Hotels I Can’t Stop Thinking About

What makes a hotel experience stand out — and what makes it disappointing? The answer isn’t as simple as you might think.

The best hotel I’ve ever experienced, to this day, is the Baraza Resort and Spa in Zanzibar. Zanzibar is a small island in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Tanzania, with a rich and layered history shaped by African, Indian, and Arab influences — and Baraza leans into all of it.

The hotel is absolutely gorgeous, peaceful, and relaxing. And yes — it’s all-inclusive. Normally, I steer clear of all-inclusives. But if you look hard enough (and spend enough), there are incredible options around the world that let you eat and drink to your heart’s content and leave every other worry behind. Baraza is one of them.

The food? Unreal. There were different themed dinners every night, an endless breakfast spread, and a delicious lunch buffet every afternoon. And the service? Truly next level. Everyone was kind, attentive, and genuinely invested in making the trip perfect. One of my favorite memories was sitting by the pool, drink in hand, watching the sunlight dance on the water — just soaking in how lucky I was to be there.

Baraza was luxuriously simple, and fabulous through and through. It’s the kind of place that makes you feel like everything has been thought of, without being overdone.

I’ve got a lot more of the world to see and plenty more hotels to check into, but I find myself comparing every stay to Baraza. That’s how you know it was something special.

All the best,

Daniel