Welcome to the Riu Palace Zanzibar Junior Suite Courtyard View room #442! We stayed in this entry-level room at the Riu Palace Zanzibar for three nights during our eight day tour of Zanzibar, Tanzania in East Africa.
If you are looking for an affordable room in an amazing all-inclusive resort on the north end of Zanzibar near Nungwe, you won’t want to miss the junior suite at Hotel Riu Palace Zanzibar.
Keep reading below for a full Zanzibar hotel room tour and price details!
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Table of Contents
Riu Palace Zanzibar Junior Suite – Entry
The Junior Suite is laid out like your typical hotel room. There is an entry hall, featuring modern African-inspired artwork, and the restroom is located immediately to the right. To your left is the closet and minibar, and the hallway opens to the bedroom and patio area.
Upon entry, you will need to place your room key in a slot mounted on the wall to get power to the room. Once you remove the key card to exit, the power to the room will shut off. While not a terribly eco-friendly suggestion, if you really need to charge devices while you are out, a credit card will fit in the slot an activate the power.
The closet consists of two sliding door panels with hanging space, a top shelf, floor space for suitcases, and a small shoe cubby. There are plenty of hangers and enough space for two people to unpack. You will also find a safe, iron and ironing board, and an umbrella. If you need additional storage, there is a large dresser in the bedroom.
Riu Palace Zanzibar Junior Suite – Bedroom
The Junior Suite Courtyard View room features updated modern decor in a color scheme of chestnut, wood, white, and olive green. We felt the room was tastefully decorated and felt luxe for being an entry level room. If you prefer traditional African style decor over a modern style, we would recommend booking the standard Junior Suite or Suite class of rooms.
As the Junior Suite has a standard hotel room size and layout, the bedroom area makes up the bulk of the room. The room contains an extremely comfortable king bed, two nightstands, a dresser, built-in luggage rack, flat screen tv, and a floor lamp. There is also a loveseat and coffee table by the patio door for additional seating.
Upon our arrival, the bed was decorated with a heart towel art, fresh flowers, and “Welcome Riu” spelled out in leaves. Each day housekeeping created new towel art on the bed as well as more fresh flowers from the grounds. It was a really nice touch.
Riu Palace Zanzibar Junior Suite – Restroom
The restroom facilities, located by the entrance to the room, has the shower, vanity/sink, and toilet all located within one room. We did wish the toilet area was separate from the shower and vanity area, but understood that is not a typical feature in an entry level room.
The restroom features double sinks, a variety of amenities, and it is sized well for two people to get ready in at the same time. Amenities include soap, shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, vanity kit, and a shower cap. There are also two glasses for drinking or toothbrush storage. Keep in mind, tap water is not drinkable in Zanzibar.
The shower is extremely spacious and very modern. It features both an adjustable standard showerhead as well as a rainfall head in the ceiling. There is a large bench to sit on, and even a built-in body wash dispenser. It is definitely plenty large to shower as a couple if you wish.
Riu Palace Zanzibar Junior Suite – Minibar
The minibar is located in the hallway just past the closet. We found the minibar stocked with water, soda, and a few Serengeti beers (which David loved!) There are also coffee and tea supplies available on top. Housekeeping refreshes the minibar daily, and everything is all-inclusive with your room rate. So help yourself!
I will admit we were a little disappointed by the lack of snacks and alcohol choices. But to be fair, we are used to the super overstocked minibars found in the all-inclusive resorts of Mexico we frequent. I don’t think that is a fair comparison.
Riu Palace Zanzibar Junior Suite – Balcony
The Junior Suites feature enormous covered balconies with two chairs, an end table, and a built-in drying rack. The balcony is separated from the room by both sliding screen and glass doors, and feature views of the pool at the quiet end of the property.
The size of the junior suite balconies were so large I don’t feel the photos captured it well enough. The best way to describe it is as a large square instead of a typical rectangular balcony. This did kind of feel like wasted space to us.
Riu Palace Zanzibar Junior Suite – View & Location
The Junior Suite Courtyard View rooms are located in two-story buildings surrounding a pool near the lobby/entrance to the resort. You will be assigned either a second floor room with a balcony or a first floor room with a patio.
If you are considering booking the Junior Suite Courtyard, then you are probably doing so because of the modern decor or entry level pricing. However, that doesn’t mean the view of the entry level room is poor like at many hotels. You will actually have a decent view of a quiet pool area, although note the view is somewhat blocked due to the seating area with permanent cabanas.
It was really convenient to have this pool nearby, along with the Sunshine Bar. However, we did grow a bit bored with it quickly, as it was an extremely quiet pool. No music, and not much to look at. It also seemed to be the pool where the older, retiree-aged guests liked to spend their time.
The only con to this room is that the resort is built on a hill, and these rooms are located at the very top. The main pool, restaurants, and beach are all a five minute walk down a pretty steep hill. That means every time you want to go to these areas, you will be making that walk back uphill. We were so out of breath in that heat!
Junior Suite vs. Junior Suite Courtyard View
Hotel Riu Palace Zanzibar actually has two different styles of Junior Suites available, in addition to offering an adapted version for guests with accessibility needs. Keep reading to find out which would be the best option for you.
Our suite, the Junior Suite Courtyard View, is the most inexpensive of the two junior options due to its location at the top of the hill. However, they are recently renovated and feature a modern decor style, as well as easy proximity to a pool.
The standard Junior Suites, however, are not updated and feature a more traditional African style. Location-wise, they are about halfway down the hill, closer to the pools, restaurants, and beach. This is definitely a plus if you don’t love vigorous walks. Additionally, these rooms will feature views of the gardens – though you could possibly see a bit of the ocean.
If you care about the nightly cost, I highly recommend opting for the Junior Suite Courtyard View to save a bit of money. If the long walk uphill back to your room is daunting to you, then it may be worth spending a little more to get the more central location.
How much does it cost?
We stayed at the Riu Palace Zanzibar for a total of three nights in early November 2022, which is during shoulder season. The room cost us $436 a night for two people, or $1310.82 total. This amount included all of our alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages as well as all meals eaten at the buffet and restaurants. The only other expenses we incurred while staying here were ground transportation from our previous hotel and tips.
Check rate: Direct | TripAdvisor | Expedia | Agoda
Overall, we had an amazing stay at Riu Palace in our Junior Suite Courtyard View room. Stay tuned for a full resort review and video walk through, coming soon!
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