Early bird
10% off the room rate
Book 6 months or more before you arrive.
- Bookings made until 15 December 2026
- Minimum stay 2 nights
- Per room per night for two, half board
Boutique Hotel Matlai
Offers and Packages
The short answer
Which offers can you book at Matlai?
Offers at Boutique Hotel Matlai in Michamvi Pingwe, Zanzibar are discounts and add-on packages on the half-board room rate. Book 6 months or more ahead and the rate drops 10%; book 2 weeks or less before arrival and it drops 10%. The honeymoon packages add US$300 to US$860 per stay, for a stay of any length, and offers never combine.
| Early bird | 10% off, booked 6+ months ahead |
| Last minute | 10% off, booked 2 weeks or less ahead |
| Booking window | 16 January to 15 December |
| Honeymoon packages | US$300 to US$860 per stay, any length of stay |
| A whole villa | from US$1,240 a night |
| The whole hotel | from US$3,290 a night |
| Longer stays | on request |
| Last verified | October 2026 |
Book direct: a floating breakfast for two and a 50-minute Mchai Chai (lemongrass) massage each, on us. Stays of 3+ nights, one per booking. A gift instead of a discount: with the early-bird, last-minute or a promo code it does not apply. Choose one: the 15% code, or this gift at the standard rate.
Individually booked rooms take guests aged 14 and over; with a whole villa, guests of any age are welcome. Online booking here covers rooms for guests aged {age} and over, so for children or a whole villa send us your dates on WhatsApp and we reply with the options. WhatsApp →
These dates are by enquiry only — please email info[at]hotelmatlai.com or WhatsApp +255772628833 and we will confirm availability and rates.
Indicative public rates — the engine shows live availability for your dates.
What can you save right now?
These are the dated offers open today. Each card says when the booking must be made; a card disappears from this page by itself when its window closes.
Last minute
10% off the room rate
Book 2 weeks or less before you arrive.
- Bookings made until 15 December 2026
- Minimum stay 2 nights
- Per room per night for two, half board
Is there a discount code?
Yes, for now. The code Special2026MATLAI gives 15% off the published room rate for stays up to 15 June 2027. It cannot be combined with other offers.
Enter it in the promotion-code field of the booking engine, or give it to us by WhatsApp or email when you book.
Which packages are always available?
Packages are added to a stay rather than replacing it: you book the room or the villa, and the package comes on top.
Honeymoon packages. Four packages at a fixed price per stay, from US$300 to US$860, with a candlelight dinner, massages, a floating breakfast and more. Each is named for the stay it fills best, from 3 to 10 nights, but you can book any of them for any length of stay, and for an anniversary as well as a honeymoon. See the honeymoon packages.
A whole villa. Villa Kidosho for up to 4 guests from US$1,240 a night, or Asili House for up to 8 from US$2,050, with the pool to yourselves. Read about Villa Kidosho and Asili House.
The whole hotel. Both villas, all six rooms, from US$3,290 a night at the published rates. Here is how exclusive use of the hotel works.
Open dates at short notice. When rooms are free in the next few weeks, we list the dates on our last-minute page.
Weddings and vow renewals. Our trusted partner Castaway Weddings takes care of the whole wedding and you contact them directly; Matlai provides the venue, the rooms, the food and the butler service. Castaway Weddings can arrange either a legally binding wedding with the official documents or a symbolic ceremony only. Read our guide to a small wedding in Zanzibar.
Planning a safari as well? Only the hotel can be booked here. We are glad to recommend safari companies and to advise on how to combine the two; start with Zanzibar after a safari.
Which extras can you add to any stay?
Your butler can add a pampering day for two, a birthday celebration, a candlelight dinner, a private seafood barbecue, an open-air cinema evening, a floating breakfast and dinner at a spot of your choice to any stay, whether or not you take a package; most need a day’s notice. Here is what each costs.
- A pampering day for two: TZS 884,000 per couple (TZS 962,000 on bed and breakfast)
- A birthday celebration: TZS 468,000 for the person celebrating (TZS 507,000 on bed and breakfast)
- A candlelight dinner: TZS 156,000 per couple (TZS 195,000 on bed and breakfast)
- A private seafood barbecue: TZS 546,000 per couple (TZS 689,000 on bed and breakfast)
- An open-air cinema evening: TZS 125,000 per couple
- A floating breakfast: TZS 110,000 per couple
- Dinner at a spot of your choice: TZS 80,000 per couple
Prices in Tanzanian shillings, on half or full board, as confirmed by the hotel on 3 October 2026.
Do offers combine?
