Located on the seafront in the heart of Stone Town, the Serena Inn is a stunning property that echoes the grandeur of days gone by.
The Serena Inn Zanzibar is elegant and romantic and it offers fantastic island hospitality. All 51 bedrooms overlook the azure waters of the Indian Ocean and the lazy dhows that plough beneath the restaurant’s windows. The interiors echo Zanzibar’s rich Arab influence – intricately carved doors and furniture coupled with colourful mosaic flooring.
The Serena Inn is steeped in colonial history, and is the grand old lady of Stone Town
An oasis of tranquility... set right at the waterfront, in a very quiet and leafy area of Stone Town
Cool off in the lovely big pool after a busy day shopping in Stone Town!
With 51 rooms, the Serena lacks the personal feel of some smaller Stone Town hotels
Serena Inn Zanzibar has 51 bedrooms and a lovely big private swimming pool overlooking the ocean. Each room is cool, white and constructed to the traditional design of a Swahili house, which is dependant upon the length of the mangrove poles that make up its ceilings.
Adorned with arched niches, antique plates and brass lamps and featuring traditionally carved furniture, cool-ceramics, intricate fretwork, draped beds and louver doors giving onto wrought-iron balconies overlooking the Persian-bath pool and azure bay beyond, each room reflects a blend of essential Zanzibar and world-class elegance.
Serena Inn offers Standard Rooms, Prime Rooms or Suites.
All rooms and suites are equipped with:
- 24-hour room service
- air-conditioning
- WIFI
- direct-dial phone
- in-room satellite TV
- mini bar
- private safe
- bathrobe and slippers, hair driers and umbrellas
- mosquito nets
While most of the rooms are designated non-smoking, a number of rooms are available for smokers, but these should be booked in advance.
Standard Rooms
The 39 standard rooms are presented in traditional Swahili style featuring traditional niches, fretwork cabinets and a cool blue and white colour scheme. Each room has either a king-sized bed with mosquito netting or twin beds.
Prime Rooms
The exceptionally spacious Prime Rooms are presented in traditional Swahili style featuring traditional niches, fretwork cabinets and brightly coloured coastal cotton soft furnishings in cool blue. The four-poster beds are draped in mosquito nets and are generously king-sized.
Each room has its own spacious balcony with hammock and sea view.
Executive Suites
Spacious and luxurious the fabulous Executive Suites offer a magnificent bedroom with four-poster bed, a sumptuous bathroom (with bath and shower) and a delightfully relaxing sitting room (with TV and private bar), which opens onto a magnificent L-shaped balcony with panoramic ocean views, its own al fresco cocktail area, and a deliciously romantic double hammock.
Honeymoon Suite
Honeymoon Suites don’t get much better than this. Abounding in cushion-strewn Lamu beds, softly lit by brass lanterns, and enjoying a private sitting room and a delightfully spacious paneled balcony with Indian Ocean panoramas and its own double hammock, the Honeymoon Suite also boasts an unashamedly romantic en-suite bedroom, subtly presented in soft cream and ocean blue.
Presidential Suite
Enjoying glorious Indian Ocean views from its magnificent L-shaped terrace, the Presidential Suite offers the ultimate in spacious seclusion. Boasting a regal reception room (with TV and private bar) and a palatial bedroom with king-sized four-poster, this exclusive suite also offers a supremely generous balcony, ideally suited to private cocktails or dining a deux.
Each suite has a fully stocked mini-bar, digital multi-channel TV and direct dial telephone. 24-hour room service is available and fruit and wine will be laid out to welcome guests.
- Satellite TV, air-conditioning in all rooms, mosquito nets, mini-bar, in-room safe, telephone, bathroom with tub/shower, hairdryer, full housekeeping services (concierge and porter services, laundry, valet, 24-hour room service, babysitting on request, children’s menus and dining options and shoeshine) plus full medical back-up
- The ‘Serena Active’ selection of high-action adventure and cultural activities
- Unique range of event and entertainment venues to include The House of Wonders and The Old Dispensary
- Luxury swimming pool and sun-deck
- Sumptuous beauty treatments, massage and hairdressing
- A vibrant selection of nightly entertainment
- Extensively stocked Boutique, Gift shop and News Stand
- Internet connectivity, secretarial services and a wide range of board games plus a full library of books on Africa
- Express check in and out, porter and concierge services and 24-hour Forex facilities.
Constructed so that the waves lap to within inches of its open windows and the lateen-sailed dhows pass within metres of its tables, the Baharia Restaurant features lazily whirring fans, a jewel-glass atrium, mangrove-pole ceiling, fretwork screens, Omani carvings, Persian rugs and bright Swahili artefacts.
The Zanzibar cuisine, meanwhile, is a glorious melee of freshly caught seafood, fresh picked spices, luscious fruit and delicately flavoured vegetables.
A selection of dining and entertaining venues include: The Baharia Restaurant, the Mdele Coffee Shop, the Masahani Bar and the exclusive Mangapwani Beach Resort.
Activities include excursions to Stone Town with its winding streets, beautiful houses and museums, to Jozani Forest, home to the Red Colobus monkey, extensive watersports, round-the-island trips, scuba diving and snorkelling, day-boat trips to nearby beaches and islands and native Arab-influenced entertainment in the evenings.
The most spectacular of excursions is to the Serena owned Mangapwani where guests can experience a succession of dazzlingly white hidden and secluded beaches, spice gardens, private watersports and the most sumptuous dining in simple elegance.
Reviews
Serena Inn was beautiful, professional, and had a lovely pool for a last swim. It is a fine retreat after shopping in the hot streets of Stone Town!
Map & Location
