The Vijiji Center Lodge and Safari

3.0 star property

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your current months are January, 2025 and February, 2025.
January 2025
February 2025

Photo gallery for The Vijiji Center Lodge and Safari

Property grounds
Outdoor pool, pool umbrellas, pool loungers
Double Room | 1 bedroom, soundproofing, free WiFi, bed sheets
Breakfast, lunch, dinner served; local cuisine
Ecotours

Reviews

7.4 out of 10

Good

Popular amenities

  • Bar
  • Pool
  • 24/7 front desk
  • Laundry
  • Breakfast included
  • Parking included

Explore the area

Map
Kwa Pole Road, Nguruma Village, Arusha
  • Lake Duluti
    6 min drive
  • Arusha Golf Course
    9 min drive
  • Arusha International Conference Centre
    11 min drive
  • Kilimanjaro (JRO-Kilimanjaro Intl.)
    56 min drive

Room options

Double or Twin Room

  • 20 sq m
  • Sleeps 2
  • 2 Single Beds

Double Room

  • 20 sq m
  • Sleeps 2
  • 1 Queen Bed

Similar properties

About this property

The Vijiji Center Lodge and Safari

Lodge with free breakfast, in the vicinity of Arusha Clock Tower
This lodge features an outdoor pool, a restaurant and a bar/lounge. Free full breakfast, free WiFi in public areas and free self parking are also provided. Other amenities include a poolside bar, laundry facilities and a 24-hour front desk.
The Vijiji Center Lodge and Safari offers 22 accommodations, which are accessible via exterior corridors and feature complimentary bottles of water. Rooms open to patios. This Arusha lodge provides complimentary wireless Internet access. Bathrooms include a shower with a rainfall showerhead. Housekeeping is provided on a daily basis.
Recreational amenities at the lodge include an outdoor pool.

The recreational activities listed below are available either on-site or nearby; fees may apply.

During your stay at The Vijiji Center Lodge and Safari, you'll be close to Natural History Museum. Free breakfast, free WiFi in public areas and free self-parking are available.
  • Free full breakfast served daily
  • Free WiFi
  • Free self-parking
  • Enjoy local cuisine while dining at The Restaurant
  • Take a swim in the outdoor pool
  • Amenities include a gift shop, laundry facilities and a terrace
  • On-site recreation includes bicycles to rent
  • 9 minutes by car from Arusha Clock Tower and 11 minutes from Natural History Museum
  • Airport, shopping centre and local-area shuttle service available for a fee
There's a restaurant on site. You can enjoy a drink at one of the bars, which include a poolside bar and a bar/lounge. Free breakfast is available daily. Public spaces have free WiFi.

An outdoor pool, a terrace, and gift shops/newsstands are also featured at The Vijiji Center Lodge and Safari. An area shuttle within 25 kilometres and an airport shuttle (available 24 hours) are available for a fee. Self parking is free.

Smoking is allowed in designated areas at this 3-star Arusha lodge.

Guests are served a free full breakfast daily from 6 AM to 9 AM.
The Restaurant – This restaurant specialises in local cuisine and serves breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The Lounge – On-site cocktail bar. Open daily.

Languages

English, Swahili

Property amenities

Internet

  • Available in all rooms: Free WiFi
  • Available in some public areas: Free WiFi

Parking and transport

  • 24-hour return airport shuttle on request for a surcharge
  • Area shuttle (surcharge) up to 25 kilometres
  • Bus station shuttle (surcharge)
  • Shopping centre shuttle (surcharge)
  • Free secured, uncovered self parking on site
  • Onsite parking includes off-street options

Food and drink

  • Free full breakfast available daily 6 AM to 9 AM
  • A bar/lounge
  • A poolside bar
  • A restaurant

Restaurants on site

  • The Lounge
  • The Restaurant

Family friendly

  • Laundry facilities
  • Outdoor pool
  • Separate bedroom
  • Soundproofed rooms

Conveniences

  • 24-hour front desk
  • Gift shop/newsstand
  • Laundry facilities
  • Luggage storage

