Miseni Retreat — Hotel in Pwani Region

It is always disappointing, when, of the advertised facilities, some are not available or even do not exist. What is the use of a massage hut, if there is no massage therapist? What is the use of a nature trail, if it is not passable due to lack of maintenance? Where to do Yoga, on the stony hill, which you are not allowed to access without a guide, or on the grass full of insects? The place is quite nice, though more in bush land than in a forest. It is calm and clean. The service workers are kind and quite good at what they do. BUT: we agreed on prices, but when we arrived the prices were given according to skin colour. Why in Tanzania there is still this racism. There are so many very rich Tanzanians, and students or workers with little money from other countries ... We are even residents, and should pay 180 dollars per night for a hut (!) with insect that were biting holes in our bags. That is ridiculous and completely overpriced, so we left after two nights and a lot of discussion. During that time there were no other customers, who wonders? After the meals were very good at the first day, already at the second day the quality dropped, no more starters, no salad, noodles with curry sauce for lunch, rice with the same curry sauce for dinner ... Why do many hotels or (this is rather a) tented camp exaggerate that much? The information on the website that the road from Makera is not leading through the national park is not true, so beware of rangers on the way who might ask you for your permit!! The "forest" is actually a remain of a forest, rather not a primary forest, bust a forest reserve with rather young trees. - Be humble and reasonable! Then guest will not complain and they might even come back!! And stop crazy racist prices!! Unfortunately, we cannot recommend this place under the management as...

This is a true hidden gem. Not only physically is it a beautiful place, in spirit it is even more special. The rooms/cabins are build with a lot of eco-consciousness, they are just plain amazing. A toilet (long-drop or worm, making compost for the garden, fantastic!) with a view, large beds (very hard but great for the back!), all natural cotton material curtains etc. We stayed in the family room, which has a small balcony with view of the valley and hills behind, beautiful sunset place. The philosophy behind this place is saving our world, the owner Costa is such a passionate man and has his heart and mind in the right place. It gives me hope to meet people like that. The work they do with SANA (Safe Africa's Nature) in the nearby village, creating awareness and supporting at the same time, the seedbank, the school, the farm, so great! The staff is also absolutely amazing, Jozeph, David (one of the best guides!), Salim and all the rest, a big THANK YOU! For taking care of our kids, for sharing, for caring and for being inspired and spreading inspiration. We will come back for sure and will spread the word...

I spent 45 days volunteering with the NGO connected to Miseni Retreat. During this time, five other volunteers and I booked a safari to Saadani National Park. Unfortunately, our group received noticeably lower-quality service compared to the other guests from the retreat: our jeep was less comfortable, and unlike the others, we had no guide, only a driver. While he was kind and did his best, he spoke very limited English and couldn’t focus on spotting wildlife as he had to navigate the park’s rough roads.

Having worked in tourism for years, I understand that not everything always goes as planned. Still, I expected the situation to be handled with more care. When it came time to pay, I explained the experience to the staff at the retreat, who were very kind and helpful and they said they would pass the message on to the manager, Elizabeth. Apparently, she declined to offer any discount, and more disappointingly, she never reached out to us to offer any explanation or apology.

I believe a more thoughtful and professional approach would have made a big difference, especially for a service priced at 97...