Boutique Hotel · AFCON 2027
AFCON 2027: Stay on the Quiet Coast of Zanzibar
The short answer
An hour from the football. A world from the crowd.
For the Africa Cup of Nations 2027, Zanzibar's matches are played in Zanzibar Town, on the west side of the island. Boutique Hotel Matlai is on the opposite coast: six rooms in two private villas on the beach at Michamvi Pingwe, 1h15 to 1h30 by car from the stadiums, with a butler who helps you book the match-day car and a beach that empties again the moment you are back. Rooms from US$670 per night in the 2027 high season; the whole property for up to 18 — federations, sponsors' guests, media crews, a family of supporters — from US$4,050 a night.
| Tournament | 19 June – 17 July 2027 |
| Zanzibar venues | New Amaan Complex · Maisara (per press; CAF list pending) |
| From the stadiums | 1h15–1h30 by car · butler helps book it |
| Rooms | 6 in two villas · 12 guests, 18 with extra beds |
| Rates 2027 | from US$670 per double · half board |
| Whole property | US$4,050 per night · 5-night minimum |
| Season | Kusi: dry, 25–28°C, clear water |
| Tickets | CAF only — we do not sell them |
| Last verified | August 2026 |
Match day, from the east coast
How a football day actually works from here
Breakfast at your own pace, a swim if the tide is in, then the car your butler helped you book the evening before: through Jozani Forest, past the villages, into Zanzibar Town in about an hour and a quarter. The stadium, the noise, the match. Afterwards the same road back, and dinner from Zatiny's two kitchens: service runs from 18:30 with last orders at 21:30, so for an evening kick-off tell your butler in the morning and ask what the kitchen can do. Nobody on this coast will have heard the final whistle; that is the point of staying here rather than in town.
On the days you are not at a match, the open-air cinema in the garden can be booked through your butler (it carries an extra charge), the lagoon does what it does twice a day, and Stone Town's own football crowd is an hour away when you want it. For the full picture of dates, venues and what CAF has and has not confirmed, read our AFCON 2027 guide.
Three ways to book the tournament
Rooms, a villa, or the whole property
A room for two. Any of the six rooms, half board: US$670 per night in Asili House, US$790 in Villa Kidosho. Rooms booked individually are for guests aged 14 and over.
A villa for your group. Asili House outright — four rooms, up to eight, or twelve with extra beds — is US$2,550 per night. Villa Kidosho outright — two suites, its own infinity pool, up to four or six with extra beds — is US$1,500. A villa booked whole welcomes children of any age.
The whole property. Both villas, both pools, 10,000 m² of garden, one butler team and the restaurant to yourselves: US$4,050 per night for twelve guests, eighteen with extra beds, five-night minimum during the tournament. This is the booking for a federation's delegation, a sponsor's guests or a broadcast crew that needs to work and sleep somewhere quiet — see how exclusive use works.
All prices are our public 2027 high-season rates, half board, and the same on our booking page. Extra beds are 25% of the room rate.
Before and after
Combine it with a safari
The Northern Circuit — Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Tarangire — is about 45 minutes from Zanzibar by jet, longer on the small propeller planes the safari lodges use. A week on safari before the group stage, or after your team goes out, is the trip most visitors to Tanzania end up wishing they had planned. We do not sell or price safaris ourselves; our safari guide explains how the combination works and the specialist operators we point guests to.
Good to know
Questions travellers ask
These are the questions federations, supporters' groups and families have asked us since the tournament was announced — answered the way we answer them on WhatsApp, including the ones where the honest answer is no.
How far is Matlai from the AFCON stadiums in Zanzibar?
About 1 hour 15 minutes by car, up to 1h30 in traffic. Both Zanzibar venues named so far — the New Amaan Complex and Maisara — are in and around Zanzibar Town on the west side of the island; Matlai is at Michamvi Pingwe on the southeast coast, roughly 65 km away by road through Jozani Forest. You go to the football; you come home to the quiet.
Can we book the whole property for a delegation or a supporters' group?
Yes — that is what a six-room hotel is best at. Both villas together take 12 guests, up to 18 with extra beds, with one butler team, both pools and the whole garden to yourselves. On a full-property booking children of any age are welcome. Minimum five nights during the tournament.
What does a room cost during AFCON 2027?
The tournament falls in our 2027 high season: US$670 per night for a double room in Asili House and US$790 in Villa Kidosho, half board. The whole of Asili House is US$2,550 a night for up to eight, Villa Kidosho US$1,500 for up to four; the full property US$4,050. These are the public rates — the same on our own booking page.
Do you arrange transport to the matches?
Your butler helps you book it. Under Tanzanian law a hotel may not run its own taxis, so the drive is done by one of the two local transfer companies we work with; a car for up to six people to Zanzibar Town costs about the same as the airport transfer (US$60 per car each way), paid to the driver's company. Book match-day cars the evening before — the whole island will be moving.
Can you get us match tickets?
No. Tickets are sold by CAF and the local organising committee through their own channels, and we would rather say so now than promise something we cannot deliver. We will publish the official ticket link on this page as soon as it exists.
What is the weather like in June and July?
The best of the year, honestly. The tournament falls in the Kusi season: dry, about 25–28°C by day, a steady southeast breeze, cool evenings, and the clearest water of the year. Bring a light layer for the evenings.
Is the beach usable on non-match days?
Yes, around the tide. The east coast has a two-to-three-metre tidal range, so swimming is at its best around high water and the reef flat is walkable at low water. Your butler texts you the day's swimming window each morning and gives you the tide table for your dates.
Are the venues and match dates confirmed?
The tournament dates are: 19 June to 17 July 2027, co-hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The two Zanzibar venues are reported by the Tanzanian press; CAF had not published the official venue list or the match schedule when this page was last checked. We update this page when it does.
Have your dates?
Tell us your dates — we’ll hold the beach week and send the tide table for it.
Send us your dates