Guest services

  • Housekeeping (daily)
  • Tour and ticket assistance

Outdoors

  • Garden
  • In the mountains
  • Picnic area
  • Pool loungers
  • Pool umbrellas
  • Terrace

Accessibility

  • No lift

More

  • Banquet hall
  • Built in 2014
  • Designated smoking areas
  • Traditional architecture

Room amenities

Bedroom

  • Bedsheets provided

Bathroom

  • Private bathroom
  • Rainfall showerhead
  • Shower
  • Towels provided

Food and drink

  • Electric kettle
  • Free bottled water
  • Tea bags/instant coffee

More

  • Access via exterior corridors
  • Connecting rooms available
  • Soundproofed rooms

Policies

Check-in

Check-in start time: 3:00 PM; check-in end time: 2:00 AM
Early check-in subject to availability
Late check-in subject to availability
Minimum check-in age - 18

Check-out

Check-out before 11:00 AM

Special check-in instructions

This property offers transfers from the airport (surcharges may apply); to arrange pick-up, guests must contact the property 72 hours prior to arrival, using the contact information on the booking confirmation
The property charges 5 per cent for credit card payments
Guests must contact the property in advance for check-in instructions; front desk staff will greet guests on arrival
To make arrangements for check-in please contact the property ahead of time using the information on the booking confirmation
If you are planning to arrive after 10:00 PM please contact the property in advance using the information on the booking confirmation

Access methods

Staffed front desk

Pets

  • No pets allowed

Children and extra beds

  • Children are welcome.
  • Rollaway/extra beds are not available.
  • Cots (infant beds) are not available.

Payment types at the property

Important information

Optional extras

The fees and deposits listed below will be charged at the time of service, check-in, or check-out.

  • Airport shuttle fee: USD 50.00 per vehicle (one-way, maximum occupancy 6)
  • Credit card charges are subject to a surcharge of 5 per cent

This may not be a comprehensive list. Fees and deposits are subject to change and might not include tax.

You need to know

This property is managed by a professional host. The provision of housing is linked to their trade, business or profession.
Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on property policy
Government-issued photo identification and a credit card, debit card or cash deposit may be required at check-in for incidental charges
Special requests are subject to availability upon check-in and may incur additional charges; special requests cannot be guaranteed
This property accepts credit cards and cash
Safety features at this property include a fire extinguisher and window guards
The Vijiji Center Lodge and Safari offers transfers from the airport (fees may apply). Please contact the property on the number on the booking confirmation 72 hours prior to arrival with your arrival details. To arrange for check-in, guests must contact the property in advance of arrival using the information on the booking confirmation. Guests arriving after 10:00 PM must make advance arrangements by contacting the property using the information on the booking confirmation. Guests must contact the property in advance for check-in information. Front desk staff will greet guests on arrival.

We should mention

  • Registered guests are the only ones allowed to be in guestrooms.
  • Connecting/adjoining rooms are subject to availability and can be requested by contacting the property at the number on your booking confirmation.

Property is also known as

Vijiji Center Lodge Arusha
Vijiji Center Lodge
Vijiji Center Arusha
Vijiji Center
The Vijiji Center
The Vijiji Center And Safari
The Vijiji Center Lodge and Safari Lodge
The Vijiji Center Lodge and Safari Arusha
The Vijiji Center Lodge and Safari Lodge Arusha

The Vijiji Center Lodge and Safari Reviews

Reviews

7.4

Good

Rating 10 - Excellent. 8 out of 23 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 7 out of 23 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 3 out of 23 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 2 out of 23 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 3 out of 23 reviews" "

7.8/10

Cleanliness

8.0/10

Staff & service

7.6/10

Amenities

7.0/10

Property conditions & facilities

6.0/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

2/10 Terrible

Verified traveller

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Bad conditions and service
There was no hot water for the shower. The bathroom floor was flooded. Food at the restaurant was expensive and grassy. We could not eat the wrap we ordered, as it was dripping oil. The hotel was empty and with strange vibes. I would not recommend for this price. Other options around are better. We did not come back after our safari.
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2024

