We wish you a very warm welcome! Karibu!
Paradise & Wilderness
- Offices In:
-
Netherlands
- Size:
- 250+ employees (Founded in 2006)
- Member Of:
- TATO, TALA & ZATI
- Tour Types:
- Mid-range & luxury tours that, when possible, use accommodations owned and operated by them
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $200 to $1,000 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Your request will be sent directly to the operator
If preferred, you can contact the operator directly
Reviews
Horrible Hosting Experience
If there was a negative one rating, that is what I would give. All of the accommodations except for Reef and Beach were filthy and smelled terrible. The lunches were packed around 7am every morning and left to sit in the sun on the passenger seat until lunch time. We stayed in Arusha for 3 nights. On the first night, the water kept cutting off . On the second, large ants spread all over the bathroom floor and on the third, there was no hot water in the tent. The agreed -upon payment method was changed last minute. We were initially told that we can pay upon arrival however, about 2 weeks before our departure we were told to pay nearly half the amount.
Each time we had a domestic flight we had to practically beg for the tickets to be sent. Even though when the payment method was changed the excuse was that they needed to book our flights in advance.
On our flight from Arusha to Zanzibar, they sent us one ticket and sent our guide another(different Airline). We were extremely confused. Poor poor management. There is no emergency contact number or personal. We arrived at about 5:30am . It was dark in Zanzibar and our pick up was a bit late . He arrived without a sign , a uniform or anything that indicated that he was from Paradise and Wilderness( not even a sticker on his bus). We quite reluctantly got into the bus and were taken to a hotel in Stone Town. We were told we would have to wait until check in time i.e.2pm. which was completely ridiculous because management had our flight details and knew we would be arriving earlier. I tried contacting them via WhatsApp. When they responded, all they had to say was "Kindly be informed that normally check in is 2pm, if you request early check in is subject to availability and we charge 15 USD per room" (copied from WhatsApp) . We were willing to pay that amount but there weren't any available rooms. We ended up having to wait for an extra 6 hours to get our room (which smelled like bowel). They later apologized and offered a complimentary massage but this was not nearly enough. By the time our Safari was over , we were fed up and we decided to leave early. Our original booking accounted for 3 nights in Reef and Beach but we only stayed for 1(we were not refunded). We arrived at Reef and Beach around 8pm and left at 7:30am which brought our trip to an end. HORRIBLE HOSTING EXPERIENCE
CA
Email Cindy | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Disappointing and no follow up
7 months ago
TRAVELLERS BEWARE OF BOOKING
Where do I start? So we went on an amazing African Safari that we booked with another tour group . It was amazing. The flights the transfers the food the value. Everything was beyond our wildest dreams . My husband wanted a 5* Beach experience for 6 nights on a beautiful white sandy walking beach where we could be spoiled a little after the early mornings and long days on safari. As we hadn’t had a honeymoon after our recent wedding my husband Booked Dream of Zanzibar. Location was perfect for the excursions we wanted to go on , the beach was also what we were looking for ,premium food and drinks and service. After finishing our safari in Arusha we stayed the night before catching flight to Zanzibar. This is the email I received from Paradise & Wilderness -
*Trust this email finds you well,
Please be advised that we have just have just received word that some of our rooms are under maintenance this week at Dream of Zanzibar and have been closed, so we are unable to accommodate your booking at Dream of Zanzibar from the 12th - 18th Feb 2025, however we do nit want to leave our guest stranded so we have secured accommodation for you at our sister property - Reef and Beach resort, in our New Ocean Front Rooms for the duration of your stay.*
We booked it May 2024 and paid in full Jan 27 at which time I would think they would have had an idea the room was not available.
Upon googling the new accommodation the Reef & Beach was a 3*- we were less than happy. I spent the day researching other accommodations to no avail. We did appreciate they put us somewhere but it was no where compared to what we booked and paid $$$ for.
The resort was 20 min further from the airport and stone town. Upon arrival at reception it was old and worn we were not greeted with enthusiasm and that’s what began the downhill experience . There was no white sandy walking beach . It was a seaweed farm for a beach and upon the tide going out was all rocks. The room upon entering had a foul smell. They moved us to a recently cleaned room and after 6 hours it too had a nasty odour. Something with the new rooms. We met the manager Deborah -who I can give a raving review about she went above and beyond to help better our experience but at the end of the day you cannot make a 3* resort into. 5 * I can go on and on about all the things that transpired but there is no need.We spent more money elsewhere on the nicer beach, taxis back and forth and for meals at other restaurants as the food at the buffet was less then enjoyable ,after 11 days of safari 5 * food.
At the end of the day we were not compensated for the price paid and what we received and the terrible experience.. We both own companies and understand things happen however the person we were communicating with basically humoured us with some communication and made many excuses as to why the company had not gotten back to us, until she ghosted us completely. Not sure if the company even knew about our complaints. I did try different ways to write emails but have never heard back from anyone else in this Company. We were never rude or nasty in any of of emails but a-matter of fact that we expected some kind of compensation. Nothing. She even asked for our direct deposit info. This happened in Feb and we communicated until May 1 it is now July. We are very well travelled and have never dealt with a company that would treat it clients like it doesn’t matter. I have never written a negative review or had the need to, but decided I would let the company and future clients know of our experience . Needless to say our experience in Zanzibar was very disappointing.. Again I want to commend the Manager Deborah for going above and beyond she was the ray of Sunshine!