Ngorongoro Farmhouse Lodge

89% (18 reviews)

Full review Our view Geographics Food & drink Special interests Children Wildlife sightings Communications Health & safety Activities Extras

Ngorongoro Farmhouse Lodge: Our full report

Ngorongoro Farmhouse Lodge is a lovely lodge just outside of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

Set in 750 acres of private farmland, it is comfortable, well laid out and has some excellent views over the farm and across to Oldeani Volcano. The lodge has continued to offer good-value accommodation since it opened in 2003, and is a good base for visiting both the Ngorongoro Crater and Lake Manyara National Park.

The lodge is still a fully functional farm – they grow their own wheat and the organic garden produces a lot of the vegetables used in the food. The farm is also home to cows, pigs and sheep, and the farm roasts and grinds their own coffee.

Ngorongoro Farmhouse Lodge, as the name suggests, very much feels like a farmhouse - as you arrive at the lodge, you are greeted with large, open grassy lawns that stretch across to the main areas. Behind is a small forest and rows of colourful flowers.

Ngorongoro Farmhouse Lodge has 52 rooms (big by our usual standards), but as the rooms are so spread out, and trees camouflage many, it doesn't seem like there are as many rooms as there really are. The downside is that it can be a very long walk between many of the rooms and the main area.

The central areas at Ngorongoro Farmhouse Lodge are spacious, clean and comfortable. The restaurant and lounge area is situated inside a large, single-storey farmhouse-style building with white-washed walls and a thatched roof. Inside, red-tiled floors, wrought-iron chandeliers and bare brick fireplaces complete the effect - it feels like an old colonial farm.

The majority of the inside space is set out for dining, with individual tables varying in size, though corners with comfortable white sofas act as lounge areas, and there's a coffee table topped with wildlife and anthropological books.

The bar is made with painted white brick and a polished wood top. A great place to enjoy a drink is on the deck outside. A warming fire is lit each night, which due to the cool air at the base of the Crater Highlands is very welcome. From the deck you can see right out across the farm and watch the sunset.

Ngorongoro Farmhouse also has its own coffee bar where guests can go for cappuccinos and lattes made from locally grown coffee. The coffee is also roasted and ground on site, which creates a wonderfully rich coffee aroma in the bar.

During the day, the large 3m-deep swimming pool is a welcome place to relax and swim, with sunloungers and plenty of shade. Children will also enjoy the volleyball and croquet that are often set up on the lawns.

Ngorongoro Farmhouse Lodge also has an extensive and well-stocked gift shop selling souvenirs. There are carvings, jewellery, clothes, maps and art for sale.

The cottages are scattered amongst pretty gardens and woodland surrounded by colourful flowerbeds. A long stone pathway leads back to the main areas in front of the rooms; the back of the rooms face onto farmland. There are three suites and forty-nine standard rooms (six of which are interconnecting family rooms). They are all decorated and designed in the same way – with high 'barn style' wooden beamed ceilings, polished concrete floors and a central brick fireplace.

Each bedroom has a wooden four-poster bed, covered by a white mosquito net, a couple of armchairs and a coffee table. The term 'coffee table' is taken quite literally here as the top of the carved wooden table actually contains real coffee beans! The rooms are neat and spacious but they lack decoration and colour and feel rather empty as a result. There seems little point to upgrade to one of the suites, as the main difference between them is the size of the room, which due to the lack of decoration makes the suites feel even sparser. Read more about the cottages at the bottom of this page.

The bathrooms are decorated with white tiled walls and a red tilled floor. There's a walk in shower, flush toilet and ceramic sink. The bathroom is clean and bright but functional rather than stylish.

Activities mainly focus on visits of Lake Manyara National Park or the Ngorongoro Crater, which is usually done with your own private driver/guide. If you decide to spend a morning or an afternoon at the lodge, then you can go on a nature walk around the farm and explore the coffee plantations; there is also a vegetable garden onsite. Or indulge in a massage at the spa that costs $50 for an hour. Each evening the lodge is visited by a local dance troop who perform in the garden.

