Bamboo Zanzibar brings eco-luxury to the island’s southeast coast

A seamless blend of African vernacular architecture and Asian design, Bamboo Zanzibar is a sustainable boutique hotel on the island’s southeastern Jambiani coastline. Travellers seeking environmentally conscious bespoke luxury are allowed a curated immersion in nature – from lush forest landscapes to mesmeric ocean scenes. The considered application of locally sourced materials, including natural stone and timber, sandcrete blocks, bamboo and raw concrete, create a contemporary vision of an eco-retreat.

Retreat to Bamboo Zanzibar

The resort was co-founded and designed by Lucas Oteyza, principal architect at Bao Construction. After completing a number of client-commissioned hotel projects across Zanzibar, Oteyza decided to apply his knowledge of the island’s boutique hotel market to create a unique proposition. The Spanish architect, who had studied bamboo technology and its use in construction in Asia, decided to craft a space with the sustainable material at its core.

Bamboo is integrated into the interior ceiling design throughout shared spaces, creating a dramatic change of geometry. Yet the architect embraces the thatched palm-leaf roofing traditionally found in East Africa, known as ‘makuti’, to clad the exterior. The integrated use of makuti and bamboo embedded within the tropical vegetation creates an extension of nature – a harmonious transition between built spaces and the outdoors.

Oteyza says the striking landscape was his starting point when designing the ocean-view suites. ‘The idea was just about this beautiful view,’ he says of the floor-to-ceiling retractable doors that frame the soft blues of the horizon, a strip of green from the manicured lawn, the cobalt splash pool and layers of timber beneath. ‘It’s about the lines when you’re inside the room. It’s all about the tonalities of the blue and how they’re changing with the tide. That is your television.’

The suites are set into the cliffs, each one a cocoon of earthy timber flooring and ceiling panels with walls of raw textured concrete. The rooms are furnished with classic teak pieces crafted by Zanzibari carpenters from Oteyza’s in-house workshop. In contrast, the Rondo Garden Bungalows are arranged in a crescent around a shimmering turquoise pool nestled within the lush surrounding forest. Whitewashed walls and polished concrete flooring are accessorised with rattan mats, and handcrafted chairs and cabinets are found within.

Yoga can be practised in a cavernous wall-less hall looking out to landscaped gardens, while a bamboo domed roof offers shelter. The space is part of the wellness complex, which opened in August 2023 and includes a gym, a boutique and an eastern-influenced spa.

Meanwhile, a spacious two-bedroom luxury villa is the first of three structures built as part of Bamboo Zanzibar’s most recent expansion and will be available to the public from July 2024. Shallow pools surround the villa’s bamboo structure, while foliage encircles the open-plan space, intensifying the immersive experience in nature. ‘We use the landscaping and swimming pool as a dividing wall,’ Oteyza says. ‘They are an island surrounded by water and a garden, but there’s no glass.’

Meanwhile, the resort maintains efforts to become a model of self-sufficiency, choosing to source food from local suppliers within 20km of its gates. Chickens and goats are reared on site and the cultivation of an edible garden enables the hotel team to pick and cook their own produce. A desalination plant treats well water, and the resort recycles rainwater and reuses water from sinks and showers for irrigation, hence the use of natural and organic Zanzibari soaps within the property.

Despite his approach to Bamboo Zanzibar’s design, Oteyza does not subscribe to the label ‘sustainable architecture’. ‘This is the right type of architecture. We need to incorporate vernacular architecture,’ he says. ‘This is what architecture should be.’

Bamboo Zanzibar is located at Mfumbwi Jambiani Zanzibar, bamboozanzibar.com