Zanzibar White Sand Luxury Villas and Spa: a boutique, kite surfing paradise

Stay in a pool villa on Paje Beach, famous for its white sands and some of the best kite surfing the world has to offer. Set on the tranquil south-east coast of Zanzibar, our resort lies steps from the beach and a calm lagoon. When the tide is out, which is often in Zanzibar, you get miles of white sand without another hotel in sight, it’s pure paradise. You can explore on our complimentary crystal kayaks, beach bicycles or go snorkelling and diving to discover underwater wonders.

The idea for White Sands was born on a family holiday to Zanzibar in 2011. It was our first time in Africa and my Dad, who’s a keen kitesurfer, just fell in love with the area. He’d been looking for a place to build a luxury holiday home for almost a decade and Paje was just perfect. While coming back and forth to organise the build, my Dad couldn’t find a boutique hotel with soul, so once he’d finished his own home, he decided to build several more villas and create a high-end resort.

We now have 11 sea-front villas, each set on 1,500-metre garden plots with pools. With four hectares of land, we could have built 40 villas but we wanted each one to feel private and peaceful. Everything is designed from the heart, with chic living spaces, rooftop terraces and gardens strung with hammocks; we even have telescopes so guests can stargaze. The resort is all about magical experiences and respecting the natural environment, so we’ve installed solar panels, a wind turbine and a desalination plant for bottling our own water.

Within the grounds, there’s a main pool, a spa, two restaurants and a stunning rooftop bar where you can watch the sunset. We love creating personal experiences for guests such as romantic dinners and beach picnics. The resort faces east so every morning we host a champagne sunrise so you can enjoy watching the day begin, complete with bubbly, hot drinks and pastries. What really sets us apart from other Zanzibar resorts though is our world-class kite surfing and we have a watersports centre with top instructors.

Guests regularly comment on our friendly team and personalised service – most of our staff come from the island and are all smiles and kindness, positivity and humour. Our goal is to be a bridge between our guests and Zanzibar culture. For example, we source our natural seaweed soap from a company that employs local women and can  arrange for  tailors to make outfits in traditional katanga fabrics. We even invite Maasai dancers, acrobats and Swahili jazz bands to perform at the resort.