No. The early-bird and last-minute discounts apply on their own, to bookings made between 16 January and 15 December, and neither combines with the other, with a package or with any other offer. A package is always added to the full seasonal room rate. The direct-booking gift (floating breakfast and massages) is the same: it comes instead of a discount, not on top of one.
Direct-booking gift. A floating breakfast for two (breakfast on a tray in the pool) and a 50-minute Mchai Chai (lemongrass) massage per person at Bustani Spa, with our compliments, for stays of 3 nights or more booked directly with the hotel by website, email or WhatsApp. One per booking, whole-villa bookings included. Not combinable with a promotional code or any other offer: choose either the promotional code or this gift. The same applies to the early-bird and last-minute discounts: you take a discount or the gift, never both. A discount is usually worth more, and we say so when you book. Please order the breakfast the evening before through your butler.
Staying longer?
Longer stays have no fixed rule here. Especially in the low season, we can often offer a better rate for a longer stay: write to us with your dates, on WhatsApp or by email, and we reply with a rate for your stay.
What does every stay include?
Whatever offer or package you choose, these come with every stay.
Every stay includes
- Half board as standard: breakfast and dinner. Bed and breakfast on request; full board for a supplement.
- A welcome drink on arrival: a fresh coconut, or a Malibu if you prefer.
- Two kayaks for the whole hotel, free to use.
- Two bicycles for the whole hotel, free to use.
- Drinking water, free of charge; other drinks are charged.
- A kettle in every room, with instant coffee and tea.
- A WhatsApp group for your room and a small phone to reach your butler.
- Your butler, from 07:00 to 22:00.
Booking with the hotel itself? Ask us what we can offer for your dates.
Before you book
Questions about offers
Do offers combine?
No. Each discount applies on its own and none combines with another offer or with a package. The early-bird and last-minute discounts are 10% and 10% off the room rate.
Can we have the direct-booking gift and the early-bird discount?
No, you choose one. For most stays the 10% early-bird saving is worth more than the gift, and we tell you which is better for your dates.
Is the price per room or per person?
Room rates and discounts are per room per night for two people on half board. A honeymoon package is a price per stay for the two guests of one booking, added to the room rate.
What is the cancellation policy on offers?
The same as for any room: a deposit of 25% secures the booking and is not refundable, the balance is due 30 days before arrival, and the cancellation terms are on our policies page.
How far ahead must we book for the early-bird discount?
6 months or more before arrival, for a booking made between 16 January and 15 December.
Is there a discount for long stays?
There is no fixed rule. Ask us with your dates, especially for the low season, and we reply with a rate for your stay.
Are package prices on top of the room rate?
Yes. A honeymoon package adds US$300 to US$860 per stay, depending on the package and not on the number of nights, to the seasonal room rate with half board.
Is there a discount code for Boutique Hotel Matlai?
Yes. The code Special2026MATLAI gives 15% off the published room rate for stays up to 15 June 2027. It cannot be combined with other offers. Enter it in the promotion-code field of the booking engine, or give it to us by WhatsApp or email when you book.
For couples: Matlai as a honeymoon hotel in Zanzibar, the honeymoon package and weddings at Matlai.
Your stay at Matlai
Choose your dates and the booking page opens with them. Tell us in a WhatsApp message which offer or package you are booking.
Individually booked rooms take guests aged 14 and over; with a whole villa, guests of any age are welcome. Online booking here covers rooms for guests aged {age} and over, so for children or a whole villa send us your dates on WhatsApp and we reply with the options. WhatsApp →
These dates are by enquiry only — please email info[at]hotelmatlai.com or WhatsApp +255772628833 and we will confirm availability and rates.
Indicative public rates — the engine shows live availability for your dates.
Welcome drink, kayaks, bicycles and snorkelling gear, free of charge.
Booking with the hotel itself? Ask us what we can offer for your dates.
Why guests book Matlai
- A team of butlers on call, 07:00 to 22:00. One message and it is arranged.
- Half board with a chef’s menu that changes daily: three courses, plus two à la carte kitchens at every table, Zatiny (Indian Ocean fusion) and Duyên (Vietnamese).
- Dine where you like: in the restaurant, in the garden or on your own balcony. A private table by the beach or a candlelight dinner can be arranged at an extra charge.
- Six rooms in two villas, a pool for each villa, shared by its rooms, and every room facing the sunrise over the ocean.
- Bustani, the garden spa; the sandbank in front of the hotel at low tide; a quiet beach lined with small, family-owned hotels.
Send us your dates on WhatsApp Rooms and ratesHoneymoon packagesBooking policies
TripAdvisor 4.9/5 · 382+ reviews · Google 4.8/5