Views from Around the World

“...with gulps of sweetly spiced air, as we were led on foot from the market, the furthest cars can venture, to our hotel. We were staying at Emerson’s House, a splendid palace that was formerly home to a sultan’s brother, which has been exquisitely restored and furnished with Zanzibari antiques...”

Harper’s & Queen Travel by Samantha Weinberg

“Emerson’s Rooftop Bar, old Stonetown, Zanzibar, may be -- no, must be-- the most romantic bar in the world. How does this sound: you are sitting on Persian cushions on the floor, with your back against a low wall, feeling the soft breeze on your face while you drink a gin and tonic, eat hot fried and salted banana rings and watch the sun fall into the sea towards the mainland of Africa... Emerson came here seven years ago and is slowly turning this historic, neglected mansion into a magnificently exotic hotel.”

The Age by Pamela bone

“A pioneering hotel, Emerson’s House, built by American Emerson Skeens in a restored mansion in mid Stone Town, quickly gained cult status as the most characterful place to stay. It is a marvelous clutter of antique furniture, old ironwork, and Zanzibari art...”

Conde Nast Travelerby William Dalrymple

“...In Stone Town, the island’s capital, Emerson’s House is the top hotel both attitudinally and altitudinally. You climb an interminable staircase to the roof, past rooms straight out of Hollywood via the Orient. At the top, a warm breeze brushes you on to the roof garden, where a quartet of bright brass implements conspire to make tea.”

The Independent Magazine by Simon Calder

“Emerson’s is a splendidly eccentric town house in the middle of Stone Town, the capital of Zanzibar. It is run by Emerson Skeens, a charming New Yorker, who would have been Lord Jim in an earlier century.”

London Timesby Bruce Palling

“...Emerson’s House, a small hotel restored to resemble its original grandeur as the private mansion of a sultan’s brother. ...But our favorite time warp was Emerson’s House itself. ...it has been restored to resemble the posh Omani-Indian home it once was. Our quarters, up a steep, dark stairway, included a high room full of antiques, two wide canopied beds, carved mahogany armoires and tables and chairs, richly woven carpets and at the top of a long interior stairway that rendered our suite a duplex, all the necessary bathroom fixtures installed along a hallway, the sink and shower areas draining into a single hole in the floor.”

New York Times By Paula Budlong Cronin