Fanaka Safaris Campsite & Lodges — Hotel in Arusha

I stayed at Fanaka Lodge for one night in December 2024. I have to say during my month in Africa this was easily the worst place that I stayed at. The absolute basic minimum requirement of a hotel is to be clean and Fanaka Lodge failed miserably on this account:

The room was filthy as though it hadn’t been cleaned, there was even still rubbish in the bin from the previous guest(s) The towel I was provided had a large brown streak on it, I don’t know how that was missed when they put the towel on my bed The bedding itself was so dirty it was covered in ants/ bugs before I had even gotten in The bathroom had a serious ant infestation to the point where the person who showed me to my room told me to only go in wearing flip flops, I later realised it was because of the ants The hotel suffered frequent power cuts meaning the lights would randomly go off There was no hot water when I had a shower

When I complained about all of this they did move me to another room which was considerably cleaner, but the damage had already been done in terms of my perception of the standards at this hotel. The only positive I can say about this place is that the food at the restaurant for both dinner and breakfast...

They were really messy, and I would never use them again.

I had very bad experience with Fanaka because of one guy ( the swimming pool guy ) and the management.

We check in from Arusha to Fanaka Camp at lunch time. We had our meals ready and we showed where we will sleep for 2 days.

Complain: After the meal we went to the swimming pool for swimming. This is were the problem starts .

As I get my feet in the swimming pool the pool guy shout at me that I can’t swim just because we didn’t pay in front of other guests. I felt very negative about that as our leader was processing the payment for the 2 days at Fanaka camp.

I asked him what is the problem with that as we had meals and tents to sleep for us without paying anything as planed to pay before Checking out.

He’s was so rude with us and didn’t want any explanation than stoping us around the pool area.

With small mind you will think that it’s is Racism because other guest swim without paying anything.

I will not recommend this property for accommodation and swimming but the meal was great. I going to post this to all reviews website even if they will delete my review but this information will help...

My family and I just loved it! My kids constantly want to return there. The swimming pool was a personal favourite for them. 😍We had our own little cottage with a veranda and garden view.This is the best place to stay in this part of the country. The rooms are spacious, clean, great shower, fridge, tv, a kettle, charging ports etc. I honestly couldn't fault anything.The staff is extremely friendly, helpful, knowledgeable and welcoming. We were very well accommodated. Special thanks to Hamis and Maggie for making sure all our needs were met. The food was truly delicious and plentiful. The drinks were affordable and there was variety I especially enjoyed the breakfast and dinner buffet. The atmosphere provided by this lodge is so refreshing and inviting that we decided to stay here again on our return from Karatu. As a matter of fact next year my husband plans on bringing his office staff of 10 to Fanaka Lodge because of the wonderful hospitality and experience we had here. We also had the pleasure of meeting Mr Fanaka, who overlooks the place and makes sure everything is run smoothly. What a wonderful man! I am so happy to have...