Emerson Spice

You know we’re sincere in our love for contemporary design, but you don’t go all the way to Zanzibar for pan-global modernism — you go there for its utterly unique blend of Swahili and Arab cultures, and for the riotously eclectic architecture and design that’s created by this collision of traditions. Or, to put it more simply: you go to Emerson Spice.

It’s set on a picturesque pedestrian-only street in the Kasbah, the ancient part of Zanzibar’s Stonetown, and while it’s just a few minutes’ walk from the beach and the Old Fort, it’s sequestered enough to feel very private indeed. Once an aristocratic home, it comprises three landmark buildings, and is divided into a mere 11 rooms, each one lavishly decorated with a lifetime’s worth of antiques under high timbered ceilings.

The Secret Garden restaurant, in the ground-level courtyard, is almost exactly what it sounds like, while the rooftop Tea House is more than a tea house; it’s a restaurant serving a single seating — a sundown cocktail at 6 followed by a five-course tasting menu at 7 — on the open-air terrace with a view of the Stoneton rooftops. Reservations are essential, as it’s one of the most highly regarded tables in town — and we might just say the same of the hotel as well....