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Reviews of Al Johari Hotel & Spa

3 out of 5
Al Johari Hotel & Spa
116 Shangani (Stone Town), Zanzibar Town

Reviews

7.6

Good

Rating 10 - Excellent. 43 out of 142 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 46 out of 142 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 35 out of 142 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 11 out of 142 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 7 out of 142 reviews" "

8.0/10

Cleanliness

8.2/10

Staff & service

5.8/10

Amenities

7.2/10

Property conditions & facilities

6.8/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

2/10 Terrible

Muhammed

Disliked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Room was so tiny it shouldn’t class as bedroom
Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2024

10/10 Excellent

Abraham

Business traveller
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great experience. Great staff and clean rooms. Nice location
Stayed 2 nights in Oct 2023
Response from Al Johari on 24 Oct 2023
Thank you.

6/10 Okay

Shadia

Stayed 1 night in Aug 2023
Response from Al Johari on 11 Oct 2023
Thank you

10/10 Excellent

Courtney

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2023
Response from Sushant on 5 Aug 2023
Dear Courtney, Thank you for staying and for the wonderful review and noted your feedback. Look forward to seeing you again. Thank you

4/10 Poor

Azouz

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Disliked: Staff & service
This place is a rip off. Be aware that they will charge you extra if you pay online under the excuse of “taxes”. It’s only hotel in Zanzibar that does that. I never had to pay any extras for taxes in any other hotel during my 10 days stay in Zanzibar . The hotel is also too expensive. True it’s clean, but still overpriced.
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2023
Response from Sushanta (al Johari) on 7 Aug 2023
Dear Azouz,Thank you for your feedback. there is no extra fee out of confirmation however, the hotel has charged as per booking confirmation. for further clarification please share an email with a confirmation voucher and charge slip. or you can check with expedia customer care.Thank you

8/10 Good

Nitzan

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Building obviously has interesting history. AC was very nice. No hot water, but we didn't ask them to check so maybe we missed something
Response from Sushanta (al Johari) on 13 Apr 2023
Hello Nitzan,Thank you for staying with us and for your valuable time to rate us.Looking forward to welcoming you again.Thank youAl Johari

2/10 Terrible

Alistair

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Don’t stay here
Stayed 3 nights in Mar 2023

2/10 Terrible

Nuru, New York

Travelled with group
Despite paying for the booking well in advance, upon arrival I was told that there was no vacancy and that the hotel was fully booked. The manager was not on site and the front desk was unmanned for extended periods. Eventually spoke with the manager who expressed her regret for the situation but everywhere in Stonetown was fully booked so I ended paying for a room at another property that was 5X's the price.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2022
Response from lly on 18 Feb 2022
Hi Nuru. Thank for choosing our hotel for your holiday. We really sorry for any inconvenience caused you. And we are sorry for disturbed you to look for another place. thanks

2/10 Terrible

Murtaza

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Day receptionist is rude, arrogant, and a liar.
Broken door.. as in there was no metal piece and the entire wood for the lock for chipped off and tried to glue back in type of broken. Bad customer service from the day receptionist. Blamed us and lied to us about 3 different things. THREE!!! ...and wifi never works inside the room.
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2019

10/10 Excellent

Holly

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Excellent
Very clean. Lovely staff. One minor point WiFi didn’t work in our room, but overall a great stay and central location.
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2019
Response from Lily on 30 Aug 2019
We are very happy for taking the time to review our property Thank you

8/10 Good

J Dallas

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Good place to cool off but lacking some details
We really enjoyed the hot shower and air conditioning. The room was very small for the price. Decent but lacking in details.
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2019
Response from Lily on 18 Mar 2019
Thank you so much for taking the time to review our property.

8/10 Good

linda

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great rooftop
Comfortable, charming, great rooftop restaurant with views of the Indian Ocean
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2019
Response from Lily on 18 Mar 2019
Thank you for your review. we are appreciate for your feedback

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Travelled with partner
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Great location in Stone Town, with decent breakfast included (juice, pancakes, fruit, potatoes, eggs, etc.) and good AC. But it is in desperate need of an update: the white towels have gone grey/brown, the sink leaked so the bathroom floor was always wet, and the shower head had fallen down so it pointed back into the wall. The first night they gave my room to someone else, and then required me to move rooms between 10-12 the following day, which impacted my plans. When I complained, they were apologetic but refused to provide any compensation. We checked out early.
Stayed 5 nights in Dec 2018
Response from Lily on 24 Jan 2019
We are sorry for inconvenience as we told you we had older people and the want first floor. It our fault to give you their room. We are sorry once again.

