"Absolutely fantastic – the best Riu we've stayed in!"
My friends and I stayed at Riu Jambo for a week at the beginning of October, after spending time on safari and staying in some wonderful lodges. I've stayed at several Riu hotels before, but I can honestly say this was by far the best. In fact, it was the best food and alcohol I've ever had at an all-inclusive hotel!
The food was absolutely outstanding. Everything was fresh, hot and delicious. Breakfast was everything you could wish for, with freshly made omelettes, eggs cooked to order, lovely fresh bread, butter, fruit and so much choice. Even the baked beans were delicious, and I don't usually enjoy hotel baked beans!
We loved the Italian restaurant and the gourmet fusion restaurant was perfect. Both are reached via a beautiful wooden walkway, and the building and setting are absolutely stunning. We weren't particularly keen on the Asian restaurant, but that's simply personal taste. There is also a lovely sunset bar along the walkway, where we spent several evenings enjoying the atmosphere and views. Even the food at the beach snack bar was good, with pizzas, pasta, chips and other options available throughout the day.
The setting is breathtaking. The turquoise sea, white sandy beach and beautiful palm trees make this hotel feel like paradise. There are plenty of sunbeds, several swimming pools and lots of places to relax. We particularly enjoyed the swim-up bar, Hakuna Matata, which was lovely on a hot day.
The cocktails deserve a special mention! At many all-inclusive hotels, including other Riu hotels we've visited, cocktails can be disappointing. Not here! They were excellent, and the cocktail of the day was always worth trying.
Our room on the eighth floor was always spotless. We had a lateral sea view and did consider paying to upgrade to a full sea view. The price initially quoted was $780, then reduced to $409 and eventually around $290. We were shown another room on the eighth floor with much better views, but unfortunately, although it had a separate toilet, there was no sink in that room. In the end, we decided to keep our original room rather than pay for the upgrade. As they had sea view rooms vacant it would have been nice if they had upgraded us for free the first night. It was still lovely to have a lateral sea view, although the new Riu hotel was directly in front of us.
The staff were wonderful – so friendly, helpful and attentive. There was a really good atmosphere throughout the hotel, and we felt completely safe during our stay. There are security guards around the resort and on the beach, and we weren't hassled much at all by beach sellers and the ones we spoke to were so friendly. They stayed beyond a line of rocks marking the edge of the hotel's beach area, which made relaxing on the beach even more enjoyable. It was fine, I've been more hassled by sellers in the Canary islands.
The reception area is enormous and beautiful, with a lovely bar. I was also pleasantly surprised to find that smoking was permitted in that bar area, which was a bonus for me as a smoker.
Everything about our stay was excellent, from the food and cocktails to the staff, the beautiful surroundings and the relaxed atmosphere.
The evening entertainment was good too.
Riu Jambo really exceeded our expectations. After staying at several Riu hotels, I didn't expect this one to stand out quite so much, but it really did. We had the most perfect holiday and I would return without hesitation.
Highly recommended if you're thinking of visiting Zanzibar!
