Inside Stone Town’s
newest offering
PARK Hyatt Zanzibar,
although the newest hotel
in Stone Town, is imbued
with the history of Zanzibar
and Stone Town, and the spirit
of the island and the town are
successfully reflected in the
hotel’s clever and beautifully
executed design attributes.
The property comprises two
linked buildings, one of them
the old Arab mansion, known
as Mambo Msiige (meaning
‘cannot be imitated’ in Swahili),
built around 1850 by a wealthy
Omani family, with its beautiful
Arabian architecture, heavily
carved doors and cool, shaded
courtyards.
The other, new, purpose-built
building, known as the Zamani
Residences, is modern, but
carefully designed, carrying
through many echoes and
nuances of the old building,
creating a seamless unity
between the two.
An extra dimension is added
through the location of the
property. It is situated above a
small public beach, next door
to the fishing boat moorings
and the small commercial port
of Zanzibar. It is an unusual
location for a five-star superluxury
hotel but one that adds
a great deal to the experience
and makes the visitor feel a
part of the local life.
The Park Hyatt Zanzibar's
67 rooms (including 11
suites) are cool and
generously proportioned,
with all the features and
amenities of a superior fivestar
establishment, including
an in-room coffee machine.
Contemporary styling
effortlessly blends with Swahili
accents. The Ocean-front
rooms embrace spectacular
views, looking down on to
the exceptionally clean beach
and the clear, glassy, dazzling
turquoise sea. Watching the
fishermen preparing their handcarved
wooden dhows and
the ships coming and going,
interspersed with a couple of
lively beach soccer games,
provided this writer with hours
of entertainment.
For those who prefer fresh
water, a pool deck contains a
rimflow pool with an excellent
view over the beach but is
separated from the beach with
a glass wall.
The land-facing rooms have a
charm of their own, looking out
over old Stone Town, a Unesco
World Heritage Site. One of
the most enjoyable aspects of
the hotel is that you can easily
walk out and immediately find
yourself among the town's
labyrinthine streets and alleys
(some of them so narrow that
the only vehicles they allow
are handcarts, donkeys and
scooters).
Guests are advised to
take a guided walking tour,
for purposes of navigation
rather than security, as it
is quite easy to get lost.
Stone Town embodies and
preserves Swahili culture, a
blend of indigenous, Arab,
Persian, Indian and Portuguese
influences, unique to the
African east coast. Not much
has changed in the past couple
of centuries, and an easy short
walk from the hotel will grant
tourists access to several of
the famous carved Zanzibar
doors, plenty of picturesque
shops, a history of slavery
sites, the Persian hammam,
the People's Palace (the
residence of the last Sultan
of Zanzibar) and the House of
Wonders (presently undergoing
renovation) – in its time, the
largest and highest building in
Zanzibar and the first to install
electricity plus an elevator!
In terms of its conference
offering, the property has
fully equipped conference
facilities of varying sizes that
can accommodate up to 120
delegates, all of whom could
be accommodated in the hotel
on a sharing basis.
An Anantara Spa at the
hotel contains a hair salon
plus three suites where body
treatments and massages are
conducted in beautiful, fragrant
surroundings.
Book it!
Several tour operators, among them AfricaStay, Thompsons, The Holiday Factory and Rove Africa have
exceptional value packages in the SA market for this property. Thompsons is offering a three-night stay from
R9 985pps, including flights, airline levy, return transfers, free WiFi and breakfast daily. This offer is valid until
December 12. Clients in Durban and Cape Town will be required to overnight in Johannesburg en route.
Top activities for clients
PARK Hyatt Zanzibar prides
itself on offering guests
a full concierge service,
catering for individual
requests by guests,
operators or agents. Some
of the standard offerings the
hotel can arrange are:
Kite surfing;
Scuba diving;
Sunset dhow cruises;
Fishing trips (the chef will
prepare guests’ catch for
dinner);
Day cruises around
the island;
Safari Blue (see under
Five off-beat island
activities, page 14).
Popular land arrangements,
other than Stone Town
walking tours, are:
Stone Town at Dawn
(photography tour);
Discover Zanzibar
Craftsmanship;
Discover the Spice Island
(culinary tour);
Authentic cultural
experiences;
Antique treasures;
Golfing;
The Rock Experience, an
iconic restaurant perched
on a rock just off Zanzibar’s
east coast;
Luxury Short Safaris
packages – short safaris
from Zanzibar by private
aircraft to the Serengeti
for a short (two-night) stay,
combining this with the
Park Hyatt Zanzibar stay.
(Preferred tour operator
will arrange this.)
This hotel is a
perfect choice for...
