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Rhino Lodge
Rhino Lodge
Rhino Lodge

Reviews of Rhino Lodge

Wildlife sightings and reviews

22 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Rhino Lodge and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa

Wildlife sightings by our travellers
Starting in Jun-2019, 1 of our travellers have recorded their wildlife sightings at Rhino Lodge.
Lion

100% success

Leopard

0% success

Wild dog

0% success

Black Rhino

100% success

Buffalo

100% success

Elephant

100% success

Hippo

100% success

Spotted Hyena

100% success

Wildebeest

100% success

Zebra

100% success

Aardvark

0% success

Eland

0% success

Pangolin

0% success

Striped Hyena

0% success

Showing 1-10 of 22
Duration
Arrival date
Marilyn & Duane
CA

"Interesting Place"

2 nights Arrived 1 Aug 2019
"Decent room, lodge and food. Nothing great, nothing bad. The weather was pretty chilly and foggy in the mornings, and chilly at night. The lodge had Waterbucks come right up to our room deck, fun, with a view into the forest. Based on weather there would have been no benefit to a pricier lodge overlooking the crater, nothing would have been seen.
It was nice having a fire in the wood stove each night, that helped." See all these reviews: 12n in Tanzania; 2n in Rwanda
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location:
Good
Service:
Good
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Good
D & S
NZ

"Cosy lodge in the mist"

3 nights Arrived 24 Jun 2019
"Location:
On the Ngorongoro Crater rim without the expense of a "view" over the crater, which at this season is perpetually foggy. Waterbuck on the "lawn" beside our deck. A relaxed and rustic feel.

Lodge:
Cosy fires in the lounge/dining area, and in your room if desired. Our guide ate with us, which was good.

Wildlife:
Good access to Ngorongoro - first car down there I think. Some really interesting behavioural wildlife watching; a standoff/hunt between a large herd of buffalo with an attacked calf, 5 male lions and 12 hyenas.
Also did a half-day walk on crater rim; had intended a walk up Mt Makarot but grass too long for safety, and this season apparently habitually too foggy for views. Alternative well-organised for us by our guide Aminiel." See all these reviews: 7n in Tanzania
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Good
Sightings Report

Black Rhino

3 sightings

Buffalo

10 sightings

Elephant

3 sightings

Hippo

3 sightings

Lion

4 sightings

Spotted Hyena

4 sightings

Wildebeest

10 sightings

Zebra

10 sightings

Ms Donna H
USