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Reviewed 28 September 2018 via mobile

My fiancé and I stayed here for 2 nights after arriving from Canada. We used it as a place to get acclimated to Africa before starting out our 10 days of safaris. The lodge is secluded and very peaceful. The grounds are immaculate and everything was clean. The best part of this property though is the staff. They were always very welcoming and friendly greeting you with a smile. Some of the local wildlife friends were an added bonus (monkeys and dik diks). Asante Arumeru River Lodge! You started our vacation off the right way!

Date of stay: September 2018
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
1  Thank Sandsman1983
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 26 September 2018

My Mom and I booked four nights here ahead of our Safari, to acclimate to the time change and do some exploring. We LOVED Arumeru Lodge.

The staff here really shine. They are so sweet, and very professional. They really go the extra mile- from nice juice at welcome to the morning when our waiter brought my mom tea made from fresh lemongrass from his garden! One of the front desk workers loaned me her personal cell phone so I could do some light battle with Expedia. One of the gardeners saw me looking closely at the plants, and took me on a walk to show me different plants around the grounds, which I recommend learning about- they have some very cool stuff growing there! Anyway, the staff is exceptional; there's a tip box at the front desk, which they don't make a show of, but you can leave cash there to be divided among all staff. A good thing!

Rooms are super cute, decorated with handcrafted local items and ours had a really nice sunny porch (we were room #11). Beds were comfortable. There was a nice functional desk, closet, and lounge couch for naps that we made extensive use of catching up with jetlag. All this to say my Mom and I had plenty of space to organize our luggage for Safari without the room turning into chaos. Arumeru also offers safe and trustworthy storage for your bags while you're away, which is really nice.

The main dining room, lounge, and grounds are nothing short of gorgeous. There's a huge fireplace inside, a lovely Makuti-roofed veranda to eat under outdoors if you like, and all these rooms have views of the garden. A little stream winds across the property. Peak Arumeru moment: we were up on the outlook watching clouds clear around Kilimanjaro, when Vervet monkeys began chasing one of the resident Dik Dik around the lawn!!

Food at Arumeru is also very good. Breakfast is lovely, with homemade breads and African pancakes, fresh eggs cooked to order, and tropical juices. I ate all the fruit and juice served without incident for the 4 days we were here. Lunch and dinner are equally delicious: the one request I'd make is to add another local dish, like ungali. Wine and beer selections were delicious. If you like whiskey ginger, try a whiskey tangaweze.

Another highlight of our Arumeru experience were the tours. We went to the front desk to ask about walking to the nearby town of Usa, and they set us up with a guide named Saitoti who arrived within the hour, and was WONDERFUL. He showed us all around the town, gave us a real picture of what life is like for most people- and acted as our interpreter both with culture and language during the walk. We had a similarly awesome experience with Almas the next day, who the front desk connected us with to show us Arusha (he was also our airport pickup). He gave us an excellent driving tour- just a great guy, full of information. We also took their walking trip to the nearby rainforest to try and see Black Colubus Monkeys- sadly our guides' name escapes me, but he was also wonderful, and taught us a lot about how the country manages natural resources in the area. He was also able to lead us to the monkeys, explaining about local farming and livestock practices, and all kinds of other interesting flora and fauna. In conclusion: Arumeru works with excellent guides, as well as a fantastic core staff.

I can't wait to return one day!

Room tip: Our room, #11, had a nice sunny porch and was closest to the main lodge.
Date of stay: September 2018
  • Trip type: Travelled with family
    • Location
    • Service
1  Thank laurallland
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 21 September 2018

