Payments made by partners impact the order of prices displayed. Room types may vary.
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.
Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Reflects recent average nightly prices reported by our partners, and may not include estimated taxes or fees. Price at checkout may differ.
Cheaper
Average
Higher
About
5.0
#1 of 4 resorts in Paje
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Value
Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Zanzibar White Sand Luxury Villas & Spa is a five-star boutique resort located on the east coast of Zanzibar, Tanzania. Situated on the pristine Paje Beach, the mindful luxury resort is surrounded by tropical gardens and faces the turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean. Stretching across 4 hectares of lush coastal vegetation, Zanzibar White Sand offers a secluded and tranquil setting. The resort features 15 luxury villas, each with a private pool and dedicated butler service, and emphasizes eco-friendly practices and sustainable luxury. With two restaurants and three bars, our guests are sure to enjoy the best of gastronomy in Zanzibar. Zanzibar White Sand Luxury Villas & Spa is dedicated to providing a unique blend of relaxation, adventure, and cultural experiences, with a focus on personalized service, wellness, gourmet dining, and authentic Zanzibari hospitality.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travellers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
This place is paradise. We stayed for 6 nights in a Beachfront Villa with pool and I'd say it's definitely the best accommodation I've ever experienced. The setting is superb. We had direct access to the beach and yet had total privacy. The staff are excellent - warm and always eager to please, nothing is too much trouble. A special mention to our butler Pius (Uncle Pius :)) who was forever on hand to arrange anything and everything. One small negative - the gym area is poor but we were told this is temporary so hopefully when we return it'll get the perfect 10/10. Oh yes .. we'll be returning :)
Read more
Date of stay: June 2024
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
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.
Response from Edyta Wojciechowska, General Manager at Zanzibar White Sand Luxury Villas & Spa - Relais & Chateaux
Responded 11 Jun 2024
Dear Mr. Morris, Thank you very much for your kind review. We are delighted to hear that you enjoyed your stay in our Beachfront Villa with a pool and found it to be the best accommodation you have ever experienced. We are pleased that you appreciated the superb setting, the direct beach access, and the privacy our villas offer. Your compliments regarding our staff, particularly Pius, are greatly appreciated. We will ensure your commendations are passed on to him. We also acknowledge your feedback regarding the gym area and are pleased to inform you that enhancements are planned and will start in the near future. We strive to provide the highest level of service and facilities, and your comments are invaluable in helping us achieve this. We look forward to welcoming you back next year. Best regards, Edyta Wojciechowska Hotel General Manager
Read more
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Everything was incredible! The hotel location is spectacular, surrounded by amazing natural scenery with trees and beautiful flowers. The services are all top-notch and our private butler was exceptional and went out of his way to make our stay perfect.
The hotel has done an excellent job of keeping all the safety standards. Upon arrival my temperature was checked, everything was sanitized, and they implement a new system that allows them to make check-in and check-out without using any paper.
Our luxurious beachfront villa with our own private pool overlooking the Indian Ocean and the gorgeous beach was without a doubt the highlight of our stay.
We had a fantastic stay at White Sand Villas and we will surely come back.
Read more
Date of stay: September 2020
Value
Cleanliness
Service
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.
The team was most welcoming as we showed up unannounced. Everyone made a great effort to prepare our villa at short notice and ensure we had a 5* stay throughout our visit. The chef prepared wonderful meals of fresh fish and salads. Given the current circumstances, the team took all health and safety measures very serious. We were also presented with a basket with hand sanitisers and masks. The villas are large enough to enjoy a safe and private holiday with direct access to the most beautiful beach in Zanzibar.
Read more
Review collected in partnership with this hotel
Date of stay: June 2020
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
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.
