Emerson Spice Hotel

Hotel

Lovely evening! First class service. If you are looking for something special then this is it.

I enjoyed every item they placed in front of me.

Winding stairs lead past a warren of rooms and balconies to the Tea House on the roof terrace. Lunchtime offered a choice of seafood or veg platter (enough for two) at US$50.
Delicious food, excellent service, amazing views. I hope to return, and try the Secret Garden, set in the ruined building next door.

This is a magical place. Come expecting magic, not mod cons. Soak it up, for it is unique.

There is only set menu for 40usd/person which for Zanzibar is ridiculous! So at this price you would expect luxury, and great service. Well DON’T! The items on that menu are not even nice or delicius. The choice is NONE! The Wine list is totally limited so after one drink which took aeges to provide we decided to leave. Went to a nearbay cool roof top restaurant with fabulous view and pool at the roof and insted of paying over 100USD for two we had fab dinner we choose and lovely wine for a fraction of that! Total RIP OF!

Frustrating experience. If you are looking to stay in a museum come here. If you need hotel this has nothing to do with hotel criteria or facilities. Maximum 2 stars hotel. Not a 200+$/ night. I asked for bed covers they get bed sheets! I asked for a kettle after 45mns of arguing I got one full of dirt from inside. No hygiene at all! Frustrating experience. Stuff not helpful at all. When they r stuck they pretend they don’t understand English. No proper service at all in this place. No facilities starting from a mug or a kettle.

Great service, beautiful place and very tasteful food. We wasn’t in the rooftop, in the ground floor.

Wonderful food at the top floor!

Amazing culinary experience.

Emerson is a fantastic and good experience. Very good 5 course seafood menu — that depend on “todays catch” — served with good style and very nice atmosphere.
Worth every penny — my best recomondation.

Very nice place and food! View from rooftop is amazing!

Only had a nightcap and desert in the garden restaurant, but it was incredibly beautiful, like a hidden sanctuary inside an ancients building.

Beautiful 200 year old hotel. Large balcony overlooking a busy narrow street of foot traffic in the heart of Stone Town.

This butique hotel, is in centre of Stone Town. Its old style historical building and you have the feeling, it takes you some 100 years back in time. Beautifully decorated rooms with the wiews on those little streets of Stone Town. Their Secret Garden Restaurant is truly hidden gem. The old castle set up, the delicious food and attentive staff. If coming to Zanzibar, this would hotel would be on my top recommendation list.

Amazing hotel! The rooms in the historical wing are big with high ceilings and charming interior. The staff is friendly and will offer special tours, but we booked everything through the front desk. The location is also great in the middle of stone town. This hotel is the nicer of the two Emersons hotels.

We was here in the restaurant, Delicious food, restaurant in old building it's amazing, good service, clean.

The food at this place is bombshell. It's a waste if you do not try slow roast tamarind goat at secret garden restaurant. The best in Zanzibar.

This is the pretty place ever! Verry beautiful exp, for sunset.

Great spot to stop for a drink after a long walk around Stonetown. Great place out back they call "secret garden" one of the few places for a beer in the area. Constructed from an original stone building which was home to the last Swahili ruler of Zanzibar.

Excellent service, beautiful decor, perfect location. Such a treat to stay here while in Zanzibar. The one night I stayed the rooftop was closed but I dined at the sister hotel down the street — similar set up. A must stay/visit when in Stone Town.

We are here for the first day and this is straight a 5 star review. No doubts.
We were supposed to be picked up at the airport but I cancelled that as we changed our opinion and decided to come by boat. I told them we’d walk from the port.
Huge surprise when someone was waiting for us there no matter what to make sure we find the place (great as I didn’t consider the street structure of old town). They guessed the boat we were in even (i never confirmed that).
When arriving they had booked a breakfast straight away whilst our room was getting ready (after being upgraded! ).
Probably everyone knows about how beautiful this place is but I want to stress out the amazing customer service. The hotel industry is about making excellent experiences which Emerson Spice masters with no doubt.

We just had dinner as it was highly recommend by various friends. The food was very interesting, tasty, beautifully presented and definitely a filling portion after all 5 courses. The service was charming and the location is very unique.

Had dinner in their Secret Garden. The location is stunning. The food choice is limited, but every dish was extremely tasty and the service is excellent.

Incredible place. So unique and special. A must-do in Stone Town.

Maybe the best hotel we ever stayed in: Best because the room Kate we had is simply amazing: The views are stunning, there are balconies on both sides with an amazing view, there's plenty of space, a huge bathroom and everything is set up in a wonderful style. The staff is extremely helpful and friendly, with lots of good hints and recommendations for things to do in Stone Town. The food in the courtyard was really good and the whole place is simply mind blowing. Definitely an excellent choice and you should do your best to get the room "Kate" — absolute unique experience.

Excellent staff. The best place to eat great food in Zanzibar. Secret garden is like the name secretly awesome.

Amazing boutique hotel and in a great location. The staff could not have been more helpful! Definitely go for the 5 course meal on the rooftop!

Went to the roof top restaurant for food and it is highly recommended. Greta views of Stone Town. Worth a visit.

Went there for lunch in the courtyard, very chic. Delicious lunch, fresh seafood. Reasonably priced.

