Breezes Beach Club and Spa

Breezes Beach Club and Spa is a beachfront resort in Bwejuu built around the useful parts of a diving holiday: somewhere to cool down, somewhere to eat properly and enough space to stop thinking about logistics for a while. The setting has a Swahili influence, from the Baraza bar to the spa, while the accommodation keeps to practical comforts such as air conditioning, a refrigerator, a private terrace and a mosquito net.

The hotel’s website is available in English, so you can get a clear feel for the place before travelling. Once you are back from the water, the outdoor pool, garden, sun terrace and private beach area give you several ways to spend the afternoon without turning relaxation into another organised activity.

Couples have a particularly good reason to look closely at this address. There is private beachfront dining at The Tides, a candlelit evening bar and a spa with Thai and Balinese treatments. Families are welcome too, with family rooms, children’s meals and extra beds or cots available according to the accommodation chosen.

You are in Bwejuu, on Zanzibar, with direct access to Bwejuu Beach. Sun loungers and parasols are set up for the beach, so the sea is part of the daily layout rather than something you need to reach by taxi. Michamvi Pingwe Beach is about 600 metres away, while Michamvi Kae Beach is around 1.8 miles away.

The location is coastal and fairly self-contained, but Bwejuu village is only a 10-minute drive away when you want to step outside the resort. Paje Beach is around 3.9 miles away, and the nearby restaurant options include Blue Dongwe Jetty, about 0.6 miles from the hotel, with further restaurants around 1.4 miles away.

Abeid Amani Karume International Airport is about 33 miles away, with a journey of roughly 56 minutes by car. That is a manageable arrival transfer, though still long enough for an airport pick-up to be worth arranging rather than improvising after a flight.

The standard and deluxe rooms both give you 48 square metres to work with, a useful amount of breathing room when dive bags, clothes and the day’s damp gear have all arrived back at the same time. Both sleep up to three people and use a super-king-size bed, making them a sensible choice for a couple who want space without moving up to the largest category.

The suite is the one to consider when the room needs to do more than provide a bed. At 84 square metres, it gives a group of up to three more room to spread out, and it has a bathroom. For two people, it is the more generous option; for three, it gives you a better chance of retaining personal territory, which is a minor detail until everyone is tired and sandy.

All rooms and suites are air-conditioned and have a terrace, refrigerator, safety deposit box and en-suite bathroom. A kettle and tea or coffee-making facilities cover the first drink of the day, while the refrigerator is useful for keeping water cool. The rooms also include a mosquito net, daily housekeeping and a drying rack for clothing. Wi-Fi is available throughout the property, and the beds have been rated highly for comfort.

Three restaurants give you more range than a single buffet that has to carry the whole holiday. Salama Dining Room handles breakfast and dinner, with a breakfast buffet followed by table-service dinners and themed buffets that change through the week. The menu draws on Arabic, Indian, Persian, Asian and Swahili flavours, so the evening meal is not tied to one narrow style of cooking. Breakfast covers full English and Irish options, halal choices and buffet service.

Lunch moves to The Breakers Grill on the beach, where barbecue and the catch of the day are served under the palms. It is the sort of arrangement that makes sense when the alternative is putting on proper clothes at midday. For a quieter evening, The Tides is a beach restaurant for two to four guests with personalised service and a special menu.

There are three named bars. The Pool Bar is the daytime retreat from the sun, The Safari Bar shifts to a relaxed candlelit atmosphere in the evening, and The Baraza Bar concentrates on whisky, liqueurs and cigars in a Swahili-style setting. A coffee and tea lounge is also available, along with a snack bar, room service, breakfast in your room and packed lunches. Dinner calls for formal dress for gentlemen, so keep one respectable outfit out of the dive bag.

The outdoor pool, private beach area, garden and sun terrace cover the uncomplicated version of a non-diving day. Sun loungers, beach chairs, umbrellas and pool or beach towels are available, leaving you free to move between shade, water and a horizontal position without having to plan an itinerary. There is also a shared lounge when the sun has done enough for one day.

Frangipani Spa is the more deliberate route to recovery. Its Swahili-inspired setting uses candlelight and spice aromas, with facials, beauty treatments, Thai massage and Balinese massage on the treatment list. The hotel also has a fitness centre and yoga, should you want to stretch rather than simply collapse elegantly into a lounger.

For a little more movement, the property offers a tennis court with equipment, cycling, canoeing, windsurfing, darts, billiards and water-sports facilities. Snorkelling and kite surfing are also available, while live music and evening entertainment give the day somewhere to go after dinner. The activities are varied, but the hotel still leaves you a perfectly respectable option: do none of them.

An airport shuttle and a general shuttle service are available, and the hotel can arrange transfers from Abeid Amani Karume International Airport. A car-hire service and a tour desk are also available if you want to explore beyond the beach. The front desk operates around the clock, with luggage storage and currency exchange on site.

Check-in runs from 15:00 to 21:00, and check-out from 06:00 to 12:00. You need photo identification and a credit card at check-in; cash is an accepted payment method. Cancellation and prepayment conditions vary with the accommodation selected, so check the terms attached to your room before committing.

Free Wi-Fi covers all areas, and room service, laundry and ironing services are available. Children of any age are welcome; cots and extra beds can be requested, with availability depending on the chosen accommodation. The property also has non-smoking rooms, a safety deposit box, 24-hour security and a wake-up service.