Response from Maite Núñez Badiola, General Manager at Zanzibar White Sand Luxury Villas & Spa - Relais & Chateaux
Responded 30 Jul 2020
Dear Elmarie 509 What a lovely surprise it was to receive you! It was very pleasant for all of us to work to make your stay with us the perfect resting and recharge of good experiences chosen place. We very much appreciate your mention of the services and protocols that we have established for the current circumstances. The beach also appreciates your precious comment. Cordially
Read more
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
We visited Zanzibar for a relaxing week following a safari trip in Northern Serengeti. It took a while to get there but boy was it worth it! Firstly Zanzibar as an island is amazing. It’s beautiful, the weather is hot and the people are so friendly. White Sand Villas made our entire honeymoon perfect. We stayed in a beach front villa with private pool and honestly I could have lived there. The rooms are stunning, so clean and luxurious. Breakfast is served in the main restaurant and features a huge variety of continental, pastries and hot food including local cuisine. For lunch you can eat either in the main restaurant which has pizza, salads and burgers, or at the beachside bar with a selection of bbq meats and fish along with a salad bar. Usual offerings are prawns, chicken and fish, but we were also offered seagull! Being slightly unadventurous we declined but as you don’t see seagulls on the beach, we can only assume it was a delicacy! Evening meals were again at the main restaurant or you can ask for room service as well. A couple of evenings they also hosted a large fresh buffet selection with bbq foods, fresh pasta dishes and a huge selection of salad and veg side dishes. These evenings also offer entertainment and we particularly enjoyed the Masai Mara performance. Any hotel can have beautiful rooms and amazing food, but what makes White Sand stand out is their service and hospitality. We would like to especially mention Maite the GM who went above and beyond to make sure our honeymoon was perfect. Thomas our villa host who was amazing, and we really appreciated the aloe Vera for our sunburns! And of course the friendly and helpful staff during the day and evening: Yassin, Fides, Beatrice and Alejandro on reception. During our visit we also did a snorkel tour and visit to The Rock restaurant which the hotel organised. We did get given a price from someone on the beach but White Sand was cheaper so we went with them. This was great as we had a lift to the boat, and then a lift back to the villa after the restaurant. We also went on the Stone Town and Spice Farm tour, again organised by White Sand. This was a fantastic day and we would really love to go back and explore more of Stone Town. Definitely get the curry spice mixes from the farms too as they taste incredible. Overall we had an amazing time and were so sad to leave. We really hope to come back again soon and stay for as long as possible!
Read more
Date of stay: October 2019Trip type: Travelled as a couple
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.
Response from Maite N, General Manager at Zanzibar White Sand Luxury Villas & Spa - Relais & Chateaux
Responded 8 Jan 2020
Dear louisea0308, Sunny greetings from the Zanzibar White Sand Luxury Villas and Spa! Thank you for your positive comments. We are glad to hear that you enjoyed your stay with us during you honeymoon trip! Our staff took great pleasure in making your stay as perfect as possible. It is great to know that you enjoyed your meals in our different restaurants and that the variety of food met up with your expectations; also enjoying with the entertainments. We are more than happy to know that you had time to explore and discover our amazing Island with some of the excursions organized by us. I will pass your kind words to the team, with special mention to Thomas, Yassin, Fides, Beatrice and Alejandra. They will be more than happy to hear that their job is much appreciated by you. Kind regards.
Read more
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
We stayed one week at White Sand in Feb / March 2020 This place is just incredible and when I mention "the place" I should mention : the place itself and its location in front of a 3 Km long sand beach, the quality of the service, the taste of the food, the incredible service, the openness of all people working here. My spouse and me would like to extend specific congratulations and thanks to Joseph our butler, Ibrahimu, Josua for their service during the dinners, Chris from Greece and Packy (spelling?) from Mauritius both working at the kite school for their patience with us, under the management of Nick very nice. The Chef and Deptuy Chef who have provided a few of us in the hotel, a master class of local cooking around beef with bananas, incredible taste and nice ambiance. Also, in case anything happens please call Alejandra at front desk always welcoming you and Senora General Mgr, por favor no cambie nada en su hotel, es un incredible exito. For all of you - and sorry not to be able to list the whole teams- thank you so much. You have made this stay an incredible one. We will come back for sure. For the Trip readers, please go, do not hesitate one minute. Obviously it is not cheap but worth +++ the price. Unforgettable. All the best, Martine and Fred
Read more
Date of stay: March 2020
Location
Cleanliness
Service
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.
