Lodges & partnersZanzibar East Coast
Two thatched villas and six rooms on a quiet stretch of Michamvi Pingwe, where the sea still swims at low tide and a white sandbank surfaces in front of the beach.
About
Boutique Hotel Matlai sits on the Michamvi Pingwe peninsula, the quiet south east corner of Zanzibar where the coast turns north and the crowds thin out. Two beachfront villas stand in a ten thousand square metre garden of palms and flowering trees, six rooms between them, with a long stretch of white sand in front. The property is small enough that the staff learn your name on the first morning and the garden is big enough that you can go most of a day without seeing another guest.
Asili House is the larger of the two, a tall makuti roofed building with four sea view bedrooms, a double height open lounge that holds the breeze through the afternoon, and a freeform pool with a palm island in the middle of it. Villa Kidosho is smaller and more Omani in feeling, two carved and curtained suites with arched alcoves and terrazzo floors above an infinity pool that reads straight into the sea. Either house can be taken whole, which is how most families and small groups book here.
The sea is the reason to come to this particular stretch. Unlike much of the east coast, Michamvi Pingwe stays swimmable at low tide: as the water pulls back it gathers in a channel between the beach and Matlai Mchanga, the white sandbank that surfaces in front of the property, and the channel stays deep enough to swim. Reef shoes and snorkelling equipment are kept at the hotel and the coral behind the sandbank is close enough to reach on foot and fins. A boat can take you on to the Blue Lagoon, to the starfish flats, or west to the mangroves of Michamvi Kae for the sunset.
Rates are on half board, with a three course dinner that changes daily, eaten at Zatiny by Matlai, the beachfront restaurant where the kitchen smokes its own ingredients and cooks African, international and Vietnamese dishes. The Bustani Spa is set back in the garden, two wooden herbal bath tubs and treatment rooms under thatch. Children of 14 and under are welcome when a whole villa is taken, which keeps the shared areas quiet for couples the rest of the time.
Signature experiences
As the water pulls back, Matlai Mchanga surfaces in front of the property, a short walk out across the flats. The coral sits just behind it and the hotel keeps masks, fins and reef shoes for guests.
Either house can be taken whole, Asili House for up to 8 guests and Villa Kidosho for up to 4, at one price for the house whatever the size of the party. It is also the only way the hotel takes children of 14 and under.
Two wooden soaking tubs sit under a thatched roof in the garden, with treatment rooms alongside for massages, scrubs and partner treatments. It is quiet back there, away from the beach.
A boat runs west across the peninsula in the late afternoon to the mangrove channels at Michamvi Kae, the one side of this coast that faces the sunset. The butler arranges it.
Gallery
Room types
Four sea view bedrooms in the larger of the two villas, each with a four poster bed under a mosquito net, air conditioning and a fan, a safe and a private bathroom with a shower and a bathtub. Sold for one or two guests, or as the whole house.
All four bedrooms with the tall open lounge, the freeform pool and the garden to yourselves, at one price for up to 8 guests.
Two sea view suites in the smaller villa, carved arched alcoves, draped canopy beds and terrazzo floors, with the infinity pool outside. Sold for one or two guests, or as the whole villa.
Both suites with the infinity pool, the terrace and the garden to yourselves, at one price for up to 4 guests.
At a glance
Best time to visit
Best months: January to February and June to October.
Location & access
Zanzibar East Coast
Scheduled flights reach Zanzibar from Kilimanjaro, Arusha, Dar es Salaam and the safari airstrips, then it is about 1 hour 20 minutes by road to the hotel.
Fly to Zanzibar first. From Zanzibar airport it is about 1 hour 20 minutes by road, roughly 65 kilometres, east through Jozani Forest and then north onto the Michamvi peninsula.
On the map
6.145° S, 39.516° E
What's included
Frequently asked
Six in total, in two beachfront villas on one plot. Asili House has four sea view bedrooms and Villa Kidosho has two sea view suites. Either villa can also be taken whole, Asili House for up to 8 guests and Villa Kidosho for up to 4.
It is at Michamvi Pingwe on the south east coast of Zanzibar, about 1 hour 20 minutes by road from Zanzibar airport and about the same from Stone Town, roughly 65 kilometres through Jozani Forest. Airport transfers are not included in the room rate.
Yes, which is unusual on this coast. As the tide drops the water gathers in a channel between the beach and the Matlai Mchanga sandbank and stays deep enough to swim in. The sandbank itself is a short walk out across the flats. Much of the east coast dries out completely twice a day.
Half board, with breakfast from 7 am to 12 pm and a three course dinner that changes daily, served until 10 pm. Also the use of every hotel facility, butler service, Wi Fi, a service mobile phone during your stay and management on hand around the clock.
Children of 14 and under are accepted only when a whole villa is booked, either Asili House or Villa Kidosho. Guests of 15 and over can book a single room in either house. The hotel sets this rule so the shared areas stay quiet for the couples who make up most of its guests.
June to October is the long dry season and the most reliable stretch of the year. January and February are hot and bright between the two rains. The long rains fall in April and May, when the island is at its greenest and quietest. The hotel is open all year.
Snorkelling out at the sandbank, kayaks and bicycles at the property, treatments and herbal baths at the Bustani Spa, and boat trips to the Blue Lagoon and the starfish flats. In the late afternoon a boat runs west to the mangroves at Michamvi Kae for the sunset. Diving and kitesurfing can be arranged nearby.
The Zanzibar infrastructure tax of 4 USD per person per night is collected by the hotel at check in. Laundry, premium meals such as lobster, and any late check out charge are settled on departure as well.
Two nights in the low season, and five nights in the high and festive seasons.
Reef shoes are useful at low tide, although the hotel keeps a supply along with masks and fins. Otherwise the usual for the coast: high factor sun protection, a hat, light clothing and something to cover up in the village.
What's nearby
About 15 minutes
A small restaurant on a coral outcrop in the sea off Michamvi, reached on foot or by boat depending on the tide.
By boat from the beach
A sheltered lagoon for snorkelling and a shallow flat where starfish gather, both arranged through the butler.
About 45 minutes
The only protected forest on the island and home of the Zanzibar red colobus monkey, passed on the road in from the airport.
About 1 hour 20 minutes
The old city, a labyrinth of alleys, carved doors and bazaars, and the easiest full day out from Michamvi.
About 1 hour 15 minutes
A fishing village on the southern tip with resident bottlenose dolphins and a twelfth century mosque, the earliest evidence of Islam in East Africa.
Nearby
The Zanzibar East Coast guide: where to stay, when to go and how to get there.
View : Every lodge we work with in Zanzibar East Coast
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