Boutique Hotel Matlai

A Touch of Perfection at Boutique Hotel Matlai

Hospitality:
Experiencing the hospitality at Boutique Hotel Matlai is like embarking on a journey of warmth and attentiveness. The level of customer service from every staff member sets a new standard for what exceptional hospitality should be. The hotel's adept butlers seemed to know our schedules better than we did, going above and beyond to create an ambiance of seamless luxury. A heartfelt thank you to Jesus, Dereck, Hashim, Gideon, Ramadan, and Shaqira - each one of you added a unique touch to our stay and will be fondly remembered. Their expertise shone when they organised an unforgettable and deeply romantic dinner for our proposal, which can only be described as truly stunning.

Location:
Boutique Hotel Matlai is a serene oasis nestled in a uniquely beautiful beach, further elevated by the Rock Restaurant, one of the island's finest dining destinations. From this prime location, we had convenient access to an array of island tours, while also being within a comfortable distance to the vibrant small town of Paje, rich with additional restaurants, dive shops, bars, and surf shacks. For those considering a visit to Mmenba, it is a bit of a distance, but rest assured, the immediate surroundings offer more than enough to explore and enjoy.

Amenities & Tours:
The hotel boasts a wealth of amenities including a lovely swimming pool, an excellent restaurant, and a cozy bar, not to mention a Cinema room that adds a touch of romance to any movie evening. Their collection of high-quality equipment for snorkeling, paddle boarding, and kayaking invites adventure at your leisure. The hotel excels as personal 'holiday planners', taking charge of organising tours around the island in a manner tailored to our preferences. Thanks to them, we experienced incredible trips including a private boat tour with snorkeling, an exploration of Muluum cave, a tour of Stone Town complete with stellar dining recommendations, and diving with Buccaneers Dive Shop in Paje.

Rooms:
The rooms at Boutique Hotel Matlai are a luxurious dream. Spacious and elegantly adorned, they are meticulously prepared for your arrival and maintained impeccably each day. The thoughtful touches, like the bedtime stories left on our bed, added a whimsical charm to our evenings. Each room also promises a breathtaking sunrise view, a glorious symphony of colors accompanied by the soothing sound of crashing waves.

Food & Beverage:
Food on the island can be a bit of a gamble, but the hotel ensures you'll never be disappointed. The breakfast, available at any time of the day, offers a versatile range from continental, traditional English, fresh fruits, to both sweet and savoury delights. Not to miss is the local Swahili option for the adventurous palate. The freedom to dine in any of the hotel's beautiful gardens, your private terrace, or the beach only enhances the culinary experience. Whether it's the cinema room or one of the private gardens, each meal is an event to remember.

Value for Money:
Although Boutique Hotel Matlai might seem a substantial investment, the value received in return is exceptional. The level of service, attention to detail, luxurious amenities, and overall quality of the experience have convinced us to become repeat visitors to this extraordinary haven.

Conclusion:
In short, Boutique Hotel Matlai is nothing short of perfect. It's not just a hotel, it's an experience, a place where every detail is considered, every need anticipated, and every expectation surpassed. If you're looking for an unforgettable island stay, Boutique Hotel Matlai is the epitome of perfection.

Thank you for making our stay so special.

Amazing. Comfortable. Relaxed.
I have been in many family run boutique hotels. But seldomly have I seen such relaxed luxury and personalized service. Since matlai only has six rooms you hardly feel the other guests. The butler service makes your stay a personalized experience. You decide where and when you eat. Very good value for your money. I will come back

Luxurious paradise! It was easy to spend hours just watching the view from our room. Excellent hotel, quiet and small, beautifully designed and managed. We miss it.

The perfect place for a relaxing getaway.
Matlai was the grand finale for our honeymoon and we had a wonderful time. We loved that there are only a few rooms and lots of options for lounging. Many times we were the only people by the pool and it felt like we had our own private resort. It is right on the beach so you can easily go for a walk or swim. They have snorkeling gear and water shoes that you can borrow (I highly recommend taking their shoes as they cover your whole foot). Even during low tide if you walk/swim straight from the hotel you can get to the waves due to a sand bank. There are also people on the beach with boats who you can pay to take you to an area with coral for snorkeling and to see starfish of all colors of the rainbow, all within 10 minutes of the hotel.
The rooms are great. Spacious, all of them have an amazing view, good products, are well decorated, etc. The bed is very big and comfortable. They also have thoughtful items like a beach bag, a nicely stocked mini fridge, bedtime stories they put on your bed at turndown, and a cell phone that you can use to contact the butler within or outside of the hotel grounds.
The food is fantastic. The best food we had in all of Zanzibar. The breakfast is phenomenal. They typically serve it to you on your balcony that has a perfect view of the pool and the ocean. They have a 3 course dinner option and can set up a table in a surprise location. There are lots of options to set up tables in their gardens or by the beach. Make sure to do this one night! The beach bar also has great food. Their cocktails are delicious and creative as well as their homemade ice cream.
There are other restaurants that are walking distance but I would even bother, the food is not going to be as good. The Rock restaurant is just a 10 minute walk from there (it was a cool experience but we would have rather eaten at the hotel).
All of the staff was so nice and attentive (but not overly attentive). The woman who gives massages is amazing, my husband and I did a total of 5 treatments with her. All of them are very reasonably priced.
They printed out a paper to wish us a happy honeymoon that was on our bed every day and made sure to congratulate us/welcome us for our honeymoon as soon as we arrived. There was no other special treatment particularly for our honeymoon but the everything is so wonderful that you feel special no matter the occasion.

we are still so positively surprised and totally amazed by this beautiful boutique hotel!
the friendliness of the people, the beauty, the lush and rich tropical green, the beautiful sound of the swahili language, the smells and scents.
excellent, but really excellent service compared with so many we stayed all over the world. remember this is and you are in zanzibar! tim and his wonderful team will do everything, but really everything to make your holiday an unforgettable one! so much love for the garden, nature and so many little beautiful details in them beautiful designed rooms and that pool! wonderful!
hopefully one day we can and are allowed (you never know what life holds..) to come back again. forever in our hearts.
asante sana matlai & the whole crew!

We traveled with three children and three adults and so we booked a whole villa - what a magical experience. Matlai didn't overlook any detail, from the nightly turn down service that they timed to our baby's bedtime, to the local bath salts, the excellent food, the private pool and essentially a private beach experience. The hotel is set up for great privacy even when fully booked. We also had another family join us for a few days and the management was so flexible with the booking and rooming arrangements. The housekeeping was wonderful and the staff extremely helpful and professional. They had an excellent selection of wine also. They also helped set up a few of the island excursions at reasonable prices with professionals where everything went very smoothly. I would without a doubt return with my family and recommend to anyone traveling to Zanzibar.

Absolut Great & Perfekt stay! Stunning Place to be. The Team is extremely polite, sympathetic as well as adorable!
Thanks a lot for the perfect time, all the best & take care of yourselves!
Best regards & i will surely come back :)

Thank you to all the excellent team at the hotel for looking after us. We greatly enjoyed our stay in an Arabic-style villa on the beach with pool and garden. Lovely interior design and styling. The communal area is a paradise of well tended gardens, providing shade, flowers, butterflies and birdsong. An open-air personal cinema too ! The food is varied and exquisite, served in the room or in themed single table areas in the gardens such as ‘stars’ or ‘butterflies’. In summary a perfect retreat with charming and attentive hosts and staff. A beach bar with great ice cream. Michael and family.