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Pongwe Beach Hotel

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aardwhite
aardwhite
First Reviewer
5 out of 5
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1
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4
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Pongwe Beach Hotel

  • August 28, 2006
  • Rated 5 of 5 by aardwhite from London, United Kingdom
Pongwe Beach Hotel

OK. So you want paradise? Does this fit the bill?

White sandy beaches? Check
Crystal clear blue green ocean? Check
Teeming coral reefs? Check
Exemplary service? Check
Exquisite food? Check
Blistering heat, yet dappled shade? Check

If this isn't your idea of paradise, then whatever yours is, it'll probably suit you just as well.

Pongwe is not cheap. It cost us $70 per day per person at the end of the rainy season. However for this (and we got no rain to speak of by the way) you really do get the top rank of luxurious relaxation.

When you arrive you are greeted at the gates by a Masai, one of the security staff. The gated system makes some feel uncomfortable, as you can feel dislocated from the locality, but it does engender a sense of well being and adds to the relaxation.

After a short time at the hotel you will be reassured that the management are at great pains to fully integrate the hotel into the community at large, and while the gates and fences contradict this to a slight degree, they do enable a strong sense of security that can only benefit the hotel, its guests and thereby, eventually, the local economy.

We had a beach hut (one of only 12 on the entire site) on a small (8ft) coral clifftop which at high tide was surrounded on three sides by the Indian Ocean. The room wasn't massive, but doesn't need to be - you are there for sleeping only, there are day beds to relax on outside in the shade. The bathroom was as big at least as the bedroom and living space and had a bath, basin and free standing local style shower.

The water however is brackish, and you never quite feel totally clean, but that is a small price to pay for leaving as small a footprint as possible on the local ecology.

It is difficult to pinpoint the best aspect of the hotel. Is it the staff who are attentive to the nth degree, and are friendly and professional? Is it the large yet not at all impersonal dining and bar area where all guests gather each night for dinner? Is it the food itself, prepared fresh from locally procured ingredients by superbly trained chefs (a consultant chef from a top London restaurant attends regularly to provide ongoing training)? Is it the bliss of total relaxation at an affordable resort that takes every pain to make your stay as easy as possible?

I don't know, but it was as damn near as perfect as we wanted after a tiring week on safari.

I do acknowledge there could be drawbacks, if you don't like seafood for instance (though the seafood here is probably unlike anything you've had before - the squid melted in my mouth - no chewing required), there are jellyfish (though harmless) and the sea goes out 150 yards (and they are building a pool).

Apart from that, it's paradise.

From journal Zanzibar - Spice and Paradise

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