Ngare Sero Mountain Lodge

We have just got back to our home in Arusha, from an amazing two night stay at Ngare Sero. This really is a truly special place. We have been in Tanzania for two years and this is the most wonderful place we have had the fortune to stay in. The staff are wonderful and very helpful. Lilian, who I corresponded with, before our booking was amazingly helpful and quick with her replies and continued to be so during our stay. The place is surrounded by a forest that is rich in biodiversity and large lake, full of amazing birdlife, monkeys, insects etc. A guide took us out on the lodge's lake, where we saw sea eagles, king fishers, grebe, iris and many more. This lodge feels very different to some of the other lodges in and around Arusha. It is rich in history and feels very much part of the natural world that surrounds it. The weather was wet at times, but our Colobus House room was so cosy and well kitted out we were happy to sit inside and play games. We will certainly be returning and cannot wait to do so.

Beautiful property, nice private rooms, and wonderful people made this an excellent lodge to start and end our Tanzania vacation. Monkeys are all around as well as a lot of different birds. The pool was cool and refreshing. We would stay here again.

My adult son, his finance, and I had the good fortune to stay at this property before launching on our four-day safari. The fifty-acre property is absolutely stunning! The grounds are meticulously maintained as are the rooms and main house. The staff is both professional and engaging. I was thoroughly impressed with the self-sustaining nature of this property (hydroelectric power generation and fruit and vegetables grown on site, to name a couple). The food and service exceeded our expectations. Our only regret was that our schedule did not allow us to spend more time at this magnificent property.

This is such a lovely home - once a family home and now a country lodge just outside of busy Arusha. We only stayed one night - I would have preferred two. Our garden room was beautifully decorated and space to sit and read inside looking over the garden or outside. The food - a set traditional dinner and lovely a La carte breakfast, was delicious. The tables are so well spaced out that we had privacy from the other guests. The garden rooms’ bedroom had a impractical screened window with heavy thick curtains. This meant we either had to close the windows at night to be able to shut the curtains - and deal with a very noisy ceiling fan - or lift the heavy curtails over the opened window frame - which was not easy and not useful. Even though the window was open (it did have a mosquito screen) the curtain was so thick and heavy that no air got through. As a result it was a very hot night!

We arrived there in the middle of the night, after a 45-50 min drive from Kilimandjaro airport (not 30 as indicated by the hotel, and at 1:00 AM there were no traffic jams). The rooms are simple but spacious and the same goes for the bathroom. Breakfast the next morning was served next to the pond and was very good. A few points of improvement for the hotel management: add plugs next to the bed (difficult to charge your cell without them), don't leave the bathroom window open before guests arrive as we had mosquitoes in the room, find a way to improve the shower pressure and to have a steadier water temperature. So all in all, a nice place for one night, but I wouldn't stay there longer.

What a beautiful, friendly and peaceful lodge. Pristinely kept grounds and yet natural and untainted paths and lakes Staff could not have been more cordial and made us feel very welcome We had interaction our first day with Hassan, Emanuel and Digna all of whom made us feel right and home