Ocean Paradise Resort & The Spice Tour
Having spent Christmas Night at Matemwe and having been spoiled there with a special, private 6-course Christmas dinner, we planned to change hotels on New Years Eve for the more busy, happening, Ocean Paradise Resort. It was a bit hard to get used to going from a 7-room to a 200-room resort, but we looked forward to some action.New Years Eve the resort planned a big part in the foyer. They had a special buffet dinner, with a lobster grill and live entertainment and dancing. The celebrated midnight with a balloon drop and champagne. But since Riccardo and I had already enjoyed our bottle of champagne, and since it was our honeymoon, we rang in the new year alone together, strolling along the pristine beach.
Accommodations-wise, this was definitely the best. We paid a little extra to have a beachside room, and they gave us their best room in the house. It was no more than 15 feet from the ocean and no more than 15 from the pool: a self-contained bungalow with a wrap-around verandah. We were so close to the beach we could order food and drink from the pool bar, delivered to our lounge chairs on the deck without paying room service charges!
We spent our days at Ocean Paradise swimming in the pools, having drinks at the swim-up bar, walking on the beach and eating far too much multi-cultural cuisine from the buffet. Riccardo even played volleyball almost every day. The resort also offered a nightly live band at dinner and various planned entertainment throughout the day (like lessons in Swahili and crafts for kids). On weekends their Jungle Disco was open, though we opted out of that.
A highlight of our time at Ocean Paradise was our Spice Tour - a tour that came highly recommended from one of Riccardo's colleagues. It was great fun! We were driven to a spice plantation where our two guides showed us the innumerable spices that Zanzibar is famous for growing: it didn't earn the name, Spice Island, for nothing! It was great to learn about all the spices and to see how they grow - and a good thing Riccardo kept a written record because I can't remember what the heck I took all those pictures of! Our guide was very knowledgable and spoke English very well; his helper spent the tour making us crafts from the palm leaves, like the hats featured in the slideshow. We also had a chance to buy tons of cheap spices to bring home with us.
The resort offered us a special honeymoon dinner during our stay. It was located on the beach, where we were privately served an amazing 3-course lobster dinner. They went all-out: serving a free bottle of champagne and about 3 lobsters each!
The resort offered us a special honeymoon dinner during our stay. It was located on the beach, where we were privately served an amazing 3-course lobster dinner. They went all-out: serving a free bottle of champagne and about 3 lobsters each!
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