Arusha Serena Hotel

這家酒店真心不錯！房間乾淨整潔，設施完備，住着很舒適。服務方面，員工都很熱情，態度特別好，讓人感覺像是回到了家。早餐也豐富，味道可口。周邊交通也便利，整體來説，這次住宿體驗很滿意，下次還會選擇這裏！

房間正常，院落真好

We stayed at this hotel on our first day before the start of our safari. Our stay was comfortable in a cosy hut style cottages. The hotel was not busy, and we received a lot of attention. The staff were friendly. We had a 3 course vegetarian meal specially made for us and it was tasty. A good setting outside of busy Arusha town, yet easily reached by car. I would recommend this hotel to those who wish to stay in a quiet, well kept grounds away from town centre.

We stayed at the Serena hotel for a couple of nights when we first arrived in Tanzania. We arrived late, about 21:30 but were still offered a full 3 course meal in the restaurant. Food was great, we have not had a bad meal anywhere in Tanzania during the whole trip. The grounds and views are really nice. There’s even a 642 metre running loop around the gardens to work off all the food you’ll eat here. The room was nice, spacious, clean and great views across the lake. We only gave 4 stars as the room was a little tired, windows didn’t shut properly, the lock in the patio doors didn’t unlock and the restaurant and bar always tried to make you pay cash. There’s card facilities only at the hotel reception and they seemed put out if asked to pay this way. As we only brought cash for tips (which is expected everywhere) we wanted to keep that separate. The last road to the hotel is a little bumpy to say the least. Our driver joked we would get the ‘African Massage’

The hotel is located a few km outside of busy downtown Arusha. Over the past 2 weeks we have stayed in 3 Serena Hotels…one in the Serengeti, one at Lake Maynara, and now here in Arusha. Overall I found this hotel to be the most disappointing of the 3. While the structure and history of the hotel are significant, the hotel lacks a pool, the buffet has limited options compared to the other 2 hotels, and the overall helpfulness of the front desk staff was less than stellar. Upon arrival, we were created with a cool towel which was appreciated but the interaction with the front desk was rather frustrating. We had 3 separate bags delivered to the hotel earlier in the week from a mountain guide (bags from Kili climb that were dropped while we were on Safari). When we mentioned this to the desk staff, they literally went back to what they were doing, seemingly not to care and it was our current Safari guide (native Tanzanian) who searched and found the appropriate staff to locate our bags. The other issue was on the back end of the stay. After checking out, I was sitting in the lobby with my two friends awaiting transfer to JRO. Our plans for lunch were undecided as we had already checked out. We had several staff stop and encourage us to eat at the buffet lunch. After the 3rd ask we decided to do so. We sat, ate and ordered some water and drinks. Near the end of the meal, the waiter alerted us that lunch was not included and we were to pay $13/e plus drinks. This would have come to roughly $63 USD. Upon following server to the front desk, the presented bill was for approx 270,000 Tanzanian shillings (approx $112 USD). I questioned to bill and the front desk stated that I was misunderstanding and to bill is what it was. I again questioned it. She said the waited would speak with the manager. While this occurred to ran and charged by credit card. Seemingly no compensation was to be made. This miscommunication on their part and overcharging and lack of righting the situation is disappointing esp considering what was told to us and it being a buffet meal. On top of this, the front desk attendant smiled and chuckled during the exchange as if it were funny. This was off-putting and as mentioned disappointing when a service industry underdelivers..

I had the great fortune of having a tour of the Arusha Serena Lodge gardens by Pray, one of the gardeners there. He was incredibly knowledgeable and kind, and answered ALL of my questions with patience and detail. He is passionate about his work; the beauty of the grounds exemplifies his (and the other gardener’) dedication to the lodge’s flora.