Our view

Ngorongoro Farmhouse has a rustic, countryside feel, which is very appealing. We felt that the interiors do not quite live up to the promise of the exterior, but the lodge is still a welcoming and friendly, and comparatively affordable, spot to base yourself to trips to the crater.

Jessica Plumb

Country manager: Tanzania

Geographics

Location: Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania
Ideal length of stay: Spend two nights at Ngorongoro Farmhouse Lodge if you want to have a full day exploring the floor of the Ngorongoro Crater. However, if you want to use this lodge as a base to explore Lake Manyara National Park as well, then spend at least three nights here.
Directions: Ngorongoro Farmhouse Lodge is situated just 5kms from the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, near to the small town of Karatu. It takes approximately three hours to drive here from Arusha. Alternatively, fly to Manyara airstrip and then drive for 45 minutes to reach the lodge.
Accessible by: Fly-and-Transfer

Food & drink

Usual board basis: Full Board
Food quality: When we were last at the Ngorongoro Farmhouse in February 2018 we did not get a chance to sample the food. However, the manager explained in great detail what the lodge offered.

This includes flexible timings around guests activities, in door and outdoor dining, and fresh produce grown on the farm. We also saw the team setting up the buffet for lunch and the food looked very tasty.

Breakfast, served between 6am and 9am, usually consists of fresh fruit, cereal, yogurt and also a cooked breakfast. You can order the cooked breakfast with eggs cooked as you like them. You can also try some of the Arabica coffee which is grown on site.

For lunch you will probably want to head out on an all day safari and not have to return to the lodge. If this is the case, Ngorongoro Farmhouse Lodge can prepare a packed lunch for you, which usually consists of a sandwich and a few nibbly things such as cake, peanuts, hard boiled eggs or maybe barbequed chicken.

If you do decide to return to the lodge for lunch, you can expect either a buffet or a set four-course meal depending on the day's menu.

Dinner, served between 7pm and 10pm, is then a slightly more formal affair – with a set menu of four courses. This is made mostly from fresh produce prepared on the farm. To accompany dinner is a very extensive wine list, with wines mainly from South Africa.
Dining style: Individual Tables
Dining locations: Indoor and Outdoor Dining
Further dining info, including room service: Ngorongoro Farmhouse Lodge will happily do room service at no additional cost – there are phones in the rooms.
Drinks included: Drinks are not included in the standard rooms at the Ngorongoro Farmhouse Lodge. A beer is around $5, a soft drink / soda is $1, whilst a glass of wine is $5. If you are staying in a suite the most drinks are included, with the exception of premium wines and spirits.

Special interests

Family holidays: Ngorongoro Farmhouse is a good-value base without age restrictions for Tanzania family holidays - and as it’s a working farm its quite fun! There are extensive lawns, plenty of animals, a pool, highchairs and games like volleyball!; See ideas for Family holidays in Tanzania
Walking: Spend an extra night at Ngorongoro Farmhouse Lodge to include a day of walking in the Crater Highlands. This is an excellent opportunity to discover to landscape up close and learn about the local flora and fauna with a guide and armed ranger.; See ideas for Walking in Tanzania

Children

Attitude towards children: Children are welcome at Ngorongoro Farmhouse Lodge.
Property’s age restrictions: There are no age restrictions at Ngorongoro Farmhouse Lodge.
Special activities & services: When we last visited Ngorongoro Farmhouse Lodge, we felt that it was a really welcoming lodge that had a number of facilities geared towards families. This includes all of the games, cots and even high chairs which were designed to look like giraffes! Be aware that there are no specialised babysitting services.
Equipment: They have cots and high chairs available.
Generally recommended for children: Yes
Notes: When we last visited Ngorongoro Farmhouse Lodge, we felt that it was a really welcoming lodge that had a number of facilities geared towards families. This includes all of the games, cots and even high chairs which were designed to look like giraffes!

