Karatu safari Camp Lodge — Hotel in Arusha

We booked here through booking.com. The property tries to seem hospitable, but it ends up being just pretentious. This was our first time in Tanzania, and this property left a very bad taste in our mouths.

1. False advertising

The description of our room read: fireplace, cupboard, sofa, tiled/marble floors, cloths rack, bed side socket, desk, 70m2

In reality, we had a bed, a table and two camping chairs. And you can imagine the truth about the 70m2 room size. I don't mind the lack of amenities in the room, we were there for safari not the room, but the false advertising makes you feel cheated.

2. Shitty lunches

I'm not exaggerating here. We booked a $10 lunch with him to take on safari, and what we got was two small beignets, one cupcake, a juicebox,, a banana, and a bun, and 3pieces of biscuits. Except the banana and the biscuits, nothing was edible. See photo attached.

3. Bad information

I had asked the owner about paying by card or USD at Ngorogorro crater. He said it is possible. We were coming on 25th December, so I asked him if that would be a problem. He said it would be ok. So I booked the safari to Ngorrogoro crater with him.

Everything went wrong. First, his driver didn't show up. We waited for an hour, then I called the first tour company I could find on google, and he came within 5 minutes. Then it turns out that the entry can only be paid in Tanzanian shillings, not USD or by card. So we were looking for a currency exchange or an ATM that is open. Then it turns out the entry fees can only be paid at the bank, which is closed on 25th December.

In the end we were able to pay at a Wakala after it opened, and we could find a wakala that can process 450$ (most don't have this much i their accounts). We lost 3.5 hours of our time in the morning, the only day we could do the safari. We only had a day in Ngorogorro crater, and wasted half of it because of this guy. We managed to see a lot of animals, but wasting precious time in the morning, stressed, shouting, and afraid that your whole day would be wasted is not what we...

After leaving the Serengeti and passing through Ngorongoro we stayed overnight at this place.

It was dark in the reception as they had no lights and for the kids it was darkness as there was no wifi.

After the initial shock and being told what was being served for dinner we were shown our rooms. With no warm water we had nothing to do but chat in the reception area with tea and some popcorn provided by the lodge.

The electricity came on. Some of us had warm showers after not being able to get the shower to work.

Dinner was lovely and at $10 per person expensive for Tanzania but very good. Worth having.

Beds are ok.

However, throughout the service was fantastic. They tried and accommodated us as best as possible.

Overall fair value for the price we paid. Could be a little gem...

Stayed at this friendly place for 1 night en route to the Ngorongoro crater. I would like to give James special recognition for his professionalism and hospitality during our time there. He is a very kind young man who genuinely cares about his guests. He accommodated the many food allergies we had and ensured our meals were perfected in the kitchen. If you crave fresh, nutritious, and exceptional food, Tanzania is your destination. And to everyone in the villages who work hard year-round to plant and harvest their gardens, you deserve a long, standing ovation. Thank you for welcoming us from Canada....