Karama Lodge — Hotel in Arusha

So lets start with the good. The lodge has lovely gardens and very pleasant to walk through. The staff by and large are well meaning and in the main when we asked for things like taxis to arrive on time they did. There is a pool but it is a bit out of the was and no one was using it during our stay there is no bar facilities around it. Now for the not so good. Whilst the lodges are quaint and have effective mosquito netting and well apportioned balconies, they are lacking many amenities. No hairdryer, air conditioning, tv and only one towel per person. Given the remote location there is no fridge which means you cannot buy your own drinks and they are expensive from the bar. The biggest issue though is location and being a good twenty to thirty minutes drive from the centre of Arusha. There is little to walk and see apart from the grounds of the lodge itself. The torus from the lodge are also very pricey compared to similar alternatives from other providers. The biggest red flag is how much you value your sleep. Coming from a Muslim country in the Gulf where i have lived for twenty years I am familiar with Mosquey man going off at pre dawn I was surprised to find that a similar experience awaits you here at around 5.00 am on a regular basis. Unlike my M East experiences, this guy had a different script and gave multiple reprises during the day. There is a village nestled somewhere in the valley that the lodge is nestled on. It has a wonderful loudspeaker system of both Christian and Muslim persuasion so that you can get full involved especially on Sundays when it si carnival time well up to midnight, so be prepared to sing along. If you like wildlife, teh village will also provide you with barking dogs that Sherlock Holmes would be proud of well into the twilight zone and beyond. The lodges have no sound proofing, which I guess reduces the need for having expensive air conditioning. I had foolishly booked us in for six nights, which we regretted. We managed 4.nights before and cutting our losses. The food from our one evening meal experience was dreadful, and as mentioned earlier, once there you are isolated from any other choice for alternative restaurants nearby. Parts of the break-feast are ok, but don't bother with the cooked part. Karama has thirty lodges and during our stay only two or three were ever filled, often we were the only ones there. The staff are helpful and well meaning, but given the terrible noise issues and which the have very little control over, unless they embark on an expensive sound proofing of the lodges, I do wonder if they will be in business in...

We stayed at Karama Lodge for the first two nights of our trip in Tanzania. After getting in around midnight into Kilimanjaro, we were picked up in a safari jeep and brought to the lodge up on a hill. The individual cottages were great with a comfortable bed, a hot and powerful shower, and a nice deck. If you are looking just to rest for a day or two before safari it is ideal. However, this place and staying in Arusha has its downsides. Drawbacks:

1. Due to lack of communication, we learned that anywhere you stay and try and pay with card you will be wacked with a fee. Here it is a hefty 5% credit card charge. They also gave us flack for dollars from before 2009, despite legislation saying they have to accept anything from after 2006. Make sure you come prepared for situations like this.
2. Additionally, we were not informed the pool was closed for renovations. This would have changed our decision to stay there and should be communicated to guests prior to booking.
3. Arusha leaves much to be desired. We walked around for a few hours and were underwhelmed. We later received recommendations to just go to a coffee plantation or get out of the city because there is not much for travelers there. Overall: We liked our cottage/ room, but we would not stay...

We stayed here for two nights as part of our Kilimanjaro and safari tour. The lodge is situated in the forest, with a focus on nature. Which was a bit of a drive from Kilimanjaro. Each accommodation is in the form of individual huts, featuring a balcony that overlooks the beautiful hills and, if the weather permits, even Mount Kilimanjaro.

While you are immersed in nature, the lodge is also surrounded by a village. Unfortunately, the fajr (dawn prayer) broadcast over the loudspeaker woke us up on both days at 5am, and the constant barking of dogs kept me from falling asleep. The room itself was charming, but the shower pressure was quite low and the sound insolation was nonexistent.

The meals were the highlight of our stay; they were among the best we had in mainland Tanzania. The staff was friendly and helpful overall, and there was even a cute resident cat on site. I wish we had spent more daytime hours enjoying the beautiful grounds...