Maisha Arts Hostel — Hotel in Arusha

All of the basics are sorted, clean, comfortable, social and good cheap meals and drinks. There is a real family home environment here; James and Chelsea are your roommates and the owners of the hostel.||Never in my time travelling throughout Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe, Scandinavia and Australia have I had so much extra effort and care offered without request. Help with bus tickets, a no bullsh@t and very competitively priced day safari to Ngorogoro and a 5am wake up to make sure we got in a cab to our bus. ||These guys aren’t just running a hostel either, their dream is to start a technical college for local adults to gain sustainable skills. It’s a big plan but I know they will get it done!||The location is not central. Do not let the reasonably off-road alley way to their place put you off. It’s in a quiet, super safe family neighbourhood that you will love if you ignore your western perception of appropriate civil infrastructure such as footpaths! There’s little crews of hilarious young boys roaming around too if you want a football game :) very cute.||TripAdvisor users... please... I implore you!||Do not stay or talk about safari options with anyone else in Arusha. We had a horrible time trying to book and almost getting scammed twice before we met James and Chelsea. They completely saved our trip to Arusha after I was ready to get the next flight (any) out of there after a horrible scammy morning with a dodgy safari company....

Maisha Arts is the best value, most comfortable, warm and homely place in Arusha. We know, because we tried out a few places before we found our way to Maisha. ||||Our beds were comfortable, breakfasts and dinners delicious, beers cold, evenings lively,||and safari needs sorted. Chelsey and James have some incredible ideas of projects that they hope to develop in the area, and offer volunteer programs as well. The area they live in peaceful, out of the away from the chaos of city centre, and they can help you figure out easy transport.They went out of their way to drive us around town, help us get the best bus ticket, and even saw us off at 5am in the morning. ||||Thank you for...

Although I was staying elsewhere in Arusha, I was invited to a BBQ at the hostel by friends staying there. Chelsey and James are great hosts and made me feel very welcome. The hostel is lovely and clean, with communal areas to chill both inside and outside. We enjoyed some Tanzanian hospitality in the form of BBQ'd goat and chatted and danced into the evening - I left feeling like part of the Maisha family. Thanks Chelsey and James - hope to see you...