We noticed that you're using an unsupported browser. The Tripadvisor website may not display properly.We support the following browsers:
Windows: Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome. Mac: Safari.
Booking.com
eDreams
Priceline
Prices are provided by our partners, and reflect total costs of the stay, including all taxes and fees known to our partners. Please see our partners for more details.
Barbaragarcg
Madrid, Spain
4734
Absolutely head over heels in love with Karamba Resort
Review of Karamba Resort
5.0 of 5 bubblesReviewed 15 Mar 2012
This resort, located in the seemingly yet almost unexplored south west of Zanzibar is a fantastic place to unwind, eat delicious food and practise ayurvedic therapies like yoga.
The beach, next to Kimkikazi village, could not be more beautiful as well as picturesque. This small village of fishermen fish away on the beach everyday, when the tide is still low, making a gorgeous and timeless scenery. Surroundings and location cannot be better!
The resort facilities have a lot of charm; bungalows are so cozy, with open air showers. Sunsets from the swimming pool are unforgettable,
Food is delicious as well as plentiful, with meals to pick up from a lengthy menu. Staff is fantastic and mention must be made of the fantastic Gemma, the resort manager, an extremely helpful and generous woman, with exquisite taste.
Surprised as I am with the very few negative comments I have read, I encourage everyone to visit Karamba resort, a secluded place, far from the packed northern beaches on the island. Activities worth mentioning include seeing dolphins at sunrise, sailing and landing in close sand banks and visitting Puje's beaches on the eastern part of Zanzibar or having lunch on The Rock, a unique restaurant perched on a rock, surrounded by water and enabling visitors to take the best pics ever! A lot to do and see!
Thanks gemma for such amazing welcome at Karamba
Date of stay: March 2012
The listings of booking offers for each property take into account the compensation paid to us by our partners. Prices shown may be for varying room types. Prices displayed are the lowest available, corresponding to the least expensive room type available, as provided from our partners as of the time of the user’s search.
Nearby Hotels
Tripadvisor
AU$602
Fully refundable
  • Hotels.com
  • Booking.com
  • Expedia.com
    AU$602
1.6 km from Karamba Resort
Free parking
Pool
Expedia.com
Get rewarded with One Key
  • Hotels.com
  • ZenHotels.com
    AU$312
  • Booking.com
0.8 km from Karamba Resort
Free Wifi
Free parking
Booking.com
  • Priceline
  • eDreams
  • Agoda.com
2.1 km from Karamba Resort
Free Wifi
Free parking
Priceline
  • Booking.com
  • Agoda.com
  • Lol.travel
1.5 km from Karamba Resort
Free parking
Beachfront
Hotels.com
Get rewarded with One Key
  • eDreams
  • Agoda.com
  • Expedia.com
2.5 km from Karamba Resort
Free Wifi
Free parking
Expedia.com
Get rewarded with One Key
  • Booking.com
  • ZenHotels.com
    AU$165
  • Hotels.com
2.6 km from Karamba Resort
Free parking
Pool
Booking.com
  • eDreams
  • ZenHotels.com
  • Lol.travel
2.3 km from Karamba Resort
Free Wifi
Free parking
Booking.com
  • Priceline
  • eDreams
  • Agoda.com
3.7 km from Karamba Resort
Free parking
Beachfront
Booking.com
  • Priceline
  • eDreams
  • Agoda.com
2.4 km from Karamba Resort
Beachfront
Booking.com
  • Priceline
  • Agoda.com
3.5 km from Karamba Resort
View more hotels in Kizimkazi
Reviews (428)
Filter reviews
428 results
Traveller rating
275
93
36
14
10
Traveller type
Time of year
LanguageAll languages
More languages
Traveller rating
275
93
36
14
10
Show reviews that mention
All reviews coral cliff outdoor shower restaurant area is yoga practice slice of paradise rooms are small high tide three nights fresh juice spent nights mosquito net clams every evening gemma dolphins locals ocean
Selected filters
Filter
Updating list...
127 - 132 of 428 reviews
Reviewed 15 March 2012

so we arrived at Karamba, it was over 40 with the humidity, the rooms aren't air conditioned and there is a ceiling fan that tries unsuccessfully to move air. Our toilet seat was attached with rope, which broke the 2nd day. It did get replaced that day but why wouldn't it have been fixed before our group of 14 got there? The house wine was Spanish (In an African country???). The breakfasts were good if you didn't stray from a Spanish Omelet. The other meals were OK, waaay too much food though. The BBQ chicken the 1st night was so burned nobody could eat it. The pool was nice, grounds kept clean.

