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Fundu Lagoon – 4 Star

Enchanted, romantic and stylish, Fundu Lagoon is your quintessential far-flung island hideaway.

It's impossible not to fall in love with Fundu Lagoon, situated way out on the isolated west coast of Pemba Island. This exclusive resort was created by Scottish fashion designer Ellis Flyte and has something for everyone - no matter age, nationality or background. This place is all style, romance and fantasy - the epitome of rustic chic.

Getting there from Zanzibar is part of the adventure and requires all three modes of transport: planes, taxis and boats. It's quite a fun and scenic trip though, so don't let the distance put you off. On the 30-minute flight to Pemba Airport you'll get fantastic aerial views of Zanzibar and Pemba. The 20-minute taxi drive takes you through lush fruit plantations and thatched villages, where you can smell the rich aroma of cloves drying in the sun. Then it's a 30-minute speedboat trip to the lodge. With all these logistics to consider, you'll begin to understand why prices at Fundu Lagoon are so steep.

The speedboat pulls up at a 200m-long jetty leading to a white beach and a thatched lodge hidden in-between the greenery. As you walk along the spectacular jetty to the lodge you leave behind your known reality and step into an exotic island dream. Well, that's how it feels for us, especially if you arrive just as the sun is about to melt into the ocean.

Billowing cotton drapes sway in the gentle breeze in the passageways of the open-plan lodge. African masks, wooden artefacts and Moroccan lamps mix harmoniously with the natural cream tones of the couches in the airy lounges and dining room. Sandy pathways lead to the luxurious tented bungalows, which are either hidden in the lush forest almost on the beach or on a gently sloping hillside with views of the ocean.

We've always found the staff at Fundu Lagoon fantastic, from the management down to the cleaners. Everybody makes you feel welcome and relaxed. There's never any pressure to do things, so it’s the perfect place to just unwind and, in Fundu lingo, "chill out".

You can do as little or as much as you like at Fundu Lagoon. You can go on diving or snorkelling trips to Mesali Island, sunset cruises on a dhow, canoe trips to see the mangroves, or even an aroma therapy massage treatment at the resort itself. Since our last visit, they’ve refurbished their treatment room to make it even more relaxing for guests to enjoy massages and reflexology performed by local expert masseuses. Treatments include Indian Head Massage, manicures, pedicures, back treatments, waxing and threading.
A great new addition to Fundu Lagoon is Solkattan, their brand new 30ft catamaran. Guests can charter this impressive vessel for a half or full day, exploring nearby beaches, snorkelling, trying their hand at sailing or even fishing. Some of the best game fishing lies in the Pemba Channel, with sailfish, yellow-fin tuna, wahoo, marlin and various shark species on offer.
Look out for the phosphorescence in the water, which occurs at certain times of the year. At night you can see the marine life under the water and watch the fish. You can also put your hand in the water and see it light up like a torch. This doesn't happen all the time, but when it does it’s incredibly special.

The rates at Fundu include all meals, their in-house selection of drinks (including wine, spirits and cocktails), laundry and selected activities (canoe safari and dhow sunset cruise). Rates do not include diving, non-motorised water sports, Mesali Island snorkelling trips or transfers from Chake Chake Airport (US$70 per vehicle one way for a maximum of five people).

Needless to say, given its remote location, Fundu Lagoon is the only resort for miles around, so there are no other holidaymakers about. The local villagers, however, do use the ocean in front of the hotel's beach to collect their food.
The rooms
The 16 bungalows, reached via sandy walkways in the tropical vegetation, are the ultimate in sumptuous tented lodgings. They're built on hardwood, stilted decks under a makuti (palm-thatch) roof and have large, private balconies overlooking the sea.

The interiors are spacious and stylishly decorated. You'll find mini-bars in your room and cotton bathrobes and aromatherapy products in the en-suite bathroom. The romantic, large beds are wrapped in flowing mosquito netting. It's the kind of room you don't really want to leave, except to laze about on the sandy beach.

One of the advantages of the canvas walls is that you can hear the harmless forest creatures moving about in the shrubbery outside. Listen to the chatter of birds, shrieks of the bush babies and swoosh of the flying foxes sweeping through the branches.

There are two Beachside Suites with their own private plunge pools and chill-out lounges. One of the suites is on the beach and 1 is set back from the beach in amongst all the trees.

There were originally 20 bungalows set apart what we thought was a fair distance on the verdant hillside. However, guests complained that they weren't secluded enough, so the owners of Fundu Lagoon reduced the number of bungalows to 12, giving each suite even more privacy. They've since bought a piece of land next door on which they’ve added four new bungalows.
Two of these are stunning new Superior suites that were ‘unveiled’ in mid June ‘05 to compliment the existing beachside and ocean suites. The new Superior suites - both on the beachfront - enjoy fantastic views of the Indian Ocean and offer complete privacy. They have enormous private decks with huge sunken plunge pools and room attendant service from 8am - 6pm. The interiors of the Superior suites are stamped with Ellis Flyte’s shabby chic style - simple but crisp and elegant. Furniture has been brought in from Malawi and combined with indigenous pieces to perfect the African feel.

These suites are vast in size, incorporating the bedroom (king size beds) with a lounge area. Their bathrooms are in aqua and white and have double showers and basins in contrast to the wooden bathrooms of the other bungalows.

In addition to the new suites, Fundu Lagoon has undergone a refurbishment of all soft furnishings and every bungalow now has an extended deck so you can enjoy more time in the privacy of your room.

The facilities
Location: Fundu Lagoon is a remote lodge situated on Pemba Island, in the south-west, on the shores of the Wambaa Peninsula. It's a short flight from Zanzibar to Pemba Airport. From there you take a 45-minute drive to Mkoani Port, where Fundu's speedboat will take you to the lodge (a 30-minute boat ride).

General facilities:
• One restaurant
• Two bars
• Lounge
• Fully-equipped dive centre
• Dhow for sunset cruises
• Games rooms with satellite television, darts and pool table
• Boutique

Room facilities:
• Ceiling fan
• Mini-bar
• Bathrobes
• Mosquito nets
• Aromatic bathroom toiletries
• Viewing decks
Superior Suites:
• King size beds
• Comfortable lounge
• Sunken plunge pools
• Double showers and basins

Activities:
• Go scuba-diving and snorkelling on Mesali Island
• Set sail on a sunset dhow cruise
• Take a canoe trip through the mangroves
• Test your skills at fishing from the resort’s catamaran
• Day trips to Ngesi Forest
Services:
• Laundry
• Limited room service
• Room attendant service from 8am - 6pm in Superior Suites

Open: Fundu Lagoon is closed between 16 April and 14 June each year.
 
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Honeymoon Rates
We are pleased to offer a special 25% discount for the bride (or 12.5% discount for both bride and groom, as well as the following extras - these are in addition to all the included activities offered at the resort;

Champagne in room on arrival
Private dinner on beach
Sunset dhow cruise

This honeymoon package is subject to a minimum stay of 5 nights, and to the following terms and conditions;

Offer not valid for stays between 20/12 and 10/01
Honeymoon extras subject to availability
No conversion of existing bookings permitted
Accommodation is in Ocean View Rooms
A limited amount of rooms have been allocated to this offer subject to availability
Excludes transfers from/to Pemba Airport
Excludes diving and other motorised water sports
Cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer
(This special runs until April)