Response from Maite N, General Manager at Zanzibar White Sand Luxury Villas & Spa - Relais & Chateaux
Responded 2 Mar 2020
Dear Martine and Fred, Sunny greetings from White Sand Luxury Villas and Spa – Relais & Chateaux! As we would say in Swahili, Asante Sana for your kind words of support for the ZWSL team. It is awesome how you were able to capture the essence of what we are trying to do here with our personalized service while making everyone feel like a part of our family. We are more than happy to read that you enjoyed the property so much and even the kite school and the cooking class by our Chef and Sous-Chef every Wednesday. It brings great inspiration to the team, knowing that we have given you a memorable experience. Please stay assured I will pass the message to the whole team with special mention to Joseph your butler, Ibrahim, Joshua, Alejandra and to the kite members Chris, Backy and Nick; they will be more than happy to know that their job is so much appreciated. We hope for the privilege to be at your service and welcome you again in a future visit, but next time the full family. Kind regards,
Read more
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Our stay at White Sands was an absolute delight from beginning to end. A special welcome from the general manager Maite made us feel like we were in very good hands from the start and things only got better. We stayed in the one bedroom beachfront villa, with tasteful, high quality finish interiors, high ceilings and good light. There is a generous sized private pool, garden (with twin hammocks) and separate building with living/dining/kitchen giving a real feeling of spaciousness. I particularly loved the outside shower and bathtub, bathing under the stars so magical. But the best part is that you can walk straight out onto the most spectacular white, powdery sand beach. The sunrise and moonrise from here are truly memorable. The service from our personal butler John was second to none and we couldn’t have asked for more. Housekeeping did a beautiful job everyday and the spa treatments were amazing! Food was excellent throughout but the only small negative would be that it was a little slow to arrive at times. Thank you all at White Sands - we will be back!
Read more
Date of stay: November 2020Trip type: Travelled as a couple
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.
Response from Annemie Parker, General Manager at Zanzibar White Sand Luxury Villas & Spa - Relais & Chateaux
Responded 10 Dec 2020
Dear Alexandral618, We appreciate the wonderful feedback that you have taken the time to post on Trip Advisor. Delighted that you enjoyed every aspect of your stay with us at Zanzibar White Sand Luxury Villas and Spa. Bathing under the stars is certainly a special treat! Also we take note of your comment regarding the speed of meals arriving and will make a point of working on this. We look forward to welcoming you back some day! Kind Regards, Annemie Parker General Manager
Read more
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
After 5 days of beautiful and exhausting safari, we had the pleasure to experience paradise on earth during our 7-day stay in a beach front villa and to recover from the "exertions". This hotel, the management and its staff have understood what it means to fulfill the wishes and needs of their customers one hundred percent at all times. Our private butler Idrissa took such incredible care of us during these days and spoiled us with extremely nice SURPRISES. We will never forget this and dream about it for a lifetime. Thank you Idrissa!
The hotel has a very nice and extremely clean infrastructure. Everything is very nice and chic furnished. In the restaurant of the main building you can have a rich breakfast and a three course dinner. The breakfast buffet leaves hardly anything to be desired. In addition, you can get various egg treats and freshly squeezed smoothies on request. During the course of the day, the dinner options are sent to you via WhatsApp, for example. Mostly you can choose between fish, meat and vegetarian for the main course. In the Private Beach Restaurant an early sunrise breakfast is offered from 5.30am. At noon there is a small buffet and delicacies from the grill. From the Beach Restaurant you have a breathtaking view of the sea. By the way, the sea on the east coast of the island is not very suitable for swimming due to the strong 4 times changing ebb/flow cycles. But this coast is due to the always quite brisk wind a kite board Mecca.
From the main building you walk to the villas shortly through a beautiful garden with impressive trees and beautiful, free-living parrots. Our beach villa was a dream with two buildings. One building with bedroom, toilet, shower (also outdoor shower and bathtub) and roof terrace with breathtaking views. The second building is a stylishly furnished house with very comfortable sofas, dining table and mini bar. Both buildings are air conditioned and each has its own ceiling fan. The villas have their own large private pool with perfect water temperature. Everything is very nicely and stylishly furnished and is kept extremely clean by the staff very discreetly.
We were really sad to see this dream come to an end and are determined to come back soon. We will recommend it to all our friends.
Read more
Date of stay: October 2021Trip type: Travelled as a couple
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.
Response from Vanesa Horbach, Other at Zanzibar White Sand Luxury Villas & Spa - Relais & Chateaux
Responded 17 Oct 2021
Dear Stefanf746, We are so delighted to hear that you enjoyed your time with us! We are looking forward to welcoming you back again ! Kind regards Ansam Kka Front office
Read more
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
This gorgeous hotel only welcomes a handful of guests which guarantees a very private holiday. The villas are incredible, spacious and luxurious. The activities are fun, diverse and again, always done in private. The staff is very nice and welcoming and will make sure you have a great time (especially your own butler!) We will recommend this hotel to everyone who comes to Zanzibar!
