The Best Hotels and Resorts in Africa and the Middle East: The Gold List 2025

The East African coast has some of the most unspoiled beaches on earth yet very few private-island resorts. Which is, in part, why AndBeyond’s Mnemba, a tiny blob of white sand almost two miles off the touristy hot spot of Zanzibar, has been adored for so long. Opened in 1997 and rebuilt in 2024 by the esteemed Fox Browne team, with architect Jack Alexander, the diminutive 12-banda resort is lovelier than ever. Designed to mimic the curves of a nautilus shell, and to bring nature indoors, the rooms are curvaceous, wood-and-reed-clad Robinson Crusoe-esque spaces in which sea air (and an occasional bird, crab, or bat) can waft in and where shower views are of shady forest and chirruping seabirds. It’s a place loved by both seclusionists and socialites. Those wanting privacy can stay put 24/7 and ask a butler to pop by with a basket of sushi or a cooling coconut. Others might slip on a silk caftan and stroll barefoot along the blinding white sand to the bar for a Dawa lime cocktail or a glass of fine South African wine, then a romantic lamplit dinner on the beach – lobster ravioli, perhaps, or rare Kenyan beef followed by a chocolate tart or mango sorbet. For design lovers, a boutique is stocked with colourful local jewellery, clothing, and crafts; for the active, a gang of smiley chaps is on hand who can help you explore the clear, turquoise waters on catamarans, kayaks, or paddleboards; or dive the area’s famous reefs. At the island’s new spa, yoga lessons are offered on a cool, breezy beach deck, and world-class Healing Earth – scented massages administered by the island’s talented, intuitive therapists. Huge numbers of guests are repeat visitors – from America, France, Switzerland, the UK. As one glam couple, on their eighth stay, explained: “We’ve explored the world and haven’t found anything to compare. So we just keep coming back. Yes, it’s a big treat. But there’s nothing like Mnemba.” From £3,389. Lisa Grainger