8/10 Good

Kevin

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Nice place except the noise coming from the other side of the wall was ungodly which is out of managements control. Loud music and preaching until 3am several nights in a row so very hard to sleep. Also rather hard to locate at first. On the other hand, the rooms were great, staff very friendly & helpful, the food is excellent and the grounds are beautiful.
Stayed 4 nights in May 2024

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The staff were friendly, the accommodations were great, and the location was excellent!
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2021

8/10 Good

Eitan

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Nice place. Very nice people tried to make the best of our stay.
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2021

2/10 Terrible

Manish

Disliked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Avoid at all costs!
This hotel is probably the worst encounter i've had in over 20 years of travelling. I know its Africa but!! Stayed 4 nights,wanted to leave after first night but had already paid for the room. On first day had to change room 3 times due to various things like power outlets not working, dead flies in the room etc. Power outages all the time, day and night, they say they have a back up generator! But never used it!! When i asked about the back up generator they just smile and laugh,never once did they answer the question! No hot water, they have disconnected the electric water heaters in each room and are using a wood burning fire to heat water!! I got one hot shower in 4 days. No wifi, they say it is broken and are using a single dongle to get wifi,most times it doesn't work or somebody else has it! Although i knew they were not in Arusha itself, it was inconvient to be so far away from town. Rooms only cleaned once every 2 days. On the plus sides, generally helpfull staff. The grounds are lovely and the food tasty, though breakfast is basic and fairly bland. I feel the whole Covid situation has seen this hotel trying to save costs, which i can understand but to not even be able to provide hot water, thats going too far in my book. I read the reviews and saw the pics which is why i booked, however i feel they have dropped the ball somewhat! I would never stay there again nor would i recommend this hotel to friends or other travellers, shame really as the set up is great
Stayed 4 nights in Mar 2021

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Travelled with group
Liked: Staff & service
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2021

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Business traveller
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Very pretty, a lot of nature, amazing staff,very good food! I just have a minor regret is to not have coffee and a bottle of water in the room, but otherwise it was incredibly good experience.
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2020

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Disliked: Amenities, property conditions & facilities
Unseasonable rains made the room damp and smelly, roof leaking through. The sheets weren't fully dry.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2020

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Resonably priced hotel with very friendly staff. Close to Arusha Town.
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2019

10/10 Excellent

Matthew

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
My partner and I spent the first few nights of our holiday at the Vijiji Center. The accommodation, food and staff are absolutely fantastic. We were unfortunate enough to have our safari day trip fail to show up. The staff helped us to try and track the company down and when this proved impossible they rearranged our trips for us. They have even written a letter of support to help us get our money back. If you are looking to stay in Arusha and go on day trips we strongly advise that you organise it all through the Vijiji Centre. There is not a great deal to do in the local area but it is a beautiful surrounding within which to relax after a day out on safari. Thank you so much to Sandra, Amos, Maria and all the staff (plus the dogs 😊) for making our trip so memorable.
Stayed 5 nights in Sep 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Nice place and settings with pleasant cottages, clean room and bathroom, friendly and helpful staff and good restaurant. Limited breakfast but it's the same all over Tanzania. For some people might be a disadvantage it is a little far from the center of Arusha (15 min. drive) but the feeling you're in the country compensates for that.
Stayed 3 nights in Jul 2019

10/10 Excellent

Xiaoli

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2019

8/10 Good

Zoe

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Friendly!
Very welcoming. Good customer service and staff. Lovely grounds. Had s buffet dinner which was tasty. Would recommend as a stopover hotel.
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2019

10/10 Excellent

Amy

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Amazing stay at Vijiji
The hotel is beautiful grounds are beautiful and have a very tropical vibe, complete with tortoises and beautiful birds. The pool is excellent and great for a refreshing dip. The food was amazing! Most importantly, the staff were extremely kind and helpful. It is not exactly central for Arusha, but it is tucked in a quaint village with an amazing fruit & veg market behind it. We stayed for a chill day and night before heading to Kili airport, which is only 45 minutes away.
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2019

