Cristal Resort Hotel Review

Paje Beach is just fantastic. Cristal Resort is no luxury hotel, but they have the peace and the quiet and the most beautiful beach that you can ever imagine.
My bungalow was clean and tidy, and I had only 50 meters from my door to the beach.
The internet was a little on and off. I definitely should have seen that as an opportunity to just shut it all off. Wifi isn t vacation! On the contrary!
When nature is as beautiful as it is on Paje Beach, and the weather stays good as well, then you don't really care too much about wifi or luxury. You can buy some bananas or mangos from a local lady and have a healthy lunch on the beach. You can go for a walk in Paje village and get to know the locals.
I had a wonderful stay at Cristal Resort, Paje Beach.

The bungalow on the beach offers a magnificent view that you will see even lying on the bed. One thing is oddity, one thing is the lack of a door to the toilet ... instead of the door there s just a curtain hanging, so you won t be alone ... but after visiting several more hotels, we realized that the absence of this door is the norm, just like the lack of such a shower. elementary things like shelves or stands for gels and shampoos, you have to put them on the floor all the time! ((... well, in general, the number for $ 100 looks plain ... expected to see better, also the air conditioner was not.

Beach view from the bungalow, truly helpful and very friendly staff. The Thai food in their restaurant was excellent. Breakfast was good but the same every day.

A new management, great restaurant and attention to details. Looks different from last years. Congrats!

A clean and family friendly resort for a relaxed vacation (short or long)

Yes there is room for improvement and the pool is a little misplaced (but in Paje you will definitely prefer the ocean anyway). But I really enjoyed to stay here - comfortable rooms, great staff! The food was improved while I was there and it was fine. There are also many alternative restaurants along the beach - so it should not be decisive. What makes the place great is its small homes along the beach, which really creates an intimate romantic quiet island adventure. A small paradise where peace and quiet can grow.

Very good value for money. It is not a luxury hotel but really very good for what you expect. Location in relation to the kite center is great.

The room is not indulgent and it is their precious room. The hot water runs out fast. The place itself is neglected compared to the other places along the coast. Prices are the same elsewhere. not recommended

A beautiful resort with a gorgeous beach, an over priced bar, and helpful staff.

Excellent mid-range hotel, located on a paradise beach. The staff is very welcoming, helpful and always ready to assist you. Rooms of different types (with or without air conditioning), free wifi, all a few meters from the beach. The restaurant is good: good breakfast and meals. We can pay in USD and Tanzanian shillings. A little piece of paradise very interesting for the little one we go for a walk in Paje, its restaurants and its extraordinary music bar.

Very neat clean eco friendly bangalow right on a beautiful white beach

We played golf here. Friendly staff. Good course along the Indian Ocean.

Friendly staff, fantastic location on the beach, leaky toilet, front door that does not close, a curtain that is too short to close of the bathroom, squeaky bed, lightbulbs attached to holes in the wall, air-conditioning that wakes you up in the middle of the night by beeping repetitively, this place has been neglected for a long time. The place photographs well, but Villa 4 I would not come back to or recommend.

Would Recommend but only bc lack of options in Paje. Good restaurant. Not luxury. Various options as for as sizes of rooms. Huge beach, limited seating. Stunning gorgeous views. Room didn't have AC but did get a fan. Late afternoon wading in water watching windsurfers was fantastic. Original pic of palms between beach and lobby. Lots of vendors for your purchasing needs but if you aren't interested they will leave you be.

DO NOT EAT in this restaurant!! The Food is horrible!

I did not live in the hotel, but sat on the beach on their sun loungers with the company. The pasta was cooked for about 2.5 hours. Burgers for about an hour. Average prices for the Page. In general, I advise everyone to Paget, compared to Nungwi. The tide is not so bad, the sand is smaller (like flour). I think it will be perfect with small children. At low tide, an adult is less than knee-deep at a distance of up to 300 m. The water is warm, warm and transparent. I did not observe hedgehogs and other animals. No coral slippers needed.

Very bad, very bad attention and 3 suitcases were stolen from the room and no charge was made. Do not go !

absolute paradise -- this view. Rooms are clean and modest. Staff is very kind and the restaurant is good. The deluxe beach house was perfect for the whole family

The Buffet was not great ...i just enjoyed the massai party

Very welcoming. Impeccable comfort. And a breathtaking view.

