Fundu Lagoon is on Pemba Island, the sister island to Zanzibar lying across the Pemba Channel to the north. The hotel is situated on a remote and beautiful beach on the south western side of the island and is only accessible by boat.

Fundu Lagoon is the epitome of a “bare foot paradise” with a distinct Robinson Crusoe air in a remote and peaceful location. It is a place for guests to relax and unwind in casual, yet stylish surroundings.

Accommodation

There are eighteen rooms, consisting of designer tents, set under makuti (thatch) roofs on wooden decks and each with a view over the sea. The rooms are equipped with large double or twin beds, mosquito nets, ceiling and standing fans, and indoor and outdoor seating areas. Each has an ensuite bathroom with fresh hot water shower, toilet and basin. The rooms are connected to the main buildings by wooden walkways or paths through indigenous forest.

Standard rooms are located on the beach or hillside. All have Ocean views and can be provided with either double or twin beds.

Suites
Suites are located on the beach. All have fantastic ocean views and include a private plunge pool, private chill out area and a private sundeck in addition to all the standard features.

Superior Suites
All superior Suites are located on the beach and include large Queen sized beds, an open plan lounge, a stone walled bathroom with double vanity unit and a large plunge pool in addition to all the features of a Suite.

Facilities

The main areas are all built under thatch and are large and airy and overlook the sea. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served in the main dining area or at the jetty bar with a three course lunch and dinner, all with a choice of dishes of a high international standard.

A rustic jetty stretches way out into the sea and the jetty bar is situated about a third of the way along, offering a wonderful place to relax. The barmen are happy to mix your favourite cocktail for you, or teach you to play the local board game, Boa.

The hotel also offers a full Spa facility, which uses its own range of products, and has a yoga platform overlooking the ocean.

Other Activities

Due to its location on Pemba Island some activities are not practical, however Pemba Island is an unspoilt paradise with plenty to explore. The hotel can provide a variety of Dhow sunset cruises and canoe safaris through the mangroves as well as jungle walks.

Fundu Lagoon is ideally situated for some of the best diving on the island and naturally has a fully equipped dive centre.

Dive 710 offers a fleet of boats to cater for hotel guests. There are daily trips to nearby Mesali Island with a pristine beach offering superb snorkelling and diving.

Environment and Local Community

Well Project

The first successful project to bring fresh water into the villages was completed in 2003, giving the locals several wells with hand pumps.

School Project

In September 2004 a village fund was set up to build a primary school in Wambaa. The only previous school was at the eastern side of the peninsular, and too far for most of the children to walk. Within 12 months, a total of US$15,000 was raised from donations given by guests visiting the hotel. The management arranged with the village to build a 4 classroom primary school. Thus Kungule shule ya msingi was built in 2005 and opened in January 2006.

The Fundu School – extension class rooms are being built at the moment. To move into secondary education, they are in need of more class rooms, tables & chairs …And of course qualified teachers.

Project ‘mboga mboga’

Fundu Lagoon buys as many local products as possible, from farmers and fishermen and craft workers in the Wambaa area. Many vegetables however have to be bought from Tanga on the mainland, by Jihazi dhow, as there are no local suppliers. A co-operative was encouraged by Fundu Lagoon in the nearby villages to provide the hotel with the necessary vegetables. Two acres of hotel land was set aside, seeds provided, a well built and advice taken from the ministry of agriculture, and the shamba for vegetables, or mboga mboga, was started. Much experimenting later and there has been some great successes and some failures, but Fundu Lagoon is persevering with the project. They hope that in near future they will be able to buy all their vegetables from the Fundu farm. Our plot is now it thriving with 12 kinds of vegetables & herbs.

Project “Mboga Mboga” has in 2011 become the “Four Brothers’ Spice Farm”. They supply the farmers with all the seeds and equipment they require and then buy the organic vegetables for use in Fundu’s kitchens.

Operation Village Kids

There are a number of children in the village who have congenital malformations of one type or another, also a few eye and teeth problems. This sort of specialist treatment is not available in Pemba. Fundu Lagoon has put aside a Fund to help these children.

An occupational therapist was brought over from Unguja to identify which children needed the most help, and the ‘operation village kids’ was born. A single child treatment varies between US$2000 to US$5000.

Two groups were identified, one who could be looked after at the Mnazi Moja hospital in Unguja, and four who needed to go to the CCBRT hospital in Dar Es Salaam. Many of these children had never been out of the Wambaa area before. In March 2006 the first four little boys with eye, teeth and bone problems are sent to Unguja, accompanied by their fathers. They returned treated in two or three weeks. In April 2006, four more children suffering from club feet and rickets on their way to Dar Es Salaam, accompanied by their parents. They were in hospital for 6 weeks.

Our Opinion on Fundu Lagoon

Fundu Lagoon is a fantastic property aimed at the top end of the market. It is excellent for diving and beautifully rustic with a strong emphasis on service.

Fundu is very popular with those who wish to escape and have a magical intimate holiday in a perfect paradise.

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