Lake Manyara Serena Safari Lodge

After our first 1-night stop-over in Arusha on our 8-day Serengeti wildebeest migration safari, our second stop-over was at Lake Manyara Serena Safari lodge situated on the edge of the Mto Wa Mbu escarpment, also for just 1-night. Our traditional “rondavel” cottage with a comfortable king size bed, and an additional spare bed, was spacious and clean, with an en-suite bathroom and shower. Our room also had its own private balcony with lovely views of the property and the valley below. The property is extremely neat and well maintained with spectacular views of the Great Rift Valley and the large Manyara lake. The authentic African-styled lodge has appealing facilities with a Maasai culture decor, including a lounge, bar, dining, and outside terrace area. There is also an impressive rim-flow swimming pool with a pool deck and bar. The staff were very friendly and efficient, ensuring that we were well looked after at all times. The food was superb, and our specific dietary needs were well catered for. The delicious food was complemented with the local beers including Kilimanjaro, Safari, and Serengeti, all of which were very good. Overall, it was a fantastic 1-night stop-over.

This is a beautiful place with great food but most importantly the staff are incredible. Our son wasn’t well when we arrived and got worse not long after. The manager, chef and all waiters were so keen to help, I couldn’t be more grateful and would highly recommend. Special mention for our “Ranger Safaris” guide Udo ( hope I have spelt that right) - great guide , but really helped us at every point.

This was the last of four Serena hotels on our Tanzanian safari with them. It was nice being on paved roads again! The hotel is beautiful, as all the others are, with a nice view of Lake Manyara. We stayed two nights and visited the parks in the area. It was pretty hot, and animal sightings were fairly limited, with lots of jeeps chasing after a few. We did get to see the famous climbing lions! Lots of monkeys and birding was good. The hotel was quiet while we there, and service was fantastic. Food was good, similar to the other hotels, but we did have table service because of the small guests numbers. Internet was outstanding!

Watch out for the bedbugs! This hotel is nicely located overlooking the lake, and the pool is amazing. But our stay was ruined by nasty bed bugs, and generally low level of cleanliness. We arrived for lunch and immediately noted that the table cloth on our table was dirty. The family at the table next to us asked to be moved because their table cloth was also dirty. When we went to bed we noted a plethora of bugs in the bed, despite the mosquito netting. We thought of bedbugs but did not think these were bedbugs. Unfortunately we were wrong and suffered for the following several days with typical bed bug bites on arms and neck. We emailed the hotel immediately so they could take action and avoid a similar outcome for the next guests in unit #19. They ignored our email. We let our tour operator know and they notified the hotel. The hotel responded that it was our fault for leaving door/window open - which was nonsense. We did not have either open other than entering and exiting the unit.

This was our second stop during our safari through Tanzania. The hotel is beautiful and lush, and we felt very safe, welcome and pampered during our stay. It was a short drive from Lake Manyara National Park as well as the Tanzanite Experience, both of which we enjoyed visiting. The staff was very friendly, warm, and welcoming, and absolutely everything was sparkling clean, organized, and and beautiful. It was too chilly for a dip in the gorgeous pool, but we did enjoy drinks at sunset on the patio above it. The dinner buffet had something for everyone. I opted for the delicious curries. If they have it, get the Torte Claudia cake for dessert! Everything we sampled at breakfast was tasty as well. The service was excellent overall. The next morning I was able to enjoy a run on the jogging trail, which leads to a beautiful overlook as well as a well-maintained soccer field. The flowers were all in bloom, and the birds serenaded us. We were sad to leave and we hope we will be back someday!!!

We had a two-night stay at Manyara Serena Safari Lodge, located on the escarpment facing Lake Manyara, in July 2023, and it was absolutely amazing. We were accommodated in a cottage, which had a spacious and impeccably clean room with a scenic balcony providing a stunning view of the lake. The room was equipped with a full mosquito net, hot shower, flushed toilet, electrical charger, and Wifi. The atmosphere was truly unique with its African architecture. During our stay, we delighted in the breakfast options available at the restaurant, which included both continental and Swahili buffet breakfasts. Additionally, while out on our day tours, we were provided with a delicious three-course lunch by our safari guide. The dining experience at the lodge was exceptional, with themed setups each night and a wide variety of wine and beverage options to choose from. After dinner, we were personally escorted back to our rooms and also had the opportunity to witness a fantastic evening acrobatic show performed by the lodge staff.

Spent 1 night here at the beginning of our safari adventure. Rooms were lovely and the lodges are in a beautiful setting. The staff were brilliant, so friendly and helpful. Food was good too. The infinity pool looked very tempting g but we didn’t have enough time to test it out

What began as a long-shot discussion amongst family to someday go on an African Safari turned rapidly into reality when things evolved, and tickets were purchased. All of a sudden, a group of 6 of us were going ~ for real !! For 13 days !! Flying into Kenya, overland to Tanzania and back to Kenya for our return flights home. Lake Manyara Serena Safari Lodge in Tanzania is located on the shore of Lake Manyara, as the name suggests. It is also almost within a large township and hordes of resorts / hotels / camps scattered along that same lakeshore ~ so is the most “urban” of the camps we stayed in. The resort has rooms arranged 4 to a 2-story unit, which seems to be the Serena group’s chosen style of architecture, stretching along a high ridge overlooking the township and lakeshore below. The resort grounds are less game-populated because of its urban surroundings, but still very scenic, and the game on-site seems to be more of a captive group….??? The grounds are well laid out and scenic.. though we still had the distance-discount rooms from the central pavilion where all the facilities are, we were used to that model of business by now… our last night in Africa. We arrived late after the day’s travel from the Serengeti and safari-ing and stops along the way, and did not do much as we were to depart the next day for another long drive back to Nairobi, and our return flights to the US. But we got to see some of the property, and wildlife that wanders around freely in the resort grounds, as some animals just roam around and even come up to the beautiful, large infinity-edge pool for a drink of water (ugh !... I’m sure the water IS chemically treated.) Meals are generally served “buffet” style, and are all-inclusive, with the exception of dinks. Drinks are extra, and expensive. Bringing in your own liquor to avoid or minimize the bar tab is technically prohibited.. but one gets around these annoyances. The spread is extensive: offering many choices of non-veg, veg, vegan and some unfathomable cuisines. But desserts are blah ! They should concentrate on the simple ones… trifle, caramel custard, and the like. Due to the remoteness of some of these locations, the food is mostly prepared onsite, and is fresh from the kitchen – BUT is not the strongpoint or of the best quality at all the resorts. It is plentiful and hot (or cold, as intended) and is a good way to start the day’s jouncing around in the dust. And besides, one doesn’t want to scare away the wildlife with one’s stomach rumblings ! Breakfast is served very early to allow visitors to get out to catch the proverbial worm (or alligator ?) … and dinner is also relatively early, so one can rest and recover from the day’s excitement, bouncing and dust in the jeeps. Because of the proximity to the urban area, there is a lot of souvenir shopping available in this area, if one can drive around and explore… but that needs time that we did not have at that moment in our trip. Luc