The andBeyond Ngorongoro Crater Lodge in Tanzania is a very interesting property. From the outside, it felt like we were straight out of Hobbiton in New Zealand, and the crater itself reminded us of Haleakala on Maui! It’s a cluster of stilted cottages with dome roofs and stone chimneys. The inside of the lodge was an elegant baroque chateau with beaded chandeliers, brocade furnishings, paneled walls, wooden floors, and leather armchairs. It combined both opulence and relaxed charm all into one. The lodge is situated on the rim of the crater, so every day when we went to the game drives, we had to drive down to the crater floor.
At the entrance of the lodge, zebras were grazing on the grass on the property:
It was almost like the movie set of “The Lord of the Rings”…
The main dining lodge:
The wonderful staff was welcoming us with their special song, dance, and beverage:
The main dining lodge with the Ngorongoro Crater behind us:
These were the guest lodges and the zebras just roamed freely:
The entrance/foyer of the main dining lodge:
The living room area where guests have their sundowner cocktails:
The opulent setting of the living room of the main lodge, it had the British Colonial feel to it:
The main dining room:
And there was African art work everywhere in the main lodge:
This was the entrance to our guest lodge:
Inside our lodge with a King-sized bed and the dressing area and bathroom in the far end:
The fireplace and living room area of our guest lodge:
The bathroom:
Straight ahead was the shower area in between the 2 sinks:
Close up of the shower:
View of our bedroom in the far end from the bathroom:
The dressing area:
After a long day of game drive, they drew a nice warm bubble bath for us right before dinner:
Every guest lodge faces the crater, and this was our terrace and deck. In the morning it was pretty chilly up at the lodge which was 5,900 feet above sea level, but the air was fresh and crisp!
A panoramic view of the crater at sunrise:
The traditional Maasai outfit:
I was excited to see a “Menu for Evonne” on the dining table!
A photo of me with the manager, Daniel:
Very delicious lunch:
Us at the dining room:
On the last night of our Safari, my stomach wasn’t feeling too well so we moved the dinner to our lodge and the chef created a special menu for me. Their attention to detail and personalization is just top-notch, hands down!
Look how pretty they packaged our laundry!
Our last breakfast at the lodge, they presented us with a cake to celebrate my birthday as well as our 10th wedding anniversary. How pretty was this table with all the red rose petals. It couldn’t get any more romantic than that!
I didn’t even know Darren took a photo of me as I was leaving a note in the guest book right before we departed!
Leave a reply