Evaluation: andBeyond Grumeti Serengeti River Lodge, Tanzania

Tucked away, within the higher Serengeti ecosystem, lies a slice of pure safari magic. Proper on the banks of the Grumeti river you’ll discover the beautiful andBeyond Grumeti Serengeti River Lodge, a 10-suite luxurious safari retreat that’s extensively thought to be one of many best in Tanzania. Motive sufficient to test it out and see if the rumours are true.

The welcome

The welcome begins even earlier than you make eye contact, as you’ll hear the employees sing once you’re nonetheless driving in the direction of the doorway. When you step out of the automobile, heat smiles, chilly towels and a welcome drink all await. Swiftly you’re led to the principle space which entails the restaurant, bar, terrace, lounge and tucked away within the nook additionally somewhat store. It’s all very seamless and when you sit down you’ll immediately discover the hippos that are nearly motionlessly you from the river.

The room

After a swift and heat welcome we’re escorted to our room. As we’re travelling with our 2 youngsters, we’re staying within the household suite. When you stroll in you immediately discover the big measurement and abundance of sunshine that is available in. To the left there’s a bar space with a completely stocked mini-bar, tons of espresso and tea choices and all of the instruments it is advisable to make the proper afternoon G&T. The dressing can be on to your left, whereas straight in entrance of you there’s a writing desk adopted by a large kingsize mattress with a ceiling fan and mosquito nets that wrap throughout it within the evenings. In entrance of the mattress you’ll discover a number of chairs to lounge in whereas studying a guide or gazing outdoors.

A conveyable bluetooth speaker makes certain that even within the bush you don’t have to miss your favorite tunes. In the meantime you possibly can take the Swarovski binoculars to scout for any wild animals within the space.

Exterior, the suite has a really massive terrace with one other set of lounge chairs and a plunge pool which immediately obtained claimed by the children after all. To not point out the dialogue about who was going to calm down on the floating bean bag first!

Whereas to the far left of the suite you’ll have the huge lavatory, on the best there’s a small hall which leads right into a second full scale bed room with twin beds, a dressing desk and a full-size ensuite lavatory. Usually household suites are simply having a small extra bed room with none bells and whistles, however not over right here, quite the opposite. And the most effective half? It doubles the dimensions of your terrace, providing you with tons of out of doors area to calm down and luxuriate in.

There’s solely certainly one of these household suites. The 9 different rooms are principally the identical, however with out the extra bed-and lavatory.

The lavatory

Whereas the design could be very open plan, and thus the bed room and loo movement into one another, it may be closed off by a large curtain that runs the size of the suite. There’s a double sink and a large mirror in opposition to the wall whereas on the aspect you’ll discover the freestanding tub tub overlooking the bush outdoors. There’s after all additionally a large bathe and conveniently positioned in the midst of the toilet space you’ll discover this large pouf which absolutely turns out to be useful within the morning once you stumble away from bed and attempt to discover your bearings.

The amenities

Meals is an enormous “make or brake” issue on a safari trigger you do spend numerous time on the desk. Fortunately, at andBeyond Grumeti Serengeti River Lodge you by no means go hungry. Lavish breakfasts, very good lunches and dinners that at all times range. One time you’ll have it across the campfire, the opposite evening you’ll be seated within the eating space of the principle constructing. And because of the small measurement of the lodge, the employees know precisely what you want, making the service really feel easy and effectively organised.

The bar space is among the first stuff you see when strolling into the principle space, and since there are such a lot of totally different seating areas throughout, it actually lends itself completely to hold round a bit and take all of it in. Within the evenings the campfire might be lit and the round seating round it’s a favorite amongst many friends.

Despite the fact that every suite has its personal plunge pool, they nonetheless put in an even bigger swimming pool simply behind the principle constructing. It has the identical views over the river because the suites so that you received’t miss out on any wildlife which may cross by on the opposite aspect. The hippos are omnipresent so take into account them a free bonus.

For these trying to be a bit extra lively, there’s a small health club with all the required instruments to verify your heartbeat goes as excessive as once you noticed a lion kill earlier within the day.

The placement

The Grumeti space is considerably of an insiders gem trigger the world has only a few camps and this leads to only a few automobiles round you throughout sport drives. At some point we went out on a drive for over 6 hours and solely noticed 1 automotive within the distance. Now that’s true luxurious!

Motive why it’s much less visited is as a result of it’s extra distant and on the western aspect of Serengeti. The best strategy to get right here is to fly from Arusha. The Grumeti airstrip is actually 500 meters away from the lodge, which means you possibly can board your aircraft in Arusha and be within the lodge inside 90 minutes. Speaking about comfort.

This location additionally permits you to benefit from the nice migration with out the crowds. In June and July massive herds will cross by means of however even in November and December you could be fortunate to see a number of the large wildebeest or zebra herds. The sport viewing all year long stays very good although, so it doesn’t matter what time you go to, there’s at all times a ton of wildlife to be seen.

Different good touches

For me personally, the most effective surprises is how youngsters pleasant this lodge is, even when they solely have 1 household room and thus technically solely have 2 youngsters most at any given time. We have been right here throughout Halloween and whereas no one within the bush cares about this industrial day (let’s name it what it’s), our youngsters dressed up pretty much as good or unhealthy as they might. Immediately the employees observed and inside minutes there have been carved pumpkins on the desk and the employees went above and past to make it a particular night for them. Different instances they arrive with a tray of marshmallows, tons of toppings and some stick, to ensure that the children to get pleasure from themselves on the campfire whereas mummy and daddy get pleasure from their nightcap. At some point they have been invited for some pizza making and baking which was so successful that we ended up leaving on our afternoon sport drive with freshly prepped pizzas on the go. You may think about the smile on their face driving round like a pizza supply truck in between the animals.

One other factor that basically stands out is the employees and their willingness to make your time the most effective you ever had. No request is an excessive amount of and the real chats we shared with lots of them made us really feel like we have been visiting buddies somewhat than simply one other lodge.

Price

Safaris are costly and when going to one of many prime lodges in Tanzania you already know it ain’t going to be low cost. Charges for a collection begin from round 2.600 USD per evening and for the household suites costs begin from 4.600 USD. Be aware that these charges don’t embrace any of the park or concession charges, however cowl all of the meals, drinks, sport drives and so forth. Even your laundry is included.

The perfect bit

It’s onerous to pinpoint only one factor, however the location for certain is unimaginable, with a lot of wildlife throughout and the Grumeti river proper in entrance of you, stuffed to the brim with hippos. This mixed with the fashionable fashion and design of the lodge, actually makes you perceive why it’s thought-about among the many finest within the nation.

The ultimate verdict

Sure, it costly. Sure, it’s fairly distant. However….it’s additionally completely price it. From the extent of service to the general high quality of the guides, wildlife, suites and so forth, it’s onerous to fault it.

Disclosure: Our keep was sponsored by andBeyond Serengeti River Lodge.

Kristof Eyckmans

Kristof Eyckmans is a journey author from Antwerp, Belgium. He’s been dwelling all throughout the globe and whereas he loves wildlife and nature, he can nonetheless get pleasure from city jungle.