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Reviews of Arusha Serena Hotel

3 out of 5
Arusha Serena Hotel
Arusha Town, Arusha

Reviews

9.4

Exceptional

Rating 10 - Excellent. 29 out of 41 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 10 out of 41 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 2 out of 41 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 0 out of 41 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 0 out of 41 reviews" "

9.6/10

Cleanliness

9.4/10

Staff & service

8.0/10

Amenities

9.2/10

Property conditions & facilities

8.6/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

10/10 Excellent

H. PETER

Travelled with partner
The only problem worth noting in my 2 stays ( before and after a 13 day safari) was the inability of the property to process credit cards. This required much more cash than travelers are accustomed to carrying.
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2024

8/10 Good

Said, San Diego

Travelled with family
Old building, kept clean and the surrounding is nice but needs more work. The food is terrible, I would give it a one star nothing more. For a Serena I was hoping they would have good food and the menu looks like it was written in the 70s or 90s and was never changed.
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2023

10/10 Excellent

Connie

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Absolutely beautiful! The grounds are designed in such a way you just want to stay forever. A nice walking path allows some exercise while enjoying the grounds
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2023

10/10 Excellent

Lucy

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Beautiul lodge, rooms and gardens. Excellent food. Fantastic staff. Recommend doing the walk around Lake Duluti
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2023

10/10 Excellent

Farron

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Beautiful Stay
We had two beautiful nights here with exceptional service from the staff who were kind and attentive to your every need. The grounds are beautiful and well maintained. I would stay here again and recommend it to anyone wanting peace and serenity.
Beautiful Bungalows!
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2023

10/10 Excellent

Erica

Stayed 1 night in Aug 2023

6/10 Okay

Carol

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Head office needs to get their act sorted
We arrived at Arusha Serena Hotel at 3.30am after a 24-hour journey, only to be told they did not have a reservation for us. I showed the receptionist the hotels.com booking and she finally gave us a key and said she would sort it in the morning. No apology the next morning. The rooms are very nice, in little rondavals. A bit smaller than shown on their photos though. Good choice at breakfast and overall the staff were very polite and friendly. Would I stay again - Yes but central reservations need to get their act together. Out of the 6 lodges we stayed at in Tanzania, 2 belonged to Serena. The 2nd hotel (Ngorongoro) had overbooked and we had a terrible experience there - again in was down to central reservations. Such a shame because both properties are lovely and unique and have lovely staff. Let down completely by head office.
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2023

10/10 Excellent

Janice

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Beautiful place to stay just outside Arusha
Beautiful hotel! The rooms are all separate bungalows spread out over a large park like area which is very beautiful. There is a nice walking trail that goes around the entire area and we really enjoyed it. The restaurant is outstanding and has a good selection. Very good breakfast too. We ate several meals there. The photos on the website are exactly what it looks like. Very friendly staff. We highly recommend it.
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2023

10/10 Excellent

Susan

Stayed 1 night in Oct 2022

8/10 Good

Sandra, Beverly Hills

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
If you want to stay in a hut in an ugly part of Arusha, without the safari animals, this is your place. Most guests use it overnight on their way to where the animals are. Pretty “rustic”.
Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2022

10/10 Excellent

Faryal

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Very friendly and accommodating
I only stayed one night at this hotel because I arrived at 20:15 and my safari would start the next morning. I arrived at 22:00 and asked for dinner. Although the restaurant closes at 22u, they made an exception for me and brought out the menu. Very accommodating and friendly! I wouldn’t know where to get food that late at night. I’ll definitely stay there again for longer.
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2022

10/10 Excellent

William Michael

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Five star. Beauty. Old world charm. Excellent serv
Stayed 1 night in May 2022

10/10 Excellent

Stephen

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2022

8/10 Good

Roger

Liked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Serena is always a good choice!
Very friendly stuff, all the way supportive!
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2021

10/10 Excellent

Christy

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
I'd book again in a heartbeat
My mom and I loved this place. The rooms and grounds were beautiful! The food was delicious. The service was great. They bent over backwards to make our stay wonderful.
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2021

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
A beautiful resort! Staff is wonderful and welcoming. Room are wonderful as well. Bed is very comfortable.
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2021

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Location, staff, food & service
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2021

10/10 Excellent

maria dolores

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Serena arusha lovely
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2020

8/10 Good

Klaus

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Beautiful old charm hotel
Amazing garden and atmosphere of a time gone by. Relaxing front lawn perfect for a cup of tea. Pool would have been great after safari.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2020

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Stayed 4 nights in Nov 2019

10/10 Excellent

shaon

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Stayed 1 night in May 2019

10/10 Excellent

Deep

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Beautiful property
Our stay was excellent! Beautiful property and great staff.
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2018

10/10 Excellent

Deep

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Beautiful property
The hotel is beautiful! I loved the cottage style rooms. Nice sit out area with beautiful a garden.
Stayed 1 night in May 2018

