We arrived at Ras Kutani tired and frankly a bit fed up after 3 weeks on the road checking out different lodges across Zanzibar and Tanzania. To make matters worse, the last few lodges we had seen were very disappointing (don’t worry – none of them have been included in our range of lodges on this website!) and Ras Kutani was our last stop before we flew back to SA – it definitely felt like one stop too far! It says a heck of a lot about Ras Kutani that we left there enthused and rating it as one of the top few lodges we have come across on our travels!

So what’s so good about it? Number one has to be the rooms themselves, which are absolutely huge and beautifully laid out – they really are the type of sanctuaries that you could disappear into, barely to be seen again for the rest of your stay. They're constructed from all-natural materials – walls from thick pieces of bamboo, a thatched roof, and a floor covering of woven mats overlying a compressed layer of sea sand. This traditional flooring method was one of our favourite things about the rooms, the slightly yielding feeling underfoot difficult to describe but wonderfully sensual in feel! A close second has to be the wonderfully warm service from the lodge staff themselves which is absolutely top notch!

Unquestionably some of the best rooms in East Africa - hugely spacious, stylish and airy with perhaps the biggest beds we've ever seen!The other thing that’s unusual about Ras Kutani is its surroundings. Located on the Tanzanian Coast in an isolated area some 35km south of Dar es Salaam, Ras Kutani boasts a different physical environment to the typical lodges on Zanzibar with their palm tree lined beaches and fringing coral reefs. Imagine instead a pristine Natal South Coast lagoon perhaps 100 years ago, before it was ruined by development, and you’ll get a feeling for what’s on offer here – golden, sandy beaches and warm blue seas with proper waves perfect for boogie-boarding (and you can swim no matter what the tide), and a gorgeous clear-water lagoon mouth on which you can paddle canoes whilst looking for birds and monkeys in the thick coastal forest lining the banks. If you're lazing in the sun on a lounger, Ras Kutani have thought of everything – a flag system where you can signal your need for another cold one without even having to get up and walk across the hot sand!

If you’re looking to go snorkelling on typical coral reefs, this perhaps isn't the place to come (although snorkelling around an old ship wreck a short walk along the beach makes an interesting alternative). Instead Ras Kutani is all about relaxing: enjoy a massage with the resident therapist; lounge in the sun on the beach or around the swimming pool; take a long stroll or even a horse ride along the near deserted beaches; perhaps a bush walk through the coastal forest where spectacular black-and-white Colobus monkeys are to be found; fishing on the gentle fresh water lagoon or going out deep sea; you may even be lucky enough to have your visit coincide with the turtles laying their eggs on the pristine beach!

Unquestionably some of the best rooms in East Africa - hugely spacious, stylish and airy with perhaps the biggest beds we've ever seen!

Great personal service and a wonderfully relaxed ambience (and a resident therapist who'll massage any remaining city stress away!)

No surrounding reef means you can swim no matter what the tide, whilst the waves invite you to grab a board and go bodyboarding

Superbly scenic natural surroundings with a bird-filled coastal forest and gorgeous fresh water lagoon

If you are looking for azure, flat seas lined by palm trees and snorkelling on coral reefs, you'd be better off on Zanzibar or the other islands

Bit off the beaten track if you want to stay at a couple of different lodges (perfectly placed if you want to hit the bush lodges of Selous or Ruaha though)