Amazing 5 course meal while we watched the sun rise would recommend — amazing night. We had to travel in an hour to get to the restaurant so they gave us a room to get ready in ahead of dinner which was really thoughtful.

Beautiful boutique hotel where every room has its own personality and character. Each room is so thoughtfully decorated. As a solo traveler, I stayed in Turandot, which was one of the smaller rooms but had the BEST outdoor area, including an outdoor shower (there was also one in the room) and a swing. The restaurant on the roof is also excellent.

We had the most amazing stay. We loved our room Violetta and really enjoyed our perfect dinner on the rooftop. The sunset views are perfect and service top notch. > Make sure you book early.

The rooftop restaurant was magnificent, overlooking the Indian ocean and perfect for the sunset. The 5 course meal was tasty and beautifully plated. Make a reservation because there are only 10 tables.

Beautiful hotel right in the middle of the Stone Town. We only stayed for a night en route to Nungwi but the room (Camille) was stunning and the service was great. We ate at the sister restaurant (Emerson on Hurumzi) for dinner which was excellent, would highly recommend either. Thank you for a lovely stay!

The best experience I had on my first days was defenitely here! Not only because of the very good service, the wonderful view and the gorgeous rooms and food but also because of the people in and around the hotel. They've learned me how to play Bao and also their language and all the time they were SO friendly and gentle — you really won't find such compassion somewhere else… Thank you so much everybody — and especially Hamsisi and Ali! Can't express how thankful I am for the wonderful time I spent in Emerson Spice.

Delicious meal — lots of seafood as you'd expect — and panoramic views of the town as the sun sets.

Really welcoming staff and lovely interior design. The food was so yummy and it was in the middle of Stone town so perfect for our needs. The bed was very comfy and we slept very well. There were great cocktails to watch the sunset as well.

Great food and drinks service second to none :-D.

While I wouldn't recommend anyone necessarily visit Stone Town, I think I would make a separate trip just to come and stay at Emerson Spice again! This place is one of the most beautiful, unique, and cool places I've ever stayed in my life (and I've done a lot of traveling). The architecture and design is just unbelievable, and you can tell that Emerson truly cared about giving guests a wonderful experience. Each room is designed differently, and ours (Lamour) was beautiful. They also encourage you to look into the other rooms by leaving doors open when they're vacant, and so we got to check out almost all the rooms. They're all so unique and beautiful that you can't go wrong. Our room had a cool outdoor shower, and the stone tubs looking fantastic. The bathrooms themselves are quite nice with great sinks and toilets. Each morning we went upstairs for breakfast and took in the view from the rooftop. The food was pretty good, though the service had a hard time with English sometimes. They give you a fruit plate every morning with a lot of exotic fruit, but I was a bit tired of it after three straight days. The employees are all super friendly and everyone remembers who you are and what room you're staying in. We even ran into porters from the hotel around Stone Town and they would greet us. We ate at the rooftop for their special 5 course dinner, which I would say is worth it for the experience.

Good rooftop, do forget to make a reservation. The food is good an on the rooftop there is an open kitchen.

Beautiful hotel, respecting the local architecture. I had a delicious lunch in the Secret Garden and it was a really special and unique restaurant. One of the many hidden gems in Stone town.

Size of portions a bit small for the price but very delicious.

Great view out over the rooftops of Stone Town. Maybe a bit overdone on the food front. $40 a head for five courses of local fare.

As I know the story of the general manager, Len Helen Hörlin, and that I have been here before, but never has stayed here until now, this was the starting point in planning our honeymoon, for my wife and me.
This is a perfect combination of adhering to dreams of westerner visitors and at the same time staying in touch with the community around.
We are getting ourselves ruined here, but it's worth every shilling in the life ahead living on knäckebröd and water.
We stayed in Kate, the best room, for three nights and could not resist staying for an extra night, now in another room, just a little less lavish. Thank you mama Len, Emedi and all other wonderful staff.
Ps taking a bath while watching the stars is magic! Ds.

Delicious local food with a beautiful view. Arrive before sunset for some drinks before dinner! Reservations need a deposit not only a call so don't forget to come before and pay your deposit or you will regret if you miss the opportunity to have great sowali food as a true local. Shoes off space.

Stayed two nights in that lovely an memorable hotel. The rooms and the food was like the service extraordinary. Definitely the best hotel we've been in Zanzibar.

True hospitality is delivered at this bastion of old school elegance and Zanzibari heritage. The rooms — some of them vast enough for a waltz — are beautifully appointed with silks and antiques, and the feeling is of stepping into a lost world. Sunset and dinner in the rooftop teahouse makes the experience complete.

What a FABULOUS hotel! Emerson Spice Hotel is an absolute MUST for visitors to Stone Town, set in the heart of Stone Town, replete with the magical and evocative sounds of the local mosques, and the charm of a friendly, bustling area of the town. A glamorous, exotic boutique hotel hosted by a wonderfully hospitable manager and an excellent, award winning staff team comprised of friendly, hard working, knowledgeable Zanzibar people. The Tea House evening menu is most highly acclaimed having taken number 1 on Trip Adviser on many occasions for Stone Town restaurants and is the most memorable 'taste safari'. Also, not to be missed is the 'Secret Garden' restaurant offering a unique venue with a renowned creative and interesting menu. Emerson Spice Hotel has an internationally renowned reputation and offers the most enjoyable relaxing experience to delight the senses!