Unfortunately, on our last nite, 3 rooms were broken into, one couple lost all their money, camera, and one of them lost her passport. Gemma, the owner, was very unhelpful and didn't seem to care. and the unforgivable thing was, in the midst of the girls coping with losing their stuff, she had the nerve to come up to another person and accuse her of stealing a 25 cent glass from her room!

We all should have refused to pay our small bar bills but we are Canadian and too nice. None of us would ever go back there, mainly because of her attitude.

Date of stay: March 2012
  • Trip type: Travelled with friends
    • Value
    • Location
    • Sleep Quality
    • Rooms
    • Cleanliness
    • Service
1  Thank Pam C
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
karambaZanzibar, Owner at Karamba Resort, responded to this reviewResponded 24 October 2012

Unfortunately not all the guests arriving at Karamba know what shall expect in a Rustic Eco lodge as Karamba is.
Most of the things and the deco is made and tied by natural hand made ropes… so it’s not a mistake, ropes and old woods are there intentionally.
Is advised in our website that we do not have AC because it’s not needed. Probably would be needed in some hot days during February only, because the rest of the year a nice breeze from the sea is cooling our gardens. Most times the guests request for blankets. Our rooms are designed to be as if you are sleeping in an open area, feeling in deep connection with the nature.
In our wine list we offer 47 types of wine. From those only 8 are Spanish wines, the rest are South African. We do offer wines from Spain because they are some of the best wines in the world. The same as we do offer Spanish food. Our “Paella” delights most of our guests from all over the world.
We got a robbery; just one room (not 3) was stolen. Kizimkazi used to be a very safe place but nowadays Zanzibar is getting less safe and the thieves are all over… We are improving our security in order to avoid it happen again.
I assisted the two affected guests accompanying them to the police, calling their Embassy, not charging them the bar bill and giving them all my support.
I’ve received direct emails of gratitude from other members of that group so that means that it is her own personal opinion and not made on behalf of the 14 members of the group.
I feel sad because one review made with a spirit of revenge could be very bad for our reputation… and I feel very sorry to have not pleased her during her stay at Karamba. I encourage all the next possible guests to, please, contact me always, if something goes wrong … to find the best solution to at least enjoy the remaining days of your stay with us instead going home with the mood to complain at tripadvisor.

Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC
Reviewed 8 February 2012

Our family stayed four nights at the Karamba and loved it! The resorts' location and layout is amazing. Every bungalow is literally only a few meters from a coral cliff overlooking the ocean. The pool is beautiful and and looks over the water. The staff was very friendly. Food and drinks are very reasonably priced. The rooms and beds were nothing special, but clean and quite adequate. We were there in the hottest part of the year and it was a bit stuffy one night with no A/C, but otherwise it was very comfortable in the rooms. We would recommend this resort to families or couples.

Room tip: All are on the water or on the pool. I didn't notice any bad ones.
Date of stay: February 2012
  • Trip type: Travelled with family
    • Value
    • Location
    • Sleep Quality
    • Rooms
    • Cleanliness
    • Service
Thank novemberkilo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 21 November 2011

Karamba is my favourite in Zanzibar. Rooms, services, meals and views, everythings incredible. Everybody must watch sunset form Karama, it's really fantastic! If you choose a room with open sky bath you'd try to shower under the rain, awesome experience...

By the way pizza and pina colada were great too...

Highly recommended!

Date of stay: November 2011
  • Trip type: Travelled as a couple
    • Value
    • Location
    • Sleep Quality
    • Rooms
    • Cleanliness
    • Service
2  Thank Hakan-Tiryaki
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 18 November 2011

Stayed 3 nights at Karamba hotel in Kizimkazi. It is for Zanzibar standards very reasonably priced and you get good value for Your money. The rooms are small and simple (standard rooms) but spotless and nicely furnished. The open air shower is an extra twist. There is a little nice beach, access to the ocean via a stair down the cliffs and a nice pool with ocean view. The restaurant offers excellent food for and caters for all tastes. But the best with the place is the people working there. From the manager to the doormen, from the kitchen staff to the cleaners - everyone makes You feel welcome, comfortable and relaxed. Their are extremly friendly but also decent and unassuming. In a Zanzibar environment, where You have to be very careful not to pay insane amounts of money for very little or no service Karamba! really stands out!
Lovely place, lovely people. PERIOD.

Date of stay: November 2011
  • Trip type: Travelled with family
    • Value
    • Location
    • Sleep Quality
    • Rooms
    • Cleanliness
    • Service
1  Thank MartinLindholm
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 13 October 2011

Friendly staff, Great food cooked with soul. A nice quiet get away hotel. Try the marmalade!.
Well done!.

Date of stay: October 2011
    • Value
    • Location
    • Rooms
    • Cleanliness
    • Service
2  Thank uk2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
View more reviews