ABOUT MVUVI BOUTIQUE RESORT AND ITS LOCATION

Mvuvi boutique resort is a small charming family owned hotel run with lots of love and passion since 2007. It is located on the Northeast coastline of Zanzibar in the town named Kiwengwa.

Kiwengwa and its beach is lesser known in Zanzibar therefore it is much more peaceful and serene compared for example to hectic Nungwi. In fact Kiwengwa beach quickly became one of our favourites on the island for this exact reason!

You might have already heard about the tides in Zanzibar which can be very extreme taking water even 1 km away from the shore. As Kiwengwa town is located quite up north, the tides are not as drastic as in the southern part of the island and therefore the water doesn’t go away from the shore as much as in the south. We really enjoyed both low and high tide of the day as they look very different and you can also do different activities throughout the day.

During the high tide you can go swimming, snorkelling, have fun in the deep water or go on the Ngalawa boat tour, while at low tide you can take endless beautiful beach walks and look for some sea urchins and other ocean creatures that are much more visible during the low tide! You can really find and see everything! If you are really interested in it, there are always some “beach boys” to whom you can give a small tip and they will take you around and teach you a lot of interesting facts about the sea life. We are very fascinated by the marine life so for us that’s a fun activity to do! 🙂

As the hotel is located on the eastern part of the island, you also get to experience the most beautiful sunrises like nowhere else. Highly recommend you to get up early and watch the sunrise on the private beach of the hotel. This was one of our favourite things we got to do here!

ROOMS

Mvuvi boutique resort hosts only 8 rooms which creates an exclusive and peaceful atmosphere throughout the entire property. A true oasis away from the crowds where you can relax and recharge your batteries to the fullest in a very harmonious way.

All the rooms are meticulously designed and furnished in pure Swahili style, creating the genuine African atmosphere. Everywhere we travel, we always try to stay in places like this one as we want to soak up and feel the traditional, cultural and authentic atmosphere of places and that’s also one of the main reasons why we love travelling so much! We love to learn about the traditions and culture of different countries and places.

You can choose between 4 types of rooms – standard, comfort, deluxe and superior. Depending on the season, the room rate starts from around 150 EUR/night.

We stayed at ”comfort sea view” room and it was located on the ground floor next to the restaurant and we loved it! The room has a king size bed and a very spacious bathroom. We also had a little terrace with a traditional Swahili outdoor bed, a bench with a table and an outdoor shower. In this room you have a direct ocean view from your terrace. How cool!

We really believe in the quote “Success is all in details” and there are some very beautiful details we loved about this place! Our room was decorated with fresh hibiscus flowers every day! When the staff came to make up our room, they brought fresh flowers and distributed them all around the bed, shelves and also bathroom. It is such a simple but beautiful detail that makes you feel very special! We totally understand why Mvuvi boutique resort is many traveller’s choice and why it has such an excellent rating on booking.com, tripadvisor and other booking/travellers platforms. Well deserved!

All rooms are equipped with ceiling fans, air conditioning, tea and coffee making facilities, safe, hairdryer, towels and toiletries. A thoughtful addition to that, each room has its own handmade beach bag which you can use during your stay to carry your belongings around. Once again, details are very important! 🙂

The resort is also kids friendly so you can definitely come here and enjoy time with your little ones too!

GASTRONOMY

Mvuvi means fisherman in the local Swahili language and the name was very wisely chosen!

Local fishermen and farmers are the sources of the kitchen’s creations. Also the decorations throughout the restaurant, bar and common areas are in the “fisherman’s house” style. It really reminded us of some small fisherman’s villages on the Greek islands which we love so much!

You can experience the fusion cuisine combining authentic Swahili flavours and colours with Mediterranean gastronomy. Many contemporary dishes using the finest seasonal ingredients are offered as an À la carte menu. We really enjoyed the food here. It was always delicious and prepared from fresh ingredients!

The breakfast is included in the price of your room and it is very tasty too! A wide variety of pastries, fruits and eggs of your choice. For an additional price you can also book your stay with a Half-board or Full-board option.

The main restaurant has an amazing view of the beautiful Indian Ocean from their second floor and we really enjoyed having our breakfast here! A perfect start of our day!

Lunch can be served to you in their beach bar/restaurant which is located on the platformed terrace directly on the beach. The view is really stunning so we totally loved to eat our lunch here every day!

Another tip from us – TRY THEIR FRESH COCONUTS! They were the best coconuts we have ever had! Valerio was not a big fun of coconut water until now but this one he really fell in love with. Not sure if it’s some kind of special type of coconut but honestly the coconut water never tasted better! So fresh, milky and sweet!

A highlight of our culinary experience at Mvuvi boutique resort was a romantic intimate dinner setup on the beach. Candles, heart-shaped border made of flower petals and lanterns created such a romantic feel to it that I had tears in my eyes. It was the first time we have ever had such an experience on the beach and it was so worth it! Highly recommend it to all of you who want to do something special! It is also perfect for any kind of celebrations like birthdays, anniversaries or proposals 🙂 you can’t go wrong!

The restaurant is open from 12pm-10pm and it is also open to non hotel guests however it is limited to the availability (hotel guests have the priority) so to make sure, you can make a reservation.

FACILITIES

The entire property including the private beach is under 24h surveillance so it is very very safe! There are many facilities around the property that you can enjoy.

The swimming pool is located in the lush gardens so it has a jungle feel into it. There are also sun beds near the pool in the shadow where you can relax while listening to the chirping birds.

If you like massages, you can book one at their SPA centre which is also located in the lush gardens near the pool.

You can find garden furniture including sun beds, sun umbrellas and cabanas all around the property. For your maximal comfort some of them are located under the shadow while some of them on the sun which we found very convenient.

A large lounging seating designed in the “fisherman’s house” style is located next to the restaurant and it is a perfect spot to enjoy some cocktails and drinks.

There is also a library with many many books in different languages which you can read whenever you want. Very thoughtful and classy in our opinion.

In the very near future they want to open their own kite surfing centre which is very a popular sport here in Zanzibar. We would definitely love to try it next time we visit Zanzibar! 🙂

The hotel also offers many excursions and activities outside of the resort for example: Spice tour, Stone Town, Jozani Forest, Prison Island, Ngalawa cruise, Mnemba island, Diving, Snorkelling and even Safaris! You can book everything directly with them as well as the airport transfers.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Our stay at Mvuvi boutique resort was splendid and we can highly recommend it to anyone who wants to disconnect and get mesmerised by beautiful serene nature. The staff is very kind, friendly and helpful which is very important and it makes a very big impact on people’s holidays. We felt very welcome and homey at this beautiful and charming fisherman’s house style hotel. It exceeded our expectations and you will hardly find something better in the same price category.

Their website: https://mvuvizanzibar.com

and IG: @mvuviboutiqueresortzanzibar

MORE

If you are planning on visiting more of Tanzania, check out our safari blog post about the most beautiful and luxury safari camp in the Ruaha National Park: http://borntotraveldiaries.com/asanja-ndembo-the-most-beautiful-safari-lodge-in-ruaha-national-park-tanzania/

We highly recommend you to go check out our instagram @borntotraveldiaries where we shared the best moments of our visit, all the videos we couldn’t share on this blog post. Check out our story highlights Zanzibar and Zanzibar II and also the videos/reels and pictures on our feed.

We hope this blog post was helpful to you and you are gonna have a great time staying at Mvuvi boutique resort. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to comment below or contact us via email or even better via Instagram @borntotraveldiaries. Thank you for your time and stay tuned for our next diary page 🙂