The lodge is centred around a single large open-sided space looking onto the beach, which serves at the lounge, bar and restaurant. As one guest put it : "This is the most chilled chill-out spot I have ever found". We have books and games to entertain our guests who want to take a break from the beach and sun.

As we are a little place far away from supermarkets we use a lot of fresh products provided by people within the community. Our menus are small but good and change daily for every meal. Favourites amongst our guests are the grilled fillet of fish with a passion fruit sauce, chicken kebabs with a chilli garlic dressing. We don't neglect vegetarians either and our chef Salum will chat to you if you have any special needs.

The atmosphere at Matemwe is chilled and laid-back but this does not mean you wait half an hour for a beer - our staff are friendly and attentive - as another guest put it : "I wish we could take your smiles home with us."

The romantics amongst you will be left in peace but we often find ourselves rearranging the tables at meal times as more and more new friends sit together over a bottle or two of good South African red.

As some of our guests like to dive, snorkel, and explore the island we do not offer a fullboard option which makes them feel tied to the hotel. However, as we are on such an undeveloped part of the coast we do recommend that you book for half-board as there are not that many dinner options.