily lives - women harvesting seaweed grown to export and providing them with a valuable income to help with their childrens education, and the men going out in their 'Dhows' to fish. You can also wander through the village and visit the local school.
When there is no sea to swim in, the hotel has a lovely deep blue mosaic tiled pool to cool off in and the staff are always ready to bring you an ice cold drink.
Talking of staff, what lovely people they are! Nothing is ever too much trouble and if there is anything particular that you would like to eat they will do their very best to make sure you have it. Everything is cooked to order and so there is no chance of the dreaded holiday tummy problems here!
The manager Francois lives on the premises and is very welcoming and extremely helpful. All in all, we had a lovely relaxing holiday and would thoroughly recommend this hotel.

Kikadini Villas is located on Zanzibar's beautiful east coast, about an hour's taxi ride ($60) from Stone Town. The beach is pristine; the water warm, clean and stunningly beautiful. Kikadini's facilities are evocative of the region's Swahili/Arabic cultural roots. And no effort or expense is spared to delight the guests' senses. The accommodation is truly 5-star in every way and the rates seem modest compared to what is offered!

The food is very good, though the menu is a little limited for a stay of several days. The only downside is that credit cards are currently not accepted. This made it very difficult and inconvenient to transfer the required deposit to secure our reservations.