We have booked the hotel for our friends two nights before they came and left a downpayment of 60 usd. Once they arrived the receptionist agreed with my husband to give the money back to our friends who paid the entire amount by credit card. In the evening our friends claimed the money back and got told off by the guy who was at the desk saying that a local short guy went to take the money. Our friends asked the guy how he could know about the money since he wasn t even there when they had arrived. No answer. After checking again with us and confirming nobody went to take the money, they went back to the reception and put in communication with the guy who had in the meantime left. On the phone he said that they had everything on cameras about this short local guy getting the money. The day after our friends went again to the reception and the story of the short guy came up again. After a long struggle and quite a scene as there was nothing on any cameras of course, they eventually got the money back.
It s a shame to see that this organized criminal acts are ongoing. Certainly not recommended.
Just to be clear as on TripAdvisor the manager said it wasn t me doing the booking and I cannot reply, my husband and I did the booking, together. And my husband is local.

Excellent structure, with beautiful rooms overlooking the sea, comfortable sun beds on the beach with considerable distance between the umbrellas. Also good food. Highly recommended for those who want to go kite surfing.

Very accomodating staff, safe and solid amenities.
Pretty awesome balance between beach and luxury acomodation.
Beach it self is a little windy and prone to tidal differences so beware.
Not the most quiet place for family as there can be ocasional party in near by beach bars, but not later than midnight.

Best location I have ever seen in the Island, the food is very delicious and staff are awesome.
I like the place

Nice place they ask you for $ 10 when you arrive per person to take advantage of the swimming pool and beach loungers which, however, get you down from eating. With a drink and a plate you come back safely and in the end with $ 10 you go back all day

Thanks For eveyything great Resort nice breakfast great Peoples here is like lost Paradise
BEST Regards Erez Egilmez

Although the accommodation was paid immediately upon booking, on arrival inconspicuous charges outside the normal tourist tax of 1 per person per night and 10 per day were added and collected. Accommodation was getting very old. Was ever here 8 years ago. The operator of the facility is another. View course beautiful. Breakfast is except the fresh fruit offer very petty. Similarly, the menu offered is very different as described in the map. In any case, you can not understand the sometimes positive reviews. It is the purest rip-off.
So vacation on Zanzibar anytime again but a different accommodation !!!!

Nicely located, well-kept area, only the EcoLodges are getting a bit old. They are clean but a bit shabby for this proud price. The front desk staff is a bit grumpy, the restaurant staff very nice. The breakfast was buffet style and not the punch, but ok. Dinner was once very good (octopus), on the other night rather not so (burger - who likes burgers, should go to the bake B4! Burger with love!).

There is only one white house like in the pictures from the site. The location and the food were amazing. Cleaning was done properly, every day, with no exception. But right in the first minutes when arrived we were asked 10 USD / person / night. After that we discovered that there were no windows at the ECO rooms, only nets for insectes. And these nets were useless. I felt secure because location is guarded by maasai and no local vendor disturbed us on the sunbeds unless we wanted too. A big thank you and my appreciation to them. But the fact that you had no intimacy inside the room is decisive for me not to go back again.

The ecobungalow was a great experience, in my opinion one of the best way to taste the authenticity of the island. The beach was very so close that we were able to listen the waves. The restaurant was ok but not the best in Paje and the resort in general was not super clean but good for the local standards

Best possible location right on the beach! Very secure. Friendly staff. Loved it.

Excellent accommodation, directly on the sandy beach, rooms are cleaning every day, very friendly people. Excellent breakfast.

Great food, a little from the beach which is nice as it is more quiet. Great service.

Amazing view, Great beach, very good service, tasty food (except breakfast!), friendly staff.

Cristal Resort is a very well located hotel in the Paje area. You have the beach at the foot of the rooms and, fortunately, it is one of the cleanest in the area. Point to be highlighted. BEWARE OF RESERVING ACTIVITIES (read later).

The cleanliness and hygiene of the hotel are another positive point to take into account: they are excellent.

The kitchen service is good and the waiters are even better. The prices, however, are a bit more expensive than in beachfront restaurants, but being a hotel it is to be expected. During our stay they did two obligatory buffet dinners. It is a curious experience to be able to taste local food. The negative part is the $ 20 required per cover and that if you are not a fan of trying new things (it is not our case) you are annoyed.

BEWARE OF BOOKING ACTIVITIES !!!!

At the time of booking any activity they do it with dollars and miserably overcharge the prices ... the good thing is the comfort of forgetting to do it on your own.
However, I will put two examples that will help you:
2 people on an excursion to Jozani Forest is 70 (Tanzanian shillings 175,000). You can book a taxi on your own there for 20-25,000 shillings going and coming back. Entrance with a guide is 10,000 shillings per person. Which makes a total of about 50,000sh. Where do the remaining 120,000 go !? To the coffers of the hotel businessman. Another example is going to the airport: 50 (130,000sh). We took the taxi on our own and it cost 55,000sh ... where is the rest going to stop? To hotel. The taxi driver thanked us for having done this since the percentage of money they give them is much lower than these 55,000sh. It is abusive for a hotel to keep more than 50% of the amount of activities.

