Miscellaneous Tips, Ngorongoro, Tanzania - Reviews and Hotel Information

This was the most luxurious of the places we stayed in Tanzania, and one glance at the photo on the website below will show you why we thought it was worth splashing out on. It has the most stunning of settings, perched on the crater’s edge with views from all public rooms and bedrooms. And its clever design means that viewed from below it almost disappears into the landscape.

At the centre of the lodge is a large lobby bar with a huge window to make the most of that view, and opening from this is the restaurant where we had a couple of excellent dinners and equally good buffet breakfasts. Long passageways, partly open to the crater views, lead out on both sides along the rim and take you to your room. If you find walking difficult you should perhaps say so when booking, as our room was a good five minutes from the centre, but for us that was fine and the walk was part of the charm of this special place. Once in your room you have your own private balcony from which to enjoy the view and of course all the facilities you expect from a five star hotel. To be honest though I don’t remember a lot about our room – it was definitely the setting and the bar/restaurant area that made the biggest impression on me.

The blurb on the website is perhaps a little over the top, but will give you an idea:
” Perched on the jagged rim of the crater, wreathed in morning mist, camouflaged in river-stone and cloaked in indigenous creepers, the Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge is a triumph of ecological and architectural fusion. Sensitively constructed so as to take nothing from its environment whilst affording endless vistas over the heat-shimmering reaches of the crater below, the clustered boulder-built buildings of the Lodge hug the crater rim, linked by rope-lashed timber walkways that skirt the buttressed roots of ancient, liana-hung trees.

The interior, radiating out from the primeval log fire glowing at the heart of the Lodge, blends the concentrated hush of a game-viewing hide with the ochre, rust and charcoal images of a prehistoric cavern. Lit by flaming wall-lanterns, clad in gigantic volcanic boulders and decorated by the iron spears, bright-beaded robes and intricately carven artefacts of the Maasai, the Lodge is a unique blend of world-class luxury, timeless volcanic splendour and ethnic style. As for the views, from lilac-streaked sunrise, to indigo star-studded night, the immeasurably ancient Ngorongoro Crater delivers a theatre of vistas, most unchanged since the dawn of time.”

See what I mean? Over the top maybe, but irresistible too ...

All this luxury doesn’t come cheap, but you can save a bit by visiting in the wet season (current rates quoted vary from $238 - $540 per room depending on the time of year) or by booking a package.

Miscellaneous Tips, Ngorongoro

Ngorongoro Hotels