Name: Meru Mbega Lodge
Address: Usa River 20, Arusha, Arusha, Arusha, 014, Tanzania
Rating: 9

24-hour reception

Smoke-free property

Ticket assistance

Garden

Terrace

No elevators

General

Laundry

Dry-cleaning

Luggage storage

Services and amenities

Breakfast

Meals

Free Wi-Fi

Internet

Tour assistance

Tourist services

Pets Not Allowed

Pets

Extra decontamination measures

Additional measures against COVID-19

Health and Safety Measures

Location

At the cottage

Arusha Airport

Kilimanjaro International Airport

Lake Manyara Airport

Meru Mbega Lodge

Arusha

Beautiful place! Very comfortable rooms, and delicious food. WiFi in the lobby/restaurant is good, but not available in the rooms.

Located directly at the NP entrance. We stayed there after climbing Mount Meru. Very friendly and helpful staff. Great breakfast and dinner. The view tower overlooking Mount Meru and Kilimanjaro is an absolute highlight.

Best location for a visit of Arusha NP

We had a great stay with Gertrude and Terri the food was delicious, all cooked fresh to order 
We had a day trip to a local market organsied by Gertrude, a local taxi took us around the market and to a few pubs for a very reasonable fee.
There were elephants in the grounds and pascal took us both nights to watch them, keeping us safe 


Delicious food and a great place to stay 

We spent one night. Arriving for us was a bit spooky since we arrived late, the location at the end of a very bumpy dirt road and especially since we were the only guests. They basically opened just for us.

However once settled in, they were extremely hospitable. They cooked a very delicious dinner for us. We had to leave for the airport at 5.30 next morning and they got up and cooked a delicious breakfast for us including eggs, pancakes, toast etc.

Our family room was clean and very basic.

Very hospitable!

We had our basis here while we climed the Mt. Meru and went on Safari to Serengeti. The people were extremly friendly and gave us the feeling to be part of their family. Accomondation was basic but you have all what you need. The food was really good (10 out of 10) and always more than enough.

It is the last lodge before the national park, so you are almost inside it. The lodge has an amazing tower which was great for relaxing. The Lodge ist a good Basis if you want to climb Meru, Kili or do a Safari in Arusha Nationalpark. Other national parks are also quite close.

Great stay!

Meru Mbega was the perfect place for our family of 4 (We are an American family -parents with 2 teenagers) to begin our adventure in Tanzania.  We spent 3 comfortable nights here in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.  The staff was incredibly helpful and accommodating.  The food was EXCELLENT. We enjoyed the lookout tower.  So many beautiful birds and the view of My. Meru and Mt. Kilimanjaro is very impressive.  We went on the colobus monkey walk, which was very interesting.  The staff also helped us organize our safari. We could hear animal sounds at night, which we loved.  This place is literally right outside the border of Arusha NP.
One thing to note - if the pool is important to you, confirm that it has been filled.  It was not full while we were there, but we were among their first guests in many months due to coronavirus. Also, be sure to have cash on hand - USD or TZ shillings.  The power outlets in the rooms are unique - our converters did not work.  They have some adapters you can borrow.  The power in the main dining area is UK, but only 2 outlets to use. We had the whole place to ourselves, so this was not a problem, but good to know if you travel during a busier time.

A great place to begin our Tanznia adventure

This is a difficult review to write.
If the alternative to this place is staying at a hotel in Arusha, before doing other things, then my rating would probably have been higher.

This place brand itself as a lodge and have lodge prices for food and water which typically are 50-100% higher than in a normal restaurant.

In my world a lodge is about wildlife, scenery, view, tranquility, quietness, romance and privacy.
And I'll rate it as such.

Hot water, electricity, swimming pool, WiFi, flat screen and other modern amenities is not what a lodge is about. It's nice if it's there but it won't have a huge impact on my rating. But the quality of the food will.

We came here for the lodge part, a
 romantic getaway and for a game drive.

The place is quite and there's a reasonable well kept garden (not particularly cozy though), a swimming pool and a small gym.
The lookout tower is nice, but be sure to go there early otherwise it will be occupied. The first evening  we observed some squirrels, an amazing african flycatcher and a bushbuck. Visibility is limited to 50 meter due to terrain and vegetation so don't expect to see any larger animals. The second evening the tower was occupied.

The food was ok, but rather basic. We got the same for dinner both evenings. The fish tasted very strange and we only had one bite, but the beef was good. There was a noisy generator right next to the restaurant.

On the game drive we saw giraffe, zebra, buffalo, warthog, flamingo, baboons, colobus black and white monkeys and some deers. Don't expect to see elephants. For that we paid 160$ + 130$ (entrance to national park for 2 persons and our guide). 

Our apartment had a refrigerator and a small stove. That was nice. No complimentary tea or coffee though. 

It was a bid windy both night while we were there but nothing out of the ordinary(approx 20-25 km/h). But the tin roof made a LOT of noise making it very difficult to sleep. I even went out of bed during the night to check if the building was not coming apart.

The game drive was ok, but not worth driving far for.
The food was definitely eatable and the beef was delicious. We got the same basic dinner both evenings (3/5 for food)
There was privacy. But mainly because we were the only guest.
The only view and scenery was from the lookout tower, and the capacity is limited to 1 small group at a time. 

The lodge had some rather expensive day tours. We skipped them and paid our driver some extra to take us to the hot springs on our way back to Moshi. Stopping at villages on our way to the springs was what made this weekend memorable. The spring itself was beautiful but very crowded and extremely noisy.
Here's the phone number for our driver: +255763174129 (Amon).

In total we ended up paying (for 2 persons.)
2 nights and half-board + one day with full board:
620.000 tzh
Game drive + entrance: 650.000tzh
Transportation back and forth from Moshi. 120.000tzh
In total.
1.390.000tzh (600$)

We had a good time and enjoyed ourselves. But no scenery, no view and continuous banging noises throughout the night makes me go low on the rating.



Not what we were looking for

Nice quite place not too far from Arusha. Accommodations quite basic but clean. Would definitely recommend it for the money. Grounds very well taken care of and the staff did all they could to make our stay welcoming

very friendly helpful people

This place blew me away. It is located right next to the entrance to Arusha National Park - so we heard the monkeys playing in the trees. This is a little oasis in the rainforest with walking trails, marked vegetation, a swimming pool and workout area. It’s a perfect place for a wedding! The family room we booked was well appointed, cute and spacious, clean and well decorated. We were each given generous towels and we had 2 bedrooms, a balcony and an extra day bed in the kitchen area. The price was extremely reasonable for all of this. The staff were also amazing - attentive, kind, and welcoming. I could easily see myself relaxing and spending an extended stay here. 


A Sanctuary Amidst the Monkeys

We only stood here for one night, but they tried to make our morning as pleasant as possible. Is very clean, good breakfast and lovely stuff .Is very close to the entrance of Arusha National Park, we were happy with the lodge.

Meru Mbega Lodge

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