We only ate there, but it became our canteen. Very nice food!

Love the Rooms
Good security
Good service

Beautiful resort directly on the white beaches of Paje. Comfortable single houses that guarantee privacy and a fantastic sea view. Excellent buffet breakfast and restaurant service.

Wonderfully located resort, delicious food and friendly service.

We have long considered how we should rate this property. One should not start from European conditions, but in the end a very proud price at European level is called for this accommodation and also in the restaurant. And after we were able to experience in Stone Town that service is not a foreign word, this resort can still be VERY peaceful with 6.2 stars. You shouldn't expect a luxury apartment, but at least excellent service!?!?!? First the positive: A really very good location on a wonderful beach. You can't get anything like it in Paje. The loungers, insofar as you get one (this is due to the "I reserve early in the morning times a lounger" tourists) are very comfortable and the umbrellas provide wonderful shade all day long.
Now to the negative: On the edge (not included in the evaluation): - the toilet flush was leaking and accordingly the toilet and the area in front of it was always under water - water was only temporarily available - the air conditioning system was always trying but unusable ( regardless of power outages every 15 minutes) Now to the real problem: Here European prices are called up and the staff has an attitude that is second to none. -Before the first drink, it takes 40 minutes at dinner -We complained several times, nothing happened -When they tried to eat, we tried a rice dish as Pad Thai (a traditional Asian noodle dish) -in the end we left the restaurant after we left 30 minutes without success waiting for our bill At check-in there was no change, but we were promised this, it will not be forgotten. Nobody knew about it when they checked out. But to top it all off, we ran after our taxi (mind, the only time we saw the staff run) for $ 1.50 that were forgotten to charge us. Conclusion: location great, service and breakfast flop. Book this accommodation with a great location but go somewhere else (recommendation B4 or Mr Kahawa). Much joy!

The location is a big plus, not far from the airport. When checking in, look at the quality of the houses - the old ones will leak when it rains. The breakfasts are flawed, as is the food in general. They forget to leave water and shampoo in the rooms, you have to remind. But because of the territory - four.

good resort,nice restaurant massai dance in restaurant

The hotel was badly deteriorated, was last year, decided to come this year, the bungalow was given on the back, holes in the house, it's scary that insects will run in. Reception in the sand. The hotel is not renovated or invested. Wouldn't recommend! The guests who choose your hotel not for the first time could provide the best conditions!

The hotel is two stars maximum !!! Conde worked for 2 days then died and gave a fan. There is no refrigerator. There is always nothing in the restaurant. You don't have to look at the menu, but ask what to eat. Rooms are ok, clean, no insects. Perhaps before the fire, the reception was better fed, but now it's not worth taking a room with food. There are many decent restaurants and cafes nearby.

The best location of the beach and excellent service.

Few day i was take the quest there on dinner time...
Oh it's was ameizing what i sow good service,music e.t.c.

Can't beat the view--absolute paradise. The rooms are clean and modest. The deluxe beach rooms are perfect for a family bc they have multiple beds. The pool is very deep so bring floaters for the kids so they can go for a swim too.

Heartbroken at how this place has degraded since we last visited in 2017. Clearly no management here. No signs with specials or just advertising that they are still up and running. Chairs and broken tables just strewn around. They could have fixed these and put mattresses out to invite people in, have someone man a small bar outside like they used to, play some music. Used to be the best spot to enjoy a beer, lounge in the shade or sun on the beach and stroll up to the restaurant for delicious lunch. Now it's a ghost town. Absolute waste though as their food is still delicious, the fish soup and burgers we ordered were *fabulous* and filling, served with fresh bread and smiles in both cases. Please consider asking for a mattress, ordering a beer and giving this place a chance to regain their old splendor!

I love it!
Best resort
Best restaurant in Paje
Friendly staff
Super price quality

Hotel very well located on Paje beach in Zanzibar.
The food in the hotel restaurant is very good! So good that after having tested various restaurants in the area, we made the choice to eat there every day for lunch and dinner. The menu is varied which means that you don't always take the same thing.
The staff are lovely and couldn't do enough for us. I am thinking in particular of Mumba (not sure to write the first name correctly), adorable little man always ready to help us!
Nice swimming pool, a little sheltered from the wind.
The rooms are not very recent, but they have the advantage of being a few meters from the magnificent beach.
Note that Paje is a very large kite surfing spot.

The beach is beautiful and the accommodations are decent. However the food is horrible. The staff is is friendly but management needs much better training, especially in customer service.