Boutique Hotel · Exclusive Use
Exclusive Use in Zanzibar
The short answer
The whole house. Only your names.
Exclusive use means renting Boutique Hotel Matlai entirely: both villas, all six rooms, both pools and 10,000 m² of beachfront garden at Michamvi Pingwe — 12 adults in the standard king setup, up to 18 guests with extra beds. Butler service 07:00–22:00, 24-hour security, and — unique to buyouts — children of every age welcome.
| You rent | Both villas · both pools · the garden |
| Capacity | 12 adults · up to 18 configured |
| Grounds | 10,000 m² beachfront |
| Butler | 07:00–22:00 · 24h security |
| Children | All ages welcome on buyouts |
| Book ahead | 6–12 months for weddings |
| Last verified | August 2026 |
How the estate works
Two villas that become one address
The geometry is what makes buyouts here work. Villa Kidosho — two large sea-view suites around an elevated pool — naturally becomes the adults' or couples' wing; Asili House — four element rooms around a shared lounge and garden pool — takes families, friends or the louder half of any group. A one-minute garden path connects them; multiple levels of loungers and baraza seating mean eighteen people can spread out without ever feeling counted.
Configuration is genuinely flexible: every room takes a proper 90×200 cm extra bed, children's beds are available, and Dunia converts to a twin. Six kings for 12 adults is the standard; from there we build the layout around your actual group — grandparents on the ground floor, teenagers upstairs, the baby next to whoever drew the short straw.
The occasions that fit: weddings with the ceremony on your own sand, milestone birthdays and anniversaries, post-safari group landings, and multi-generation reunions. One celebration at a time — always.
What the takeover includes
The estate, itemized
A buyout keeps everything the hotel runs, pointed at one group: the 40-plus team and butler service (07:00–22:00, 24-hour hotline), both kitchens cooking your half board on your clock, the beach bar, the open-air cinema with its 300 films, the two free kayaks and bicycles, and Bustani Spa bookable straight through the week. The buyout price sits gently below the sum of six separate rooms — exclusivity here is a structure, not a surcharge — and payment splits or consolidates as your group prefers (Visa and Mastercard, no Amex, USD, shillings).
Rhythm stays yours: check-in from 14:00 (early arrival by arrangement when the calendar allows), check-out at 10:30, meals anywhere between 07:00 and 22:00, music and toasts timed to your celebration rather than a hotel schedule — with the village's night as the only neighbour to respect. Weddings run through our planning partnership so the legal and floral machinery stays invisible; reunions mostly just need the long table, the two pools, and the tortoises behind the restaurant drawing every generation to the lunchtime feed.
A sample buyout week
Seven days, one surname
Day one lands staggered — the safari half arrives dusty at four, the direct-flight half has held the pool since noon — and the first long table sorts itself out over the welcome drinks. Days two and three belong to the tide: sandbank expeditions for the walkers, kayaks for the restless, the spa's side-by-side beds working through the grandparents' backlog. Midweek brings the set pieces — the barbecue by the Asili pool, the ngalawa flotilla at sunset, the cinema night where three generations argue over one film and watch two. By the last dinner, the staff know every name, the tortoises have favourites, and the only scheduling conflict all week was who got Dunia's twin beds. That's the shape a buyout takes when the house holds still and lets a family fill it.
First step
How enquiries actually run
The process stays human-sized: dates and headcount by WhatsApp or email, a same-day reply with the room plan and quote, one call if the occasion needs choreography, then a hold on the calendar while flights firm up. No portals, no forms in triplicate — a buyout is a conversation, and it starts with two numbers.
Good to know
Questions travellers ask
A full buyout is our most-asked-about arrangement and the least standardised — these answers cover what every enquiry starts with.
What exactly do we get with exclusive use?
The entire property: both villas — Kidosho's two suites and Asili's four rooms — both private pools, and 10,000 m² of beachfront garden. Butler service runs 07:00–22:00, housekeeping daily with evening turndown, and the property is watched 24 hours. It's an intimate takeover, not a resort buyout.
How many people fit?
Six king-size bedrooms hold 12 adults in the standard setup. With proper 90×200 cm extra beds available in every room, children's beds, and the Dunia room's twin conversion, up to 18 guests can be configured comfortably. Tell us your group and we'll draw the layout.
Are children of all ages welcome?
Yes — this is the arrangement where the child policy opens completely. Individually booked rooms welcome children from 14 (couples set the house's quiet tone); an exclusive villa or full-property rental welcomes every age, babies included, because the space and its rhythm are entirely yours.
What occasions book exclusive use?
Weddings — the property becomes a private ceremony estate with one celebration at a time; milestone birthdays and anniversaries; safari groups decompressing together after the northern circuit; and multi-generation family reunions where togetherness and retreat both need room.
How does dining work with the whole property?
Entirely around your group: half board from Zatiny's two kitchens served whenever suits you, long tables in the garden, private dinners in the sand, a barbecue by the pool — the kitchens plan menus with you, and the butler choreographs the days.
How do we book it?
Directly with us — email or WhatsApp. Exclusive-use pricing is quoted per dates and group; a buyout is gently discounted against booking all six rooms separately. High-season dates and wedding weekends go 6–12 months out.
One booking. The entire beachfront.
Send dates and group size — we'll draw the room layout and quote directly.
Enquire on WhatsApp