Demani Lodge, Bar & Restaurant

I really enjoyed my stay in Demani Lodge.||Everyone is friendly and helpful. The rooms are good, breakfast is good, there is a variety of food you can choose from for lunch/dinner. It all was delicous. Nice pool. Very near the beach, a short walk of 5 minutes and you are there. ||Staying at the Demani Lodge really felt like home staying here. It is like paradise.

We booked 5 nights here and it was a decent location, the pool looks nice, it's a relaxed environment and the staff were all very friendly. However, we had some issues and management didn't do anything to help. We stayed in one of the newer buildings/huts and they get really hot, even with the cieling fan on. The power went out one night and we woke up in puddles of sweat. We went and found the security asking them to turn the generator on so we could have the fans in our room and they said they'd have to call the owner for permission. The next morning we saw the manager and told her about how hot the room was and she said they were aware how hot the new buildings/huts get and said the older ones were cooler and have a better airflow, but never offered to move us. We had such terrible sleeps there that we ended up booking somewhere else for one of the nights so we could actually sleep through the night and be rested. As for the food, I ordered a chicken Thai noodle dish and it was served with mr noodles instead of Thai noodles and the chicken had lots of chewy and gristle chunks. The smoothies were not very good and the pizzas were hit and miss. You're not allowed to bring food back otherwise they'll charge you for bringing outside food into the lodge. Overall, it's a nice location, but the rooms and food need to be improved and management should be more accommodating when guests bring issues up to them. It seems they're trying to get the most value with the least amount of effort.

We had a great stay at Demani lodge. The breakfast and all of the food we ordered off the menu were excellent. The hangout areas were comfortable and many, providing a nice and relaxing escape from the busier center of town. All the staff were kind and helpful. I would love to come and again and can recommend to anyone visiting Paje.

Only went for drinks during day and also dinner at night….. but wished we had stayed there. Relaxing beach feel although not on the beach you forget that within minutes. Good priced food and drinks …. Lovely pool area. Live music some evenings. Short tuk tuk ride from main Paje centre.

We looked forward to staying at the demani lodge on our trip to zanzibar so booked 4 nights. The staff are amazing and the pool area is as beautiful as the pictures. However, that's about it. First off, no outside food or drink allowed, while understandable for alcohol and meals, this also applies for water and any other food ($30 fee if outside consumables are found.) So you're forced to buy their meals and water (3x the supermarket price) Food is OK, breakfast not terrible, smoothies you can give a pass. There are mentions of the Thursday night parties, they will go to 330am and you will not be able to sleep.(we were warned of this on arrival, decided to go to a different hotel that night, with no compensation.) The room we were in was very hot even with fan on, but one night the power went out and we were drenched in sweat as the fans had been off for a while. When asking the security guy why the generator hadn't been turned, he said he needed boss' approval first. I get this is africa, but All of the other places we had stayed/been were quick to turn their generators on when power went out. So after paying for 4 nights, staying for 2.5, including one where our room turned into a sweatbox, no compensation from the lodge (even a couple free waters would have been appreciated.) They get you one more time at checkout, as this was our last night in zanzibar we were running low on cash so had to pay by card. I have accepted the 4% charge as standard and have no problem with it. However the owner of demani lodge has it set up that you can only pay card in USD, so your full bill gets converted to his exchange rate and then the 4% gets charged on top of this. This added about 20% to my total food/drinks for the time at the lodge where you have no other option for consumption. Simply a money grab by the owner. Nowhere we stayed, ate or played in zanzibar was this blatantly out to squeeze it's customer.

Loved this place. Photos can't do justice to how relaxing this hotel is. Only 3 minutes from the beach and close to the center of Paje it offers plenty of restaurants, supermarkets, this place is the right choice to stay. Rooms are individual bungalows, which are all different and very unique. It is very clean and the staff is very friendly. Swimming pool and chilling are a dream come true to relax on your vacation. The food is very affordable, and prices are lower than in hotels on the beach but amazing quality food and a variety of dishes. They also have vegetarian and vegan options. It is definitely value for money and you will not regret staying here.

It was a pleasure to stay at the Demani Lodge. The Team was quite nice. All friendly and with a Smile. Lodges are very nice, Clean ,quiet. Amazing Garden area. Good Location to calm down, live the easy local life. The Pool area was nice to relaxing , hammocks, daybeds. On thursdays there ist bbq and party night where you can Join. It is located in the middle between Paje and Jambiani. You can walk at the beach in both directions when it is low Tide. Otherwise you can Stop a tuktuk or a Taxi to Drive to both villages. There have also their own Driver how can Pick you Up from Airport or arrange Tours, mostly privat and you also can Mix your Tours. He will Always find a way. Restaurant is also great. You should know in advance that life Here is slowly, so don't complain If the food preperation Takes His time. But its fresh and Everything we ordered was very tasty.Thanks a lot to everyone of Demani Team. If we ever Comeback we will stay Here again.

We had a great time, the staff was super friendly and helpful. ||The hotel is close to the beach and approx. 20min walk from the next smaller city/village.||Thank you!