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!