FUN Beach Hotel

FUN Beach's great strength is that it costs little and still genuinely feels like an island holiday — and the pools are the reason. Three large pools run almost the length of the property; most rooms open onto a pool and loungers, and between the palms, the sand and the thatched roofs, the public areas feel considerably better than most hotels at this price. For guests who have just finished a safari and want to lie down for two days in Zanzibar, that counts for a lot.

The hotel is on the beach itself, between Paje and Jambiani. The rooms are not luxurious, but they have air conditioning, en-suite bathrooms, hot water and a private terrace, with no obvious gaps in basic comfort. The strengths guests mention again and again are the same ones: a beautiful pool, comfortable surroundings, clean rooms and friendly staff. Ultimately the money has gone into the pools, the greenery, the beachfront position and the overall holiday setting rather than into smart finishes — and for travellers on a budget who nonetheless don't want to end their safari in an ordinary hotel that merely happens to be near the sea, that trade-off makes complete sense.