Acacia Farm Lodge – Safari Lodge Review

Most importantly – Does the hotel and room do what it’s supposed to do?

Yes! The Acacia Farm Lodge is located in Karatu, a scenic town in the middle of Tanzania’s most famous National Parks such as the Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Lake Manyara and Tarangire. It’s eager staff will welcome you home from your long safari with a friendly reception and provide you with a picturesque, relaxing, and luxurious base to explore this incredible area.

How did we rate the experience before we stepped into the room?

Welcome Song

The hotel staff were extremely helpful helping finding us local guides and drivers who could help us explore this unique area. They were ready for us despite our late arrival and the staff lined up to sing us a welcoming song on our arrival.

Now, it’s not uncommon for hotels to bring out something for visiting press or bloggers. However, on the second day of our stay we were passing reception and were pleased to see not only did they sing the welcome song for each hotel visitor… but they also sang a farewell song for each traveller moving on. Top marks so far Acacia Farm Lodge.

Does it cover the basic needs?

Private breakfast overlooking the lawn

Breakfast – plentiful buffet meeting all your needs. We even got to sample a private breakfast overlooking the lawn.

Comfy bed – king sized 4 poster bed with roomy mosquito nets which allow you to move around the bed.

Decent towels – check

Fridge – check

Good pillows – check

Parking – check

Safe – check

Shower with decent water pressure – check

Wifi – in room wifi quite weak but high-speed wifi in reception

What makes your stay feel special?

Welcoming staff

Definitely the staff. I know it’s a cliché but we decided to write an entire separate article about how great they were, so we can categorically say that the staff are what makes this lodge special.

Does the hotel and room make sense?

The lodge is new and so there’s no quaint or eccentric touches to the hotel and room. That can be a positive or negative for you but the staff do go out of their way to make the new build homely and avoid the feel of fresh concrete.

Spacious bedroom

The rooms are planned and designed well with the toilet a safe distance from the bed and the minimalist layout creates a sense of spaciousness.

The bathroom

There is a separate living room area which was lovely to retire to and it had all the usual amenities readily stocked.

Living room area

One of our favourite spaces in our lodge was the airy balcony which caught the sunset and was perfect to enjoy a pre-dinner wind down.

The balcony

The only drawback on the design is that the hotel is built on a long thin strip of land meaning it can be a long walk from reception and the dinning hall to your room. You will always be accompanied after dark.

Hotel food?

The hotel aims to provide affordable luxury with great service and the food perfectly encapsulates this.

Buffet in the restaurant

It is mainly a buffet style service for all meals but the chefs man serving stations ensuring food is kept as fresh and well cooked as possible.

The high quality of ingredients such as the locally sourced chicken mean food is tasty, safe and is an example of what good buffets can be.

View from the restaurant terrace

All the tables are set up with rose petals and candles and the dining experience is made even more special by the beautiful views over the valley.

The hotel/Lodge

The Acacia Farm Lodge

The lodge is new, well designed and in an excellent location ensuring that booking with Acacia Farm Lodge is a good base for your Tanzanian adventures.

The Pool

The hotel offers a pool, spa, shop and evening entertainment to keep travels entertained and relaxed once the national parks close.

Treatment room

Shop on site

Karatu is a beautiful little farming town on the slopes of the Ngorongoro hills. The lodge faces west above a valley meaning the spectacular sundowners on the lawn are followed by dinners with romantic views.

The Sundowners

Best extras included?

The staff welcoming and leaving songs made you feel special and valued as a customer as well as the little surprises they plan for you. It’s definitely a hotel that tries and manages to standout above the rest.

You also have access to their bicycles, free of charge, if you want to explore the area.

Which to choose?

Biggest issue after booking?

Our stay was somewhat overshadowed by our nightmarish journey to the hotel which involved being driven 300km over valleys in a car with no brakes so relatively speaking its difficult to complain about the hotel.

It does have room to improve. Compared to our previous stay at the Four Seasons Serengeti the staff could be a little smoother and efficient and faster at anticipating guest needs (e.g. getting our bags to our room, refilling drinks). However they were still very efficient for a new staff and believe with experience they’ll continue to improve.

Overall impression

Pool after dark

The Acacia Farm Lodge is a young, energetic and very safe hotel that provides affordable but luxurious accommodation and services for travellers visiting any of Tanzania’s major National Parks especially Ngorongoro Crater.

Whilst you could be tempted to book a hotel just so you have a bed to sleep in at night, the Acacia Farm Lodge provides so many special moments it becomes a destination in itself. Read all about the ways they make you feel special here.

For more information you can visit their website here.

We’d like to thank the Acacia Farm Lodge sponsoring our amazing stay. However as always our opinions are always honest and our own.

Last modified: 31st October 2016