Clients who want a
luxury island holiday
(combine with a few
nights at a Nungwi
beach resort);
Incentive groups wanting
something new and
different;
Smaller conference
groups of around 100;
Clients with an interest
in the slave trade and its
abolition;
Islamic guests (hotel is
halal and Stone Town
contains sites of Islamic
interest);
Clients who would value
the experience of staying
in an exceptional luxury
hotel in an antique town
on the Indian Ocean.
Conferences and events take off
THE Zanzibar archipelago
has far more to offer
business travellers than
pristine beaches and warm
tropical waters. With the
island having identified the
MICE sector as a top priority,
investment has been on the
increase, according to ceo of
Grassroots Traveller, Hafsa
Mbabmo. Her destination
management company is
situated in the heart of
Zanzibar’s historic Stone Town
and has been appointed by the
island’s authorities to drive the
promotional campaign directed
at the MICE industry.
“Investors are recognising
the potential of Zanzibar as
a conference and events
destination and are therefore
willing to invest in the island
to ensure we are able to
establish the necessary
facilities to compete with
other Indian Ocean island
destinations,” she says.
Hafsa adds that interest in
the island as a conference
destination has definitely
increased. “We are seeing
more enquires than ever
before as well as an increase
in the number of conferences
taking place.”
Porsche Dumagude, sales
and marketing manager at the
Emerald Collection told TNW
that she had noticed a steady
flow of traffic to Zanzibar from
the South African market.
“There is a continuous flow
of MICE enquiries for the
destination – which indicates
that the market is growing,”
she says.
She adds that
DMCs on the island are
well equipped for the MICE
market. “They organise site
inspections and excursions
in and around the island,”
she says. “Our properties
on the island also offer fully
equipped conference facilities
with conference packages,
functions in and around the
resort, and team-building
programmes.”
Hotels on the island in
general have been improving
conference facilities
extensively over the past few
years with new venues opening
as well. “The conference
centres are all state-of-the-art
and geared to host world-class
conferences,” says Hafsa.
According to Checkout
Tours product and operations
manager, Christopher
Simonsen, most of the hotels
that offer conferencing in
Zanzibar are luxury properties
providing tailor-made
conference and meeting
packages to suit all types of
budgets. He recommends the
Ocean Paradise hotel.
“It offers one of the largest
and best conference facilities
on the island, with state-of-theart
audio-visual equipment and
trained in-resort staff to assist
with set up and technical
assistance,” he explains.
Michelle Hunter, gm
of groups, weddings and
incentives at World Leisure
Holidays, points out, however,
that in spite of its quality
conference facilities, Zanzibar
faces great competition
from its competitors in the
Indian Ocean due to the fact
that Zanzibar properties are
quoted in dollars and the
South African rand-US dollar
exchange rate is very volatile.
Catching up with its counterparts
Zanzibar still has a
long way to go before it
matches the other islands
in the region, admits
Hafsa Mbabmo. “Granted,
if one were to compare
Zanzibar with other more
established Indian Ocean
islands, we are not as
developed in terms of
infrastructure and facilities,
but we are fast becoming
a serious contender to
reckon with,” she says.
“Zanzibar offers a unique
experience – far more
rustic and authentic than
the likes of Mauritius
and Seychelles but with
more top-class facilities
becoming available
to rival their regional
counterparts,” agrees
Christopher Simonsen.
He notes, however, that
the island’s emphasis
on job creation for locals
rather than hiring those
from mainland Tanzania
could be a pitfall as there
could be a more qualified
candidate for a position on
the mainland.
“This leads to the
standard of service being
not quite on the same level
as that of Mauritius,” he
explains. “And while hotels
are continually working on
increasing service levels,
the discrepancy is still
noticeable at the moment.”
Internet connectivity and
speed is also an issue in
Zanzibar, adds Christopher.
“It can be very unreliable
and slow. As a result,
presentations that require
video streaming or video
conferencing could be a
frustrating issue.”
What’s more, Porsche
Dumagude notes that
the need for malaria
medication and yellow
fever certificates have
added to the complications
of travelling to Zanzibar.
“Malaria still poses a
threat in a number of
African countries. Zanzibar
has not had a case in
years but travellers like to
be cautious nonetheless.
Just as with yellow fever
– for which the certificate
is still a requirement in
South Africa even though
there has not been a case
of the illness in years – we
would like to see this issue
revisited and hopefully
dropped.”
The new Infrastructure
Tax law presents
another challenge. “The
Infrastructure Tax was
implemented on July 1 and
states that a further US$1
(R13) will be charged per
night to all guests staying
in Zanzibar – irrespective of
age,” she explains.
