Escarpment Luxury Lodge

93% (3 reviews)

Full review Our view Geographics Food & drink Children Wildlife sightings Communications Health & safety Activities Extras

Escarpment Luxury Lodge: Our full report

With 16 spacious chalets, Escarpment Luxury Lodge is a stylish lodge offering stunning views of Tanzania’s ...

... Lake Manyara National Park and warm African hospitality

Escarpment Luxury Lodge opened in 2011 and has received lots of praise from travellers since then. We were certainly very impressed when we last visited in early 2018. The friendly and efficient staff appear to go out of their way to ensure you have an enjoyable stay. We really like the lodge’s contemporary décor, which combines with traditional woodcarvings and artwork to create a “modern African” style.

The 16 red stone chalets are all spacious, light and airy. The bedrooms measure around 6x8m2 and natural light floods though big French windows. Each room has a king-size bed – or two singles if requested – with walk-in mosquito netting.

The chalets are furnished in neutral colours, with cream bedding, and grey and duck egg blue cushions and drapes. This is complemented by polished wooden flooring, intricate modern metal lampshades, wooden carvings, African masks and other curios placed around the room.

There is a large storage shelf with wicker baskets and plenty of hanging space. You’ll also find a leather chest at the foot of the bed, a dark brown leather sofa in one corner of the room and a small writing desk in the other.

The en-suite bathroom, which can be separated from the main bedroom with a curtain, is equally large and bright, with two basins, a flush toilet, an impressive free-standing bathtub, and an indoor and outdoor shower. Fluffy bathrobes, slippers, a hairdryer and high-quality toiletries are all provided.

Rooms have charging points, fans and air conditioning, and each has a private deck where you can relax and soak up the views, while enjoying a morning coffee or a sundowner.

The large thatched lounge area also mixes contemporary and traditional design. You will find clusters of leather sofas around a central seating area, scattered with cushions. Dark wooden beams contrast with modern metal light fittings, local artwork adorns the walls and African artifacts are dotted around.

There is a small room with a computer and satellite TV for guests to use, as well as smaller private lounge rooms, with chaise longues, which can be separated with curtains. The bar is located off the lounge area, as well as small gift shop selling local handicrafts.

The dining area is simply decorated in comparison with the rest of the lodge, with wooden furniture and dark red drapes. Guests tend to dine at individual tables.

The swimming pool is a lovely spot to relax and take in the impressive view of Lake Manyara. It is surrounded by sunloungers and parasols on a decking area, with a small thatched bar and a little separate pool, which is ideal for children.

Whilst staying at Escarpment Luxury Lodge, you will have your own butler assigned to your chalet, who will ensure you have an enjoyable stay.

Our view

Although we were unable to stay at Escarpment Luxury Lodge when we were last in the area (they were fully booked), we really liked the feel of this contemporary lodge. The pool and decking area offer stunning views out over the national park and staff are efficient and courteous.

Jessica Plumb

Country manager: Tanzania

Geographics

Location: Lake Manyara National Park, Tanzania
Ideal length of stay: Three nights
Directions: Most guests will arrive at Escarpment lodge with their own private driver and guide.
Accessible by: Fly-and-Transfer

Food & drink

Usual board basis: Full Board
Food quality: The food here is reportedly very good, although unfortunately we did not have time to sample this when we last visited.

Breakfast is typically served from around 6.30am and is a buffet of cereals, breads and fruits, with hot items cooked to order.

If you are out for the day, the lodge will provide a picnic lunch to take with you. If you are in the lodge over lunchtime you will dine from a daily changing set menu.

Dinner is a daily changing set menu and is served from 7.30pm. Food is varied, plentiful and locally grown. The lodge can easily cater for vegetarians and other dietary requests with advance notice.
Dining style: Individual Tables
Dining locations: Indoor Dining
Further dining info, including room service: Room service can be arranged at no extra charge, as can flexible dining locations throughout the lodge, should guests want to arrange private dinners.
Drinks included: If you are staying on an inclusive package all drinks are included except premium wines and spirits. If you are staying on an exclusive package, drinks are not included and you can expect to pay around $5 for a beer, $40 for a bottle of wine and $2 for a soda.

Children

Attitude towards children: The lodge welcomes children of all ages.
Property’s age restrictions: No minimum age restrictions
Special activities & services: Babysitting services can be arranged. Please note that staff may not be professionally qualified in childcare.
Equipment: Cots can be provided on request.
Generally recommended for children: Although the lodge does welcome children of all ages, when we visited the lodge we felt that it had a very adult atmosphere, and some families with small children may not feel comfortable here. That being said, there is a swimming pool, and we are sure that staff will do their upmost to ensure children have an enjoyable stay.
Notes: Please note that children should be supervised at all times. The swimming pool is unfenced and there is no lifeguard.

Our travellers’ wildlife sightings from Escarpment Lux Lodge

Since mid-2018, many of our travellers who stayed at Escarpment Luxury Lodge have kindly recorded their wildlife sightings and shared them with us. The results are below. Click an animal to see more, and here to see more on our methodology.

Elephant

50% success

Giraffe

50% success

Lion

50% success

Zebra

50% success

Aardvark

0% success

Buffalo

0% success

Cheetah

0% success

Eland

0% success

Hippo

0% success

Leopard

0% success

Pangolin

0% success

Spotted Hyena

0% success

Striped Hyena

0% success

Wild dog

0% success

Wildebeest

0% success

Communications

Power supply notes: Connected to national grid with a back up generator. The chalets have 24-hour electricity and charging points.
Communications: There is a good cellphone signal around the lodge, WiFi in the main areas and a computer for guest use in the reception area. The management told us there are plans to install WiFi in the rooms. There are walkie-talkies in the rooms for contacting reception and security.
TV & radio: There is a satellite TV in the main area.
Water supply: Borehole
Water supply notes: Showers plumbed in with constant hot and cold water and flush toilets.

Health & safety

Malarial protection recommended: Yes
Medical care: There is a first-aid kit on site and some members of staff are first-aid trained. There is a small basic clinic in nearby village Mto wa Mbo. For more serious cases, the nearest hospital is in Karatu, about an hour and half away.
Dangerous animals: High Risk
Security measures: Security guards patrol the property 24 hours a day, and there is CCTV in all areas.
Fire safety: There are fire extinguishers in all the rooms and common areas.

Activities

4WD Safari
Birdwatching
Cultural excursion
Mountain biking
Night drive

Extras

Disabled access: On Request
Laundry facilities: There is a 24-hour laundry service costing between $1-$5 per garment
Money: Each room has an electronic safe.

The lodge is able to offer a basic currency exchange, although the rates are fairly fixed.
Accepted payment on location: All major currencies are accepted – US dollars, Tanzanian shillings, euros and GB pounds. Payments can also be made on Visa and Mastercard with no surcharge. American Express is not accepted.