4/10 Poor

Sabine

Business traveller
Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Cleanliness
Leider ist Vijiji nach der Renovierung in einem schlechteren Zustand als vorher. Im Zimmer ist kein Schreibtisch, von WLAN auf dem GrundstĂŒck ganz zu schweigen - obwohl ich vorab hierzu eine (unbeantwortete) Anfrage geschickt hatte. Das Bad war leider in einem schlimmen Zustand (alte Monatsbinden im MĂŒll), verdreckte Armaturen. Das Zimmer war einfach aber zweckmĂ€ĂŸig eingerichtet - nur leider ohne irgendeinen Tisch, abgesehen von einem kleinen, niedrigen Beistelltisch. Schade, der Garten ist immer noch prĂ€chtig, die Lage, wenn man nicht mitten im Zentrum sein will, sehr gut.
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2022

2/10 Terrible

muriel

Travelled with family
Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Horrible.
À Ă©viter. La premiĂšre chambre n avait pas d eau ! La seconde Ă©tait sale. Les photos ne correspondent pas du tout. Je voyage beaucoup. Je met rarement un commentaire nĂ©gatif. Ici tout Ă©tait dĂ©cevant. On nous a mĂȘme donnĂ© un faux billet de dollar en payant le transfert Ă  l hĂŽtel.
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2021

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Travelled with group
Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
HĂŽtel situĂ© loin du centre-ville. Jardin et bĂątiment sumpa. Chambre spacieuse mais surchargĂ©e, serviettes de toilette moisies, linge blanc pas trĂšs blanc, douche sommaire, propretĂ© globale trĂšs mĂ©diocre. Personne Ă  l'aĂ©roport pour venir nous chercher malgrĂ© notre requĂȘte acceptĂ©e par l'hĂŽtel, pas d'eau aprĂšs une nuit passĂ©e dans l'hĂŽtel. Wifi consistant en une clef 4g portable Ă  se partager avec une autre chambre.
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2021

8/10 Good

Rachel

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2021

6/10 Okay

Hanne

Redusert drif pga corona, sÄ ikke alt fungerte som normslt vil jeg tro. Vanskelig Ä gi riktig rating.
Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2020

10/10 Excellent

Matilde

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Unique and worth a visit!
Very cool an unique place that is worth a visit. Located 15 min out of Arusha, things go at a perfect slow pace and the staff is wonderful. Highly recommend staying there for a few days, it's clean, neat, good pool, friendly and the Wifi works.
Stayed 5 nights in Jan 2020

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Travelled with partner, Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Ein schöner Ort vor den Toren Arusha's um sich mal aus dem afrikanischen Trubel herauszuziehen. Das Personal ist stets hilfsbereit und engagiert. Leider ist das dinner - buffet nicht immer eine Empfehlung wert. Das FrĂŒhstĂŒck hingegen ist top!!
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Wonderful place near Arusha. Beautiful place within typically African setting. Warm welcome and excellent service! The food was delicious!
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2019

8/10 Good

Anneli

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
En pÀrla mitt i ingenstans, men ...
En liten pĂ€rla mitt ute i ingenstans! Vi bodde hĂ€r i tvĂ„ nĂ€tter, lugn och mysigt! Åt middag pĂ„ lokal restaurang bara nĂ„gra meter ifrĂ„n hotellet, wow, vilken mat! Hotellet tog 10 USD/person för en buffĂ©, det vi Ă„t pĂ„ den lokala restaurangen kostade 5 USD för tvĂ„ personer, middag, en öl och en liten glada vin. VĂ„ga prova dom smĂ„ lokala haken, fantastisk mat, för en billig peng! Hotellet har ingen AC pĂ„ tummen :( och det eldas skrĂ€p/ris i tid och otid, sĂ„ det liggen en konstant rökdimma/lukt i luften! VĂ„ga Ă€ven ta en dala-dala in till Arusha, kostar 500 TSZ/person!
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2018