Heaven Is a Hotel

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As the sun sets across the rusting roofs of Stone Town, the cry of the local muezzin merges with the chimes from a Hindu temple and drifts skyward. The brilliant-hued canopy above me flaps lazily in the evening breeze that blows in from the Indian Ocean.

I'm dining in the roofless rooftop restaurant of the Emerson & Green hotel on Zanzibar, the semi-autonomous island off Tanzania, one of the most romantic spots on the planet. Once the opulent palace of a wealthy Swahili trader, the hotel has just 10 rooms, but each one is exquisite: the North room features a large stone bath built into an open-air veranda with views across the city; the Crystal room houses two antique Zanzibari beds and a handblown glass chandelier.

But the crowning attraction is the restaurant. The fixed-price ($25-$30) dinner typically comprises local seafood, meat and vegetables infused with the spices that thrive in Zanzibar's hot, humid climate: cloves, nutmeg, turmeric and cinnamon. Try boku-boku, the rich beef dish traditionally made for people returning from a pilgrimage to Mecca. Seated on sumptuous Arabian cushions, filled with good wine and fine food, I feel like I'm floating on a five-star magic carpet.