gallery of 6 photos

Karatu, Tanzania

Plantation Lodge

This is a great lodging option if the properties on the rim of the Crater are full - or if you don't mind staying just outside of the Ngorongoro Conservation area. We think the lodge design is extremely stylish and always find ourselves taking pictures to incorporate into our own homes.

We have heard rumors that the German owners of this property can have an inappropriate attitude at times.

 — Mango's view

Plantation Lodge is set on a working coffee and arable farm just outside Karatu, less than an hour from the Ngorongoro Crater.

This small hotel with only 15 rooms has the comfortable and intimate feel of a beautifully run bush home. The elegant rooms are well thought out with large beds, en-suite bathrooms and wood burning stoves in each of the sitting rooms. Outside there are very pretty gardens with views over the adjacent farmland and a swimming pool. Here, food and service are of a high standard, and the owners, Renate and Udo Marahens, who have been farming in the area for many years, have a high level of input in the day to day running of the lodge.

At almost 7000 ft above sea level, this has to be one of the most seductive climates - hot days and cool mornings and nights, although between July and early September there can be a fair amount of low clouds that hang around on the edge of the highlands, making the place feel more like Scotland than Africa.

Here you won't be seeing large animals from your bedroom, but you'll get a taste of the wonderful climate and of what life in the highlands of East Africa can be like. As well as relaxing you can take some great walks from the lodge into the surrounding farmland and the forest to nearby waterfalls.

Most guests use this property as a base to explore the Ngorongoro Crater. During a day trip, you are sure to see huge herds of zebra, wildebeest and buffalo intermixed with the smaller gazelle and impala. All of these grazers ensure that the predators - lion, leopard and hyena are close behind. The lake in the center of the crater is home to thousands of pink flamingo. The forested area is quite popular with the ever hungry families of elephant.

Includes: All meals