2/10 Terrible

Verified traveller

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The entrance copper lions were the only thing i liked. Gave us a horrible room with filthy old towels.
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2019
Response from Lily on 22 Jan 2019
We are so sorry for that and thank you for your review will work on any matter that has happened.

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
I loved the atmosphere of the hotel. It goes well with historical town of Zanzibar. The staff is wonderful, friendly, kind and accommodating. The only suggestion is to update mattresses and pillows. Our mattress felt worn out, and pillows were hard to sleep on. Other than that the stay was very pleasant.
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2018
Response from Lily on 21 Dec 2018
Thanks for staying with us. We appreciate your feedback!

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
The owners wife was a delight, I had a nice stay and the food was great
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2018
Response from Lily on 17 Dec 2018
Thanks for staying with us. We appreciate your feedback!

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Good value for money
For the price this is great accommodation. Clean and comfortable with friendly staff. We chose to stay here due to proximity to the dive school we were diving with. Otherwise we would have chosen a different location. There isn't much in the area other than being close to the Grand Mosque and the Chedi. Easy enough to get taxis from the main road (3 minute walk). On the first day reception organised taxis for us but we quickly realised this was a far more expensive option.
Stayed 3 nights in Oct 2018
Response from Lily on 18 Nov 2018
Thanks for staying with us. We appreciate your feedback!

10/10 Excellent

Shabir

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Impressive Service
Wonderful place, great location, extremely friendly, accommodating and smiling staff.
Stayed 3 nights in Aug 2018
Response from Lily on 9 Sept 2018
Thanks for staying with us. We appreciate your feedback!

8/10 Good

Serge, Brussels area, Belgium

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Friendly and helpful staff. Small hotel. Personalised assistance. Loud neighbours after 10 PM, at least the side of the hotel where our room was located.
Stayed 4 nights in Jul 2018
Response from Lily on 10 Aug 2018
Thanks for staying with us. We appreciate your feedback!

10/10 Excellent

Farida, AL

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Convenient location. Polite and friendly staff. Always ready to help. Lovely breakfast. Enjoyed hibiscus juice every morning. Clean rooms. Very comfortable bed. air conditioner in room. Will come again.
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2018
Response from Lily on 13 Jul 2018
Thanks for staying with us. We appreciate your feedback!

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2018
Response from Lily on 13 Jul 2018
Thanks for staying with us. We appreciate your feedback!

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Disliked: Staff & service
Honesty
I am very disappointed at the honesty of the hotel. comunication was made to expedia was made that we checked in early which was not the case. and we paid n extra night of which a refund was expected only to be told that the hotel communicated with expedia saying we checked in the actual day n not following day. we have receipts and tickets to prove it. we are not impressed with the honesty of the staff in this case.
Stayed 4 nights in Jun 2018
Response from Lily on 13 Jul 2018
We are very sorry for any inconvenience.

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Good stay
The hotel is good has a view of the sea in the roof top. Rooms are clean
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2018
Response from Lily on 10 Apr 2018
Thanks for staying with us. We appreciate your feedback!

10/10 Excellent

Barry

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Recommended
I had an enjoyable time, and appreciate the many efforts of the staff to make everything just right. This hotel is well situated and within walking distance of some beautiful cafes and shops. Its design and decor offer a glimpse of another time and left me with some strong memories and impressions.
Response from Lily on 6 Mar 2018
Thank you for staying with us. We appreciate your feedback!

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
The hotel staff were lovely and really accommodating! The rooms were cleaned each day and the breakfast was so good!!
Stayed 4 nights in Feb 2018
Response from Lily on 21 Mar 2018
Thanks for staying with us. We appreciate your feedback!