Read more
Review collected in partnership with this hotel
Date of stay: March 2020
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
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.
Response from Maite Núñez Badiola, General Manager at Zanzibar White Sand Luxury Villas & Spa - Relais & Chateaux
Responded 30 Jul 2020
Dear Sarah M Thank you very much for your comment, we like to know that you enjoyed your stay with us. We hope you continue to practice your little lesson in local cuisine. It was very nice to meet you. I convey your appreciation to the entire team. Cordially
Read more
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Amazing resort located in the beautiful Paje beach. The rooms are modern, spacious, comfortable and clean. You feel welcomed the minute you walk into this property, thee are great amenities, the food is super tasty and well presented. You can have a super relaxing stay or if you want to mingle with the locals you can take a short beach walk north towards Paje and you’ll find lots of local restaurants and bars. The reception stay Edna, Aida (assistant Manger) and Maitê (manager). helped us tremendously figuring out or required PCR test in order to transit through Kenya, we would be so lost without their help and we are so grateful for them.
The only thing that could be improved is the service from food and beverage, we found it to be very slow.
Read more
Review collected in partnership with this hotel
Date of stay: November 2020
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
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.
Well, not sure where to begin…. we already sent a very poor review when I received an email from the hotel asking for post stay feedback.... unfortunately, they knew of the issues since we raised them there but did not bother reaching out.... We consider ourselves experienced and discerning travelers (traveling more than 100 nights per year) and typically rather forgiving, focusing on the positives; in fact, we never leave feedback on social networks or posts about our experiences, and again, in this case, we held off until we received a standard (not very helpful) response from Relais Chateaux Quality Department. Overall, the experience was hugely disappointing despite the idyllic location of the property; main issues included: terrible and disgraceful food situation (low quality, cheap ingredients, nothing local, no choices, high prices), lack of personal attention (invisible management in a 14-room property, gimmicky butler service, inability to handle guests complaints), sub-par accommodations/amenities, misleading advertising of unavailable activities. To be fair, on the positive side, entertainment (buffet band and dinner music), and the SPA treatment they graciously offered us managed to brighten an otherwise bleak picture.... In summary, very poor value for money for a 5* property, let alone Relais Châteaux: inexcusable food shortcomings, mischaracterization of the hotel features, activities, amenities; we will not return nor recommend the hotel to anybody….
Read more
Date of stay: August 2022
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.
Response from Ivan Shestakov, General Manager at Zanzibar White Sand Luxury Villas & Spa - Relais & Chateaux
Responded 17 Nov 2022
Dear Mr Zerbib, Thank you for your review which we have read with detail and concern. We truly apologize for your dissatisfaction with your stay with us and we appreciate you raised your concerns so that we can continue to work with our teams to be even more attentive to every needs. We are very sorry about the inconveniences you experienced especially regarding our food buffet option which didn’t meet your expectations. We are again deeply sorry if we did not manage to make it up to you whilst the issues occurred during your stay despite all the communications we had. Be sure that our team will do their very best to provide you with a new beautiful experience at the Zanzibar White Sand Luxury Villas & Spa on any future occasion. We thank you once again for having taken the time to share your experience with us. Kind regards.
Read more
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Dear Sabris,
Thank you for your question. We do have Kitesurfing School within the hotel. Our guests are most welcome to book all year round.
Kind regards,
Edyta Wojciechowska
Hotel Manager
Keighley, United Kingdom7 contributions4 helpful votes
As previous answer although children are there the only time we met them was at the reception area - you can be as private or social as you want. It is a wonderful place for a romantic getaway
Dear Keenvixen,
All of our accommodation bookings include Half Board meal plan. Should you wish to upgrade to All Inclusive, it is possible as well.
Have a lovely day!
There are more places to choose from in the Paje area.
PRICE RANGE
$1,178 - $2,294 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
FORMERLY KNOWN AS
White Sands Hotel
LOCATION
TanzaniaZanzibar ArchipelagoZanzibar IslandPaje
NUMBER OF ROOMS
18
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.
Is This Your Tripadvisor Listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
