Arusha Serena Hotel

The price is so high!

Cute hotel. Nice clean rooms. Nice buffet breakfast. Staff very attentive. Beautiful well kept grounds. We had a good stay here.

The staff are very welcoming, and the grounds are beautiful. There's a small store onsite with jewelry, souvenirs and a very small selection of toiletries. I had a massage and it was very good. You can use USD here as well as credit cards. If you don't want to/can't walk long distances ask for a room with a lower number. In the room there were some universal outlets, but no outlet in the bathroom on next to the bed. There wasn't a sheet, only a comforter, and there wasn't any hair conditioner. There was a ceiling a/c unit but it didn't work. Lunch is supposed to open at noon but didn't open until 12:30pm so allow for some flexability in meal planning. The website said there's a lunch buffet but it was actually a prefix menu. I sat at the same table again for dinner and the butter hadn't been changed. Speaking of dining, make sure you aren't being double charged, as that happened to me. On their website they advertise "sundowners by the lake" where you walk down to the lake to watch the sunset, but that didn't apear to happen. Instead, there's an option to sit on the lawn outside of the restaurant and order drinks from the indoor bar. While the staff were great and the grounds were beautiful, there are some areas of opportunity here.

Our room was lovely. However, there is NOTHING to do at this hotel - no pool or other activities other than the spa. It's location is secluded so there is no option to leave and walk around to do something else - you need either a car or a driver if you leave the property. There were no chairs for us to even sit outside on the small patio outside our room. Also, drinks are NOT included in the board package. We were charged for bottled water, even though bottled water was provided in the rooms for free. We felt very "nickel and dimed."