After much research we booked three rooms at the Arumeru River Lodge for our first two nights in East Africa. We were traveling with 9 family members: 3 grandchildren (11 to 13) and both daughters and their families and the two of us, getting ready to leave on an 11-day safari. Although it took 45 minutes to get there by Toyota safari vehicle from the Kilimanjaro airport, the drive was in itself a wonderful introduction to the African culture. We were warmly welcomed and given a refreshing iced tea drink, and after checking in we were shown to our bungalows. They were clean and comfy, really attractive, and the grounds offered lush walking paths and gardens. While we were able to identify most of the shrubs and flowers, there were a couple of exotic plants we had never seen before that we would just love to have in our yards back home! We spotted mongooses, monkeys and many little dik-dik antelope that delighted the grandkids. The lodge itself is a beautiful structure and the dining areas have both outside and inside seating. The staff went out of their way to accommodate our varied tastes. The dining options were very flexible and we enjoyed our meals there, especially because we were able to eat out on the terrace in the middle of gardens, watching the grandkids play on the lawns. Breakfasts were incredible! There was a nice pool, kept sparkling clean, and a gift shop. Our largest family, two kids and two adults, had a two-story bungalow with lots of room and even a kitchen and dining table. There is even a wonderful observation platform that offers a fantastic view of Mount Kilimanjaro! At the end of our safari we returned to the Arumeru River Lodge for our final night in Africa and it was kind of like returning home - the staff remembered us and had lots of questions about our safari. They even gave us extended check-out hours for the next day, no problem, as our flights left late in the day. We had a chance to visit and chat with various waiters and other staff members during our two stays, and we all appreciated how helpful they were and how friendly to each of us, especially the kids. We noticed that the whole facility was well-managed and maintained, and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay there.

Date of stay: September 2018
  • Trip type: Travelled with family
    • Location
    • Sleep Quality
    • Service
3  Thank suewalsh17
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 15 September 2018

What a wonderful retreat!! We stayed here 2 nights before our safari and 1 night at the end. It was like coming home! The property is lovely lush green with beautiful flowering trees, and dik-diks and velvet monkeys wandering about! The main reception has a cool bar, nice gift shop, cozy fireplace seating, and indoor and outdoor dining. The food, sometimes menu and sometimes buffet was so good!! We agreed the curry tofu was the best we've ever had!! Fluffy sweet crepes and omelettes for breakfast, yum!! There is a relaxing pool and water features we spent the day by, and an observation tower we climbed for the perfect view of Kilimanjaro! The rooms are in cabins spread out along the property. They were clean, well appointed with natural beauty, and had plenty of space. But what really makes this place special is the people! They are so friendly! Reception took good care of our group accommodations, multiple schedules, and a few logistic issues we had. We enjoyed spending time at the bar chatting with Peter about local technology. The waitstaff was attentive, and porters standing by. We were so happy to return at the end of our visit for another relaxing day before our flights home. Asante sana Arumeru!!

Date of stay: September 2018
  • Trip type: Travelled with family
    • Location
    • Cleanliness
    • Service
2  Thank eawalsh
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 28 August 2018

Arumeru River Lodge was our base before and after a safari arranged by Chabo Tours. We couldn't have been more pleased with the spot. The lodge's grounds are beautiful, and well-kept; the individual rooms are airy and inviting; the lodge's common room was a great place for a drink before dinner. The best part, though, was the very, very friendly and helpful staff.

Before we left for the safari at 5:30 one morning, the staff offered us coffee, even though it was before the official breakfast time. After we returned from the safari, tired and dusty, the staff greeted us with a refreshing drink and a "welcome back." When we misplaced a key, the front desk person kept it safe and joked around with my daughter; when we were playing cards one evening the waiter came and took our orders for dinner while we were playing, so that we sat down at the table when the food was ready. We left luggage there while we were on the safari and found everything perfectly safe when we got back. I would stay there again in a heartbeat.

The only downside was the dinner food. Generally, breakfast and lunch were pretty good, but we found dinner somewhat disappointing - a little bland and pretty standard fare. But I wouldn't judge the place based on its food: go for the location, the rooms, and the amazingly friendly people.

Room tip: All the rooms seemed fine.
Date of stay: July 2018
  • Trip type: Travelled with family
    • Value
    • Location
    • Service
Thank Victoria G
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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