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
We enjoyed our stay here. The rooms are nice and spacious and the fan is inside the mosquito net, HUGE advantage! The breakfast here is great and has a lot of variety. Dinner is very good as well, however the price is quite high, especially if you add drinks. Overall we enjoyed our stay at Serena in Arusha.
Stayed 2 nights in May 2018

10/10 Excellent

BOB IN YU

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Jane was certainly friendly. Great hotel.
It was a very secluded and peaceful stay. The staff was quite attentive. The manager

10/10 Excellent

Teri

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Serena Hotels are serene and beautiful
We stayed at the Arusha Lake Duluti Serena Hotel the night before and after our safari trip in Tanzania. It is a lovely hotel. The grounds are beautiful. The rooms are very comfortable and have beautiful views looking out at gardens. The staff are wonderful and service excellent. We stayed in several Serena hotels on this Tanzanian trip and all were fabulous. The decor is African and each hotel fits beautifully into its surroundings.
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2018

10/10 Excellent

John

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2018

10/10 Excellent

Edoardo

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2017

8/10 Good

William

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
First night in Africa
A very nice hotel. If arriving from the U.S., puts you right in the mood for Africa. Would stay again if we were to return. A good base to begin an African adventure

6/10 Okay

vanessa, Saginaw, MI

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Breathtaking but preceed with caution
Gracious staff, magnificent surrounding, tranquil setting. The food was pricey and not a good value. For my final night, I ordered what I thought was a special dinner. I described my preferance for the temperature of my t-bone which was one of the most expensive on the menu. The first was so over cooked I could not eat it. The second steak was grossly under prepared. There was no special acknowledgement my first night but a fruit basket, slippers, and two extra rugs the second night. Housekeeping was uneven as an open bottle of shampoo remained untouched in the shower on my first night. The hotel was on the lake but there was no free access. Electricity had hiccups going off for 10/15 seconds repeatedly during dinner, relaxing watching action movies, and while in the shower. Annoying!

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
This hotel has beautiful grounds and facilities. The staff was friendly and helpful. Our room was immaculate. It was very quite and relaxing. Would love to go back. I would mention that due to the location of the rooms, it is not handicap accessible.

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Only OK
For $240 a night I was surprised by the lack of decent internet, mold in the shower and extremely uncomfortable bed. The breakfast was really nice and the grounds are stunning. Hotel staff was also great.

10/10 Excellent

ltb, London

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Lovely Gardens
We really enjoyed our two night stay at the hotel during our honeymoon. The staff were very attentive and friendly and the setting is lovely. The hotel is also very interested in helping people in the local area, which we really appreciated. The restaurant and food were pleasant and the room was clean, well furnished and comfortable.

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

10/10 Excellent

Vivek Mahtani

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Slice of paradise
This hotel & it's lovely cottage styled rooms are set in exceptionally verdant & tranquil surroundings, with Lake Duluti nearby & the mighty Kilimanjaro a distance away, which can be seen from certain points on clear days (although I didn't get a glimpse from here). The rooms are clean & reasonably spacious with large bathrooms. Service was warm and always with a smile, which seems a typical trait of Tanzanian hospitality. The food was very good (asked for some chicken with pepper sauce off the menu, and it was excellent). The main building which houses the reception, bar and restaurant was a charming colonial styled building. I was here only for one night on business, however would love to come back at leisure to spend more time exploring the surroundings & enjoy the peace and quiet.

8/10 Good

Jai Menon, Nairobi

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
An Outstanding Place to Stay
The Serena Arusha Mountain Lodge is a total surprise. From its breathtaking location, in a verdant, virtually rain-forest lush setting on the banks of Lake Duluti, to its friendly and responsive staff. Nothing I found to complain about. Certain issues need looking into. To have no free WiFi in a hotel in this day and age is, well, self-defeating. No matter how good the hotel, given a choice, people today - especially professionals and tourists who intend to stay a week or more - will opt for the one which offers free (both hassle and cost) WiFi. Bathroom fittings are important too. They should work, should be of high quality and preferably of a known brand. One of the most used items in any hotel room are the bathroom fittings - taps, showers, flushing systems - and these need to be top of the line. But these are just recommendations. As a peripatetic traveller, both for business and pleasure, I recognise that not everything can be done at once. The people at the Serena Arusha Mountain Lodge were responsive to my requests, as well as the above recommendations, promising to take it up with management. All in all, I would visit this wonderful little hotel again - probably every time I visit Arusha from now on, which will be several times a year.
The Standalone Lodges
My Own Little "Hut" - Albeit a Well Furnished One
A View of the Lake Over Lush Jungle
The Pathway to The Reception & Main Building

10/10 Excellent

Yanmei

Stayed 1 night in May 2023

10/10 Excellent

Sylvain, Switzerland

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
A MOST ENJOYABLE STAY
We were two families traveling individually, with 4 kids aged 11 to 16. Two nights at Serena Duluti Lake in 4 separate bungalows.