The Retreat is built by local craftsmen, and where possible from local materials. Walls are of local stone and roofs are made of makuti (woven palm leaves). Most of the furniture is made from locally produced coconut wood. Soft furnishings are produced by Zanzibari women and the matting by the blind association in Stone Town. The sun, through the solar system, supplies hot water to the lodge. Materials from outside Zanzibar have only been used where products cannot be acquired locally or the quality is not good enough. Over 60% of the staff in the lodge are from the villages close to Matemwe.

The ground floor of each villa (150 m2 including verandahs) features a private cocktail bar, an air-conditioned bedroom, a bathroom with double basins, shower, and large romantic bathtub overlooking the Indian Ocean. The best part of each villa is the plunge pool on the private roof terrace (60 m2), complete with sun and shade decks. And if this is not enough to make you want to stay there right now - each villa has its own small beach right in front of it.

The service in the Retreat is its pride: breakfast served on the private veranda of your room, so as not to disturb you. Each day the manager or chef will stop by to discuss lunch and dinner preferences: the catch of the day served in the privacy of your garden or roof terrace or a dinner at Matemwe's main lodge, where you can enjoy the company of other guests. Drinks are served in the room or on the beach and you can have massages and beauty treatments in the comfort of your roof terrace, overlooking the Indian Ocean. Heavenly.

• Diving
• snorkeling
• massages

• beauty treatments
• kayaking

• reef walks

• dhow sailing trips
• village visits

• biking

• spice tour

• Stone Town day trip

• Jozani Forest trip
• Prison Island trip