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Staff & service
Good location
Good location not very far from ferry terminal and town, good and helpful staff, Bath room needs some upgrade, there was music noise till late night not sure where it was coming from. The view from the room was unpleasant to look at the rubbish and gutter in the adjacent building. Breakfast was ok.
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2018
Response from Lily on 6 Feb 2018
Thanks for staying with us. We appreciate your feedback! Bath rooms we will work on that

8/10 Good

Michelle, Washington,DC

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Close to major tourist sites
Only negative was no elevator, and the breakfast is on the top floor. Other than that, kind/helpful staff and great breakfast! Hibiscus tea every morning :)
Stayed 4 nights in Dec 2017
Response from Lily on 6 Feb 2018
Thanks for staying with us. We appreciate your feedback! About Breakfast we will work on that, and it will never happen again.

10/10 Excellent

Anna

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2017

10/10 Excellent

Margaret, New Zealand

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Conveniently located in Stone Town
Situated in centre of old Stone Town with narrow alleyways around it so no traffic noise! ATM nearby and travel/tour operators also near offering Prison Island and tortoises tour $14US instead of $40US offered at hotel! As are Spice Farm and Jozani Forest with red colobus monkey tours Quaint old -style hotel with rooftop restaurant and bar. Breakfast served at table & thankfully not the usual cold congealing buffet! Had dress made for $30 US including material at shop opposite hotel entrance.
Stayed 3 nights in Oct 2017
Response from Lilian on 10 Nov 2017
Thanks Margaret, We really appreciate your Feedback. We will re-look into our tour package. Best Regards

10/10 Excellent

Sophie

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great Hotel and Service in Stone Town
Was such a great find! The service was excellent, the included breakfast was huge and good, and the staff was willing to go out of their way to help us with any problem. Try out the restaurant, it has only recently re-opened under new ownership and hasn't completely picked up steam. Loved the room, the bathroom was very nice for the area. The location was prime if your goal is to walk out the door and get lost in the maze of Stone Town. We organized two tours - city tour and prison island tour- through the hotel and got wonderful private tours by amazing tour guides, paying less than the typical prices found online for tourists. Wi-fi is only really strong enough to use in hallways, common areas, and not your room, which is typical for hotels in Stone Town. Would recommend this hotel to ever the most discerning of my friends!
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2017

8/10 Good

Einstein, Nairobi

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Nice Hotel in Great Location in Stonetown
The stay at Al Johari was awesome. The first two days were not very pleasant as we had to keep asking for extra towel and robe since there was two of us. The last 7 days of our 10-day stay were awesome as the room was cleaned nicely every day and our clothes folded and arranged. Everything expected was provided. There was a club nearby which was playing loud music right into our room but when we closed the windows it was quiet enough. We liked the music so was not too much of a bother. The Restaurant manager Mohammed was very good even took into account my Gluten Allergy and made three different gluten free breakfast alternatives for me. The staff at the restaurant were also very polite and quite hospitable.
Stayed 10 nights in Aug 2017

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Good location and friendly staff
Cozy hotel with a good location in Stone Town. We booked a room for 3 adults, but when we arrived we got a room with a doublebed. They wanted to charge us 20 US dollars extra for a extra bed in the room, but eventually decided that we could get the extra bed for free.

10/10 Excellent

Tshiunza

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great value and great location!
This was a last-minute find, but much to our surprise, this was one of the most conveniently located hotels on the island. It is right around the corner from shopping, 2 popular clubs, and great dining. You can walk to the ocean, get street food, and see historic sites very easily. Not sure what some of the negative reviews are about--this is a wonderful Stonetown spot!

10/10 Excellent

Paul

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great value for money. Hotel is really nice , great location. Rooms are spacious, very clean and fresh. Was really happy with choice of that hotel.

10/10 Excellent

Joe

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great hotel
Staff was extremely helpful

6/10 Okay

Parita, UK

Liked: Cleanliness
Basic hotel
Was the cheapest I could find in the area through hotels.com, it was central to stone town and markets. Breakfast could have been better rather than limiting on what you can have.
Response from General Manager on 13 Sept 2016
Dear , Thank you for your valuable feedback and we regret for the inconvenience caused, we will make sure it wont repeat again. Regards Lilian

6/10 Okay

Giles and Paul, Blackpool uk

Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Very central and accessible
We booked a room for 2 adults with twin bed but on arrival there was not such facility,only a room with a double bed ,so not confortable or practical for 2 Adults!

2/10 Terrible

Verified traveller

Disliked: Staff & service
Don't trust the cleaning staff
All around, the place is nice, but at the. End of our stay, over $1000 in three different currencies was taken from two different hard to find places in our baggage. One wad locked with a small lock, so hard to believe, but true. We would recommend not leaving any valuables in the rooms, this has happened many times at this place we have learned. Good luck!