Hafsa maintains that
while Zanzibar might
not be considered ‘topnotch’
across the board,
this is not necessarily a
disadvantage.
“We believe that by
showcasing the essence of
Zanzibar, we can create a
very unique destination for
our business visitors.”
Porsche agrees, adding
that Zanzibar is not like
Mauritius or Seychelles
as it is a “true African
experience”.
“It offers a good
combination of beach
and relaxation with the
option of adventure and
exploring. The warm waters
are truly inviting and sun
worshippers are found
in abundance – cocktail
in hand, sand between
the toes, enjoying some
watersports and a good
massage,” she says.
Ideal for smaller group
AS ZANZIBAR offers a far more
rural and authentic experience
for the traveller, most
venues on the island target
the smaller, more intimate
conferencing sector.
Many venues are a
significant drive from the
airport, however the necessary
logistics are in place, Hafsa
Mbabmo advises. What’s
more, the distance can also
serve as an advantage. “It
allows our visitors to get a
real glimpse of the island and
when they leave they are doing
so with a better understanding
of what Zanzibar is all about,”
she says.
Agreeing with this sentiment,
Christopher Simonsen says:
“Most of the hotels are around
40 minutes from the airport,
depending on which side of
the island the traveller is
staying. This allows the client
to experience the real Zanzibar
and take in the island’s rustic
beauty and charm.”
“Our niche is to service
small, intimate groups in a
highly authentic fashion, giving
them very real insight into this
destination, not just the sun,
sea and sand but the culture,
the history and the trade,”
says Hafsa. She says most
venues are in agreement with
this strategy.
“One will find they cater for
anything from one to 200
people.” She believes this is
a key advantage for Zanzibar.
“There is nothing commercial
about the island.”
Zanzibar remains noncommercial
with an element
of adventure, agrees Porsche
Dumagude. “This opens
travellers up to exploring its
authentic African history. It is
a destination that continually
offers more and this is seen in
the number of repeat visitors.”
Five off-beat island activities
WHILE the small island of
Zanzibar is home to several
historic sites that are not to
be missed, there are many
lesser-known attractions
that travellers can enjoy.
Africa Stay director, Marian
Sardu, and kulula holidays
product manager for Indian
Ocean islands, Chantelle
Brown, provide their top five
recommendations for offbeat
attractions in Zanzibar.
1. Maruhubi and Mtoni
Palace Ruins
Legend has it that Mtoni
was first built by Sultan
Said bin Sultan between
1828 and 1834 after he
made Zanzibar his throne.
It was devastated by a fire
in 1889 and left in ruins.
With its rolling lawns,
bathhouses and water lily
ponds reminiscent of the
affluent life enjoyed by
palace residents over a
century ago, the peaceful
Maruhubi and Mtoni Palace
ruins are perfect for those
looking for a place to
escape the bustle of Stone
Town for a few hours, says
Chantelle.
2. Mangapwani Caves
For travellers interested
in gaining some insight
into the unspeakable
living conditions of slaves
in east Africa during
the 1800s, Chantelle
recommends making a stop
at the northern town of
Mangapwani.
3. Jozani forest tour
Zanzibar’s quiet interior is
home to many endemic
species of fauna and
flora and the red colobus
monkey, and a drive
offers some of the best
opportunities for wildlife
viewing, says Marian.
4. North Coast
(Nungwi) tour
According to Marian, this
full-day excursion to the
extreme north of the island
provides travellers with
the opportunity to visit the
ruins of the Portuguese
Barracks, a traditional fish
village and a small turtle
aquarium.
5. Safari Blue
Safari Blue is a very special
product comprising a fullday
excursion exploring the
beautiful conservation area
of Menai Bay, south-west
of Zanzibar island, says
Marian. Here, guests are
able to stop at a sandbank
in the morning to snorkel
over the coral reef before
enjoying a relaxing swim.
Easy access...
ZANZIBAR is easily
accessible with direct
flights from both South
Africa and Dubai now
available. “Both the Gulf
area and Southern Africa
are targeted to consider
Zanzibar as a business
destination. In this
regard, much work has
been done to ensure it
is accessible and flights
are in place,” says Hafsa
Mbabmo.
Christopher Simonsen
notes that the regular
Mango flight from South
Africa to Zanzibar adds
to the destination’s
convenience. “The regular
direct schedule and its
three-and-a-half hour short
flight time have made
Zanzibar an attractive
option – especially for
incentive travel,” he says.
“There is also more
flight connectivity with
fastjet, SAA and Kenya
Airways, but the reliability
of Mango’s direct flights
make the carrier not
only accessible but cost
effective too.”