Our travellers’ wildlife sightings from Farmhouse Lodge

Since mid-2018, many of our travellers who stayed at Ngorongoro Farmhouse Lodge have kindly recorded their wildlife sightings and shared them with us. The results are below. Click an animal to see more, and here to see more on our methodology.

Buffalo

75% success

Elephant

75% success

Hippo

75% success

Lion

75% success

Zebra

75% success

Wildebeest

57% success

Spotted Hyena

50% success

Eland

43% success

Black Rhino

38% success

Leopard

25% success

Striped Hyena

13% success

Aardvark

0% success

Pangolin

0% success

Wild dog

0% success

Communications

Power supply notes: There is 24-hour electricity at Ngorongoro Farmhouse Lodge and there are plugs in all of the rooms so that guests can charge their devices. Ngorongoro Farmhouse Lodge has a back-up generator if needed.
Communications: Ngorongoro Farmhouse Lodge has internet which is available to guests. This costs $5 for 30 minutes. There is intermittent mobile phone reception around the lodge. There are phones in the rooms, which are for internal use only.
TV & radio: The lodge has a TV in the conference room.
Water supply: Borehole
Water supply notes: Bottled drinking water is supplied.

Health & safety

Malarial protection recommended: Yes
Medical care: There is a first-aid kit in reception and the nearest hospital is in nearby Karatu.
Dangerous animals: Moderate Risk
Security measures: Ngorongoro Farmhouse Lodge has a gated entrance, and there are Askaris on duty 24/7.
Fire safety: There are fire extinguishers dotted around the lodge and in all of the rooms - members of the staff have been trained how to use them.

Activities

4WD Safari
Birdwatching
Cultural excursion
Guided walking safari
Mountain biking

Extras

Disabled access: On Request
Laundry facilities: All items of clothes can be washed here – please note that there is an additional cost for this.
Money: Ngorongoro Farmhouse Lodge cannot offer any kind of currency exchange.
Accepted payment on location: When you settle your tab at Ngorongoro Farmhouse Lodge, you can pay using US dollars, pounds sterling, Tanzanian shillings and euros cash. You can also use Visa and Mastercard; there is no surcharge for card payments. Please note that AMEX is not accepted.

Room types at Ngorongoro Farmhouse Lodge

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Cottages

The rooms are inside semi-detached cottages, which are spread amongst the extensive gardens of Ngorongoro Farmhouse Lodge. From the outside the cottages look rustic, with red mud walls and green tin roofs. Inside they feel slightly more like a cosy farmhouse.

The rooms at Ngorongoro Farmhouse Lodge are spacious, with polished cement floors, white-washed walls and high, wood-panelled ceilings. In one corner sits a large four-poster bed draped in mosquito netting, in the opposite corner is a stone fireplace which can be lit on request.

In front of the fireplace is a small lounging area, with a pair of comfortable armchairs. There is also a wonderful Zanzibari coffee table, which is intricately carved and has coffee beans set under the glass.

Rustic coloured bedspreads and rugs on the floor add some character to the rooms, as do the rather old-fashioned yet beautifully made tapestries that hang on the walls.

All the rooms at Ngorongoro Farmhouse Lodge have UK-style 3-pin plug sockets. Hairdryers can be borrowed from reception. The rooms also come equipped with umbrellas, a torch and a phone.

All the rooms look out over the farm and the front veranda is a great place to sit and take in these views. The cottages are semi-detached, so the veranda is shared with another room, but a small red-mud wall acts as a partial division for added privacy.

The bedrooms at Ngorongoro Farmhouse Lodge feel very cool and natural, using rustic colours for the décor and soft furnishings. In a way the rooms are quite simply furnished, but it is to great effect and the result is uncluttered and spacious.

The en-suite bathrooms at Ngorongoro Farmhouse Lodge, have red tiled floors, and white tiled walls. They are relatively small and functional – each with a flush toilet, hot-and-cold-shower and basin. Essential toiletries are provided.

The triple rooms here have the added bonus of a bath and a substantially larger bathroom. Apart from that they are broadly similar.