Drifters Zanzibar

The property had bed bugs and the staff refused to give us a refund or help us find another hostel.

The Staff and the location was amazing and the social gathering was exceptional!!! come to the bone fires and you will enjoy until the end!!! So far there is nothing I hate around!!!

Love this hostel! Perfect location right on the beach, chill and safe but also social. I will be back! Nothing

Location The day I arrived the owner came to me and told me that I look like someone who has orgies and parties. I’m 63 years old retired. How does a hotel owner come to me to make such claims.

Amazing location near the beach of paje , lots of kitesurfing options , good vibe , nice food , and music , you can even choose the music by yourself , friendly staff ! Recommend it??

The staff are so friendly , the location is perfect! Infront of the beach where u can do lots of activities like kitesurfing , boxing, swimming.. , the kitchen serves nice food , good music and social hostel

Ocean front, close to centre Cleanness, facilities at the room specially toilet - all taps were leaking

This was my fourth stay at Drifters, and once again it was a great experience. David and the entire staff are consistently welcoming, friendly, and professional, which really makes the place feel special. The location is perfect, right on the beach, and the swimming pool is always spotless. Every stay has been comfortable and enjoyable, and I honestly can’t imagine staying anywhere else. I’ll definitely keep coming back.

All those sun beds and none with shade. Shame.

Sometimes the beddings aren’t changed ,no lock keys for the cupboard .. the hostel is new clean , close to the beach

Very fun environment for making friends and hanging in the sun. Nice pool and it was amazing to be right on the beach. Was a solo female traveler there for 4 days total and had a blast No complaints

It’s close to the beach and the staff is soooo helpful and sweet!

I had an amazing first hostel experience at drifters. Fantastic location and price. I stayed in the all female dorm(16 beds) but only 2 other bunkmates there. The bathroom/shower is definitely not for everyone, but for the price/location SO worth it. During busy season, probably challenging to all share one bathroom/shower. You get your own mosquito net, which was very helpful t night. Staff is very nice and helpful. Lots of travelers from all over the world, and easy to meet other young travelers. Would recommend breakfast nextdoor.

Bungalows are falling apart Bungalow in bed conditions

The workers are kind, good location My goodness the bathroom are soo dirty, the owner should do inspections, the cleaners come in but they don’t clean

Good location, WiFi in the rooms, nice pool with a view, comfortable bed. Unfortunately we were very unhappy with this hotel. We paid for the more luxury private option with a "view" and terrace, and it was a huge disappointment (the "sea view" could be covered with an outstretched thumb...). First off, the beds sheets were stained and the staff didn't care to replace them. Second, the bathroom was revolting, with mold growing up the walls, nowhere to put anything, and the grimy shower had no pressure or warmth (see photo). The construction of the house felt like it was super rushed and low cost: the doors didn't close properly, there were huge gaps everywhere that let in mosquitoes, and the outdoor seating was rotting. While there was a mosquito net over the bed, it was far too small to completely and seamlessly cover the bed, so I woke up with many bites. Let's hope I don't get malaria :) When we arrived, one of the staff was very rude to us, and when we mentioned some of the issues to the manager he did very little to help or show any willingness to make us feel heard. He did offer to move us to the "AC Room" which was just as grim and had a huge patch of black mold growing in the ceiling next to the AC. No thank you, that's dangerous to be breathing in. Also, if you do decide to stay here (you must be desperate if you do!), make sure not to walk the road to the hotel at night - my girlfriend was attacked by a guy hiding in the shadows. Luckily he wasn't able to break her bag and he ran away empty handed, but it did leave some scratch marks and slight trauma. Of course the hotel didn't think to let us know that there is a possibility of this happening beforehand, and when we reported the incident to the guard he laughed at us and made us feel like it was our own fault. Lovely. Overall, if this place cost half of what it cost we'd still feel ripped off. Avoid, avoid, avoid!

Amazing location, super nice pool !

It’s great location and beautiful hostel! Good if you’re into partying but the rooms had cockroaches and mosquitos, it gets crazy hot in the rooms too so you can’t sleep well. Was being approached constantly by men…. I’ve stayed at a few hostels in Zanzibar, this one just made me really uncomfortable as a female, and a few of the other girls I met felt the same too.

The location is phenomenal, right in front of the white sandy beach and the bar is really cool. I went during low season and the drifters bar is the place to be (if you're into that scene). The facilities are good, the showers and rooms are well maintained and clean. I was in a 20 bed dorm buty, was big and spacious so you had your own space. The place is safe and they have lockers in the room (need better locks though). Staff in general are friendly and happy to answer your questions I went in the low season and it was Ramadhan, luckily I didn't witness the party noise pollution but the dorms are way too hot and humid in the night. This is because the fans are up high on the ceiling and aren't strong nor effective, it didn't cool anything down. A couple of guests, including me found it hard to sleep at the night. They had 20 beds in a spacious room and luckily there were only three guests but if the place was full, I can assume it would be very stuffy and even more humid. Also, The WiFi was non-existent in the room (if WiFi is important to you). For that price, the dorm needs some changes.

If you want a place on the beach, in a ‘Thai style’ bamboo hut, with hammocks and a pool with a wonderful view of the sea then stay here. The food at the bar is very good for the price compared to all the other places on the beach. And if you want to kite surf the guys who hang on the beach in front offer good lessons for less than half the price of the kite schools. It’s loud loud loud. Bars either side with loud music. Terrible loud music. And the huts might as well be built out of of waffles. They let the sound of every beat, wave and fart into your room. But the view in the morning is great.