8/10 Good

Andrew, Brisbane

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Traditional Setting
Hotel has great ambience with traditional stone town feel.

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Toilet not working properly, bathroom poor/shabby repair work, shower head holder broken, noisy but good location and bed room menu did not match restaraunt menu.

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
The price was right and the location was great. The building and room were nice and I had no problem walking from here to all of the places in stone town I wanted to go.

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Disliked: Property conditions & facilities, room comfort

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
beautiful place with great people
I highly recommend this beautiful, boutique, and affordable hotel located in a centre of Stone Town. I stayed there for 3 days in Dec 2012 in a Deluxe Single room. The room was small but very nice and clean, with beautiful bathroom, stylish furniture, hot water, TV (which I didn't have a chance to watch#, and perfectly working AC. The hotel itself is very beautiful with oriental interior, gorgeous paintings, and awesome rooftop restaurant which can easily compete with famous Hurumzi place.The waiters were very polite, smiling and very attentive, food is delicious #really mean it#. The staff at the front desk, especially Ali Salum, went out of their way to accomodate my every need. At one point, I complained about the noise from the street and I was immediately relocated to a different room. Moreover, my flight was in the evening #check out time is 12 noon) and, when I asked about any place to refresh myself, the let me use the massage room. Everthing was done with a smile and great attitude. It's an awesome place with great people. I thank you, guys, again, for making my stay in Zanzibar so pleasant!!! Thanks, Ali!!! Warm regards, Izabela
front door
one of the rooms

6/10 Okay

Stephen

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Run down but close to sights
When it first opened in 2008 this must have been a very nice hotel but is now rather run down. Dead plants in bar. No air con in dining room. Food OK but found 'catch of the day' was in fact frozen. My room was supposed to be overlooking courtyard but all rooms face street. Shame. Could be nice again with little effort.

8/10 Good

Mohamed, Cairo, Egypt

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great Budget Hotel
The hotel is located in the stone city, although it's not the best location but probably this would fit for a budget trip. The hotel lies in an area you feel the mystery of the city and the history of it. The room is acceptable although it needed some fix like the shower curtains. The roof restaurant serves excellent food and the staff are extremely friendly and can assist in planning your vacation. Taxis are way too expensive but this is mainly due to fuel prices, a liter is 1.6$ roughly !!!

10/10 Excellent

Carmen, Peru

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great location
Great location, good service and excelent english breakfast. We staied one week in the Johari and we found it a good selection, it was as living in the past time in Zanzibar. Zafari blue, tour of spices, slaves caves and prison island, museums, a lot of place to visite and enjoy the peaceful spirit of this island.

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Property conditions & facilities
Disliked: Staff & service, room comfort
Great location, weird hotel
This hotel is in a great location (near Forodhani and lots of the highlights of Stone Town), but the hotel itself leaves a bit to be desired. We checked into our room (for 3) to find that the air conditioner was frozen and spit out ice (on the roll-away bed) whenever we tried to turn it on. We asked the technical staff to take a look, but they recommended we just leave for several hours to give it a chance to thaw. Also, the bathroom had been set up for one guest instead of three. So we had to ask for extra towels and bathroom items. The staff were generally awkward and hard to approach. They seemed like they preferred not to be bothered.

8/10 Good

Bibiti, Portsmouth (born in Zanzibar)

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Comfortable hotel for adults, not for children
The Hotel is conveniently located at Stone Town, it is right next to the mosque if you don't mind being woken up by Muezzin (call for the prayer) every morning at about 5 you will be fine, the prayers last less than 5 minutes. The bedrooms are comfortable, bathrooms are good but due to salty water the taps are eroded. I had a premium room with huge bath and what was supposed to be a jaccuzi didn't have time to use it and I don't think it worked...getting in the bath was like trying to climb Mt Kili, it was so high:( There is no lift so if you happen to have a top room on the 4th floor you need to be fit! Dining area is at the top with beautiful view.

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Great value
We were welcomed late at night by friendly staff. Rooftop restaurant was still open. Unfortunately night staff incorrectly delivered a wake up call at 4am. A great place to base yourself while in Stone Town. Rooftop great for a drink at sunset and not as busy as other nearby hotels.