The Insider ZANZIBAR


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What strikes me most when I step into my suite isn’t the four-poster bed, but the monkey nonchalantly perched beside my pool


Anantara Zanzibar Resort are slated to open on Unguja in 2027, joining The Residence – part of Cenizaro Hotels and Resorts – which staked its claim on the island in 2011.


JUNGLE RETREAT


What strikes me most when I step into my suite at The Residence isn’t the inviting four-poster bed, strewn with HWEJUKC JKDKUEWU ƃQYGTU QT GXGP VJG GPQTOQWU DCVJVWD but the monkey nonchalantly perched beside my pool. My surprise is short lived; these cheeky, deceptively adorable creatures – which I learn are native red colobus monkeys – are a common sight around the resort. Every morning as I cycle the property’s winding paths to breakfast, I’m stopped in my tracks, amused


and awed in equal measure by playful infants swinging through the trees or babies perched on their mothers’ backs. The 79-acre resort feels like a nature reserve, enveloped by thriving tropical greenery that conceals other animals such as dik-diks and elephant shrews – all just steps from a postcard-perfect, palm-fringed beach. One afternoon, we visit the Earth Basket, a


sprawling garden teeming with fragrant herbs, ripening vegetables and trees drooping with tropical fruit. The allotment provides produce for The Residence’s restaurants – and for our upcoming cooking class, where we’ll be learning to make authentic Swahili curries. We walk around the gardens, picking okra, mint and chilli peppers, before making our way to the beach,


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ASPIRETRAVELCLUB.CO.UK THE INSIDER SEPTEMBER 2025


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