I know Arusha quite well and I have stayed in several other hotels/lodges/guest houses but I have to say Safariland Cottages was one of the best; I stayed over a month with my girlfriend and we were welcomed as family. The Hungarian lady who owns the place together with her Tanzanian husband is always ready to help and we became friends with her two daughters and were going out all together. Definitely the best place to stay in Arusha

Stayed August 2012, travelled as a couple

Individual cottages in a lush, tropical garden setting and free wi-fi in the dining room. What more could you want? Well to boot you get amazing value for money from a family owned and operated hotel. You get an owner who is also the chef and who can create meals of any kind from traditional East African with Ugali to fully European. On my last day of this trip she made vegetarian pizza to order.

Oh, and did I mention they also are a tour company and can get you to the top of Kilimanjaro to to Serengetti and Ngorogoro. So what if they don’t have a pool or a fitness center. Tell Csilla, the owner that you would like sundowners in the garden and in an instant you have a table in among the birds of paradise with your wine or beer or whatever ready to go.

I will certainly go back when I have the chance

Stayed September 2012, travelled on business

I just returned from my first trip to Africa. We were based out of Safariland Cottages, and stayed there 3 nights total. Rehema was in charge, and she did a great job. She arranged an excellent safari for us, and then sent us a guide in Zanzibar, which was awesome. I was travelling with 2 of my daughters, 15 and 12 years old, so I really appreciated Rehema’s help and support. She took us to the airport and did an amazing job navigating the Arusha traffic to get us to our flight. The cottages are quite comfortable, nothing fancy, though they seemed like the Four Seasons after 5 days of camping. Safariland had set up the camping, and I am not a good camper, but they really did a nice job of making things comfortable-great tents, and mattresses to sleep on, plenty of good food from the friendly chefs, it was very nice. It is a very nice place and I can only say the nicest things about the cottages and Rehema!

This was my first trip to Africa, and I was very pleased with our safari and the service from Safariland… Rahema did a great job arranging out trips and providing transportation to and from the airport. Our guides were knowledgeable, spoke excellent English, and patient with spotting animals – we could sit and watch as long as we liked, which in our case included a rare sighting of a serval (African wildcat) hunting in the Ngorongoro Crater. She also provided us with a guide in Zanzibar. I’d definitely stay here again, and recommend it for women travelers and families.