Maya Hotel Zanzibar Zanzibar  ·  EST. 2014
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Palm trees against a dusk sky on the Zanzibar coast
An anchorage on the spice coast

Time keeps
a slower tide here.

A small house of stone and thatch above the sand on Zanzibar's north-east coast — run at the pace of the water outside.

Reserve a room → The house, in full
Direct booking
Plan your stay
Arrive
Depart
Guests
Room
Coral-stone hotel corridor with archways
3

Room types across the house — every one of them set to face the water.

01 The house

Not a resort.
A held breath above the water.

Maya Hotel sits on the sand at Kiwengwa — a small, stone-and-thatch house on the north-east coast of Zanzibar. We keep the house small on purpose. One beach, one table, one tide.

18Rooms & suites
1Private beach
2Tables & bars
02 Where to stay

Ways to
face the sea.

Each room type opens differently onto the water — pick your distance from the tide line.

Most booked Garden Room

Garden Room

from TSh 180,000.00 / night

Serene room overlooking tropical gardens with a private balcony.

View room →
Ocean View Room

Ocean View Room

from TSh 260,000.00 / night

Wake up to the turquoise Indian Ocean from your sunrise-facing room.

View room →
Swahili Suite

Swahili Suite

from TSh 420,000.00 / night

Carved Zanzibari doors, handcrafted furnishings and a lounge area for three.

View room →
03 The house logbook

We plan the day
around the water,
not the clock.

Zanzibar's coast runs on two calendars — the monsoon winds and the tides. We plan the day around the water, not the clock.

Season
Kaskazi
Months
Dec – Mar
Sea
Calm seas, clear water, best visibility for diving. Warm and dry.
Season
Masika
Months
Apr – May
Sea
Long rains. The house quiets down. Low season rates, empty beaches.
Season
Kusi
Months
Jun – Oct
Sea
Steady trade winds from the south-east. Best for kite surfing.
Season
Vuli
Months
Nov
Sea
Short rains, warm and quiet. The house at its most still.
04 At the table

One menu,
set by the catch.

The cook walks to the beach each morning. What the fishers bring in sets the day's menu — grilled octopus, coconut crab, chapati with mango. Dinner is served on the sand under the palms.

Breakfast

7 — 10am, Terrace

Beach grill & sunset bar

6:30pm, Beach

Dhow lunch

By request, Cove
Table set for dinner on the beach at sunset
We came for four nights and stayed nine. Nobody here ever once tried to sell us anything — they just kept quietly getting the tide times right.
— A. Whitfield, Ocean Suite, September 2025

rooms.
One tide table.

Check availability →