Gloria Maris Hotel Suites and Villa

There are too many things to say about this hotel, starting from the beginning, after reaching the hotel in the morning we were told first thing that we need to provide them a credit card details, like very specific (probably the PIN code was the only thing not asked) as a “warranty” for the room itself which left me baffled, and if you refuse you need to hand them 100€ in cash or so and you’ll get it at check out. After this we wanted towels for the pool, for which again we were asked to pay 10€ deposit since according to the lady from the reception they get stolen frequently, from people who afford a 900€ hotel for 5 days, but ok I understood this as well. :) Now regarding the hotel facilities, to start with, you can forget about the infinity pool shown obsessively in the photos unless you booked yourself the most expensive rooms, the only access you get is to the main pool at which after one day of swimming my white pants became blue, and you have some wonderful sun beds made out of wood which are 95% of them broken so you end up staying like you’ve just had a surgery on your side. But no worries, at least you do have a back up option since you’ve paid 250€\night, you can visit the tiny beach sitting at the bottom of the hotel, at which you can enjoy a relaxing 10 hrs/day starting from like 8:30am all the Afro hits at the moment, so you can have an unforgettable experience here in Tanzania safari, joke aside now, I spent most of my days at that beach and there was not a single day we had some normal music playing, or even better, some Greek music because we were in Greece right !? :)) Our room was not available even at 14:00, that’s after we very kindly asked in the morning if there is any chance to get our room a bit earlier since our flight was during the night and we were tired, but instead we’ve got it even later than normal, and when we entered the room, it was completely wet since they just mopped the floor 30 seconds before entering, so we had to open all doors and windows for it to dry, then just to find out we received no amenities at all, not even a bottle of water, terrible start of a vacation honestly. After calling the reception like 3 times because we found each items missing one by one they even got annoyed by the fact that we disturb them with our requests and when cleaning ladies came to bring the stuff they weren’t happy either. Now breakfast, because that’s the most important meal of the day right ? Well, not so much in this resort, since it’s starting 30 minutes later than what you are told, and if you plan any trip early in the morning you can very well skip it, because after the first day, when we noticed it was closed at 7:30 when it was supposed to be opened, we talked at the reception (again) to make sure the next day it’s going to be opened at that hour since we had a trip booked which pick us up at 8:00 from the hotel, so we wanted to eat something before going there, and they listened to our request, but just the request of “opening” since that’s basically what they did, they opened the door but there was absolutely nothing arranged there beside some croissants and some fruits, as it was probably too early for the staff to start preparing everything, since they were used to do this at 9 probably, one hour before the breakfast is closing. The Coffee machine, if you can name it this way, was a machine you find in parking lots or I don’t know where since I’ve seen only few in this state, and they prepare instant coffee only, and that if you are lucky because in our case it was broken for 3 days, and in this case you have to order it from the bar, for which of course you had to pay, because it’s your fault the machine it’s not working. One thing I also noticed regarding breakfast by mistake, was that even the chocolate which you put on pancakes was the cheapest one you could find and then you suddenly don’t feel like eating pancakes anymore :)) In summary,a terrible and expensive experience.

first of all,, beautiful location! the room with seasight are lovely. the hotel looks amazing and the staff is very friendly. there is a very relaxing atmosphere and it’s not too busy. the hotel beach is small but very nice. the food and bar are very good! the only thing that could be better is the breakfast, a few things weren’t fresh. and the bathroom water was not always working properly. we will definitely stay again in the future.

Cozy and calm Although the hotel is in need of some serious repairs on the common areas and is clearly undergoing renovations on rooms (there is a mix of old and new) we really liked the vibe at the hotel. A huge minus was the breakfast with the warm food being served cold. Staff was very friendly and helpful, nice cocktails made at the bar and the hotel’s driver was a cool guy with high guide-potential! We enjoyed both laying at the pool and at the small beach below the hotel as we like tranquility during the day. We recommend renting a boat at the hotel as it is more convenient than going to the harbor. We are definitely coming back, a stay is already booked for September this year.