Stone Town’s new Glitz Garden

Dubai-style renovation completed padel court.

An eyesore for nearly two decades – with a collapsed sea wall and little remaining grass – the Africa House Garden has finally been thoroughly modernised. Too thoroughly?

Why the premier sundowner spot in town, right by the sea along the promenade of Shangani, would need a padel court, is anybody’s guess. The garden was re-designed and overhauled by Dubai investor Samuel Saba recently. On his  quest to restore major historic sites in Zanzibar, from the High Court to the Old Fort (THE FUMBA TIMES reported), the garden reepresented yet another forgotten area in UNESCO-protected Stone Town. The radical facelift of the leftovers of the historic Africa House Garden includes a Japanese restaurant “Maru” (still to open), a nice little coffee shop (soon to be run by the owner of former Baboo Beach Café, Mariam Mohamed), as well as some pizza, popcorn and ice stands. Mariam Mohamed will certainly add a more fresh touch to the culinary offering. She is famed for her fresh juices and Swahili dishes which she served for 12 years in the old garden. “I am counting on the new developer to re-open Baboo Café in the new surroundings”, she said.

Padel or sundowner?

But what is the padel court (TZS 100,000 per hour) doing here? “Young tourists staying in town want some fitness areas”, said Saba when presenting his garden overhaul to THE FUMBA TIMES. Padel has become a trend sport worldwide.

Swimming is another option at the garden with new stairs leading to the city beach; changing rooms are not provided. Water taxis for sea excursions to Nakupenda Sandbank and Prison Island (TZS 750,000 p.p.) can be booked at the garden, too; a 25 m jetty is being planned.

A better sea access would fit into the historical picture. It was from the sea and by road that members of the English club, established 1988 in the Africa House next to the garden, arrived for sunset drinks. Best known for its balcony bar, it was the oldest expat club in East Africa and remained open until the end of the colonial era. In 2015, Africa House came under Indian management, and became popular with busloads of tourists for a “happy hour”; later a pizzeria opened here.

At the moment, the four-storey building with two roof terraces and 15 hotel rooms has been stripped  empty, awaiting new ownership and major restoration. Significant antique furniture is said to have been stored away – among it an old set of scales reportedly used by Princess Margaret on her last royal visit to Zanzibar before independence in 1956. Historians fear that the scale, like many other antiques in Zanzibar, might be lost.  Never mind, some may argue, today you lose overweight on the padel court.