Talk about romance. An attentive butler. A lavish 1,400 sq. ft. villa with silk-draped king-size bed and midnight-blue plunge pool. Your own curtained cabana with daybed for relaxing on the beach. And the most elegant candle-light dinners.

The Palms on Bwejuu Beach on the breezy eastern coast of Zanzibar is oh-so-romantic. We’ve been fortunate to bed down at many of the world’s finest hotels and resorts. Yet this most intimate of boutique resorts (with only six villas in total) still managed to wow us big time.

The Palms is one of the world’s most romantic all-inclusive resorts, says Travel + Leisure. We couldn’t agree more.

Certainly, The Palms ups the ante on “all-inclusive” – giving the term a whole new meaning.

It’s not just that pretty well everything is included (from brilliant cocktails like vanilla-infused lime martinis to bike riding along the beach and reef-walking). It’s how it’s all presented, with such lovely attention to detail.

Romantic Dining

Take the dining. Breakfast and dinner are served on a colonnaded terrace in an elegant plantation-style house with dark polished wood floors and folding French doors.

At breakfast, a white plumeria blossom would be tucked into the corner of a small menu, written in script.

At night, the dining room got all gussied up.

For an Indian feast, we arrived to find gold gauzy tablecloths, beaded napkin ring holders and staff in long white robes with turbans. Another evening, waiters wore formal black pants and white shirts, and the napkin ring holders were mother-of-pearl.

For lunch, staff laid out a private meal for us one day on the beach under a canopy of weaved palm fronds, adorned with hibiscus flowers.

Of course, there was an ice bucket chilling a bottle of champagne.

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