Zawadi House, Arusha
This delightful Spanish tile-roofed hotel set back from the main road with paved
pathways through manicured lawns shaded by tall trees opened in November 2011 and
has already become our favourite mid-range accommodation option.
The owners are a Tanzanian family of executives and philanthropists who enjoy a great
deal of international travel and have evidently aimed to incorporate smart features
from many hotels worldwide into their own creation. There are several superior and
unique features at Zawadi not generally seen in Tanzania.
Rooms at Zawadi House
The hotel has over a dozen rooms, with sprung mattresses and cotton bed-linen and
large mosquito nets drape the windows. There are power-sockets for recharging electronic
devices and hair dryers are available from reception, for which there are telephones
to order room service. Each air-conditioned room has a safe, tea & coffee making
facilities, key-card entry, television with 12 channels including CNN, BBC and Al-Jazeera
news, free Wi-Fi and LAN connections. A desktop computer is also available for those
not bringing their laptops but needing to stay abreast of emails before and after
their climb.
Bathrooms at Zawadi House
The hot water comes from one large pressurised tank, giving excellent pressure in
the large well-appointed and tiled showers that are supplied with plenty of towels.
Uniquely, all plumbing materials, and indeed the expertise involved with installing
the system, comes from southern Africa and is of clearly superior quality to that
available in Tanzania.
Restaurant
An elegant 20-seater air-conditioned second-floor restaurant serves a variety of
western dishes, and meals can also be enjoyed al fresco, dining under avocado trees.
Facilities at Zawadi House
This quiet and calm retreat is interspersed with shaded grassy courtyards framing
tinkling fountains. The small but well-equipped bar has a large television with
news, sports, music, radio channels and tasteful leather furniture. The automatic
generator powers up within one minute of a power cut. The neighbourhood is very
quiet, and the 24/7 security is coordinated with a nearby apartment facility. The
road connecting Zawadi House with the main road 400 metres away is perfectly safe
during daylight, but an escort or transportation is recommended after dusk.
All in all, when compared with other options within a similar price bracket, we feel
that the customised attention one enjoys, the general superiority of the cuisine,
and the refreshingly attentive attitude of the staff are such that Zawadi probably
represents the best value for money of all mid-range hotels in Arusha, provided one
has no plans to lounge around the non-existent pool. (Note however, that we find
that few climbers seem to find time to swim while in Arusha even when staying at
hotels with pools).
Perhaps another point of interest to TK climbers is that Zawadi House served as Team
Kilimanjaro’s headquarters for some three years, prior to renovation and development
as a hotel.
<<< Karama Lodge
The Bay Leaf Hotel >>>
Trip Advisor Review Disclaimer:
We estimate that around 30% of the reviews on Trip Advisor are probably fraudulent;
something that Trip Advisor is powerless to prevent. What was begun as a chance
for fellow travellers to review hotels honestly, has since been subverted as a tool
for unscrupulous businesses to promote their own services and to damage their competition’s
reputations, and for disgruntled guests whose unreasonable demands have not been
pandered to, to punish their accommodation providers.
While the UK’s Advertising Standards Agency banned Trip Advisor from claiming that
its reviews were genuine, and while we advise that readers do not assume to be genuine
everything that they read, we nonetheless feel that Trip Advisor is still helpful,
in the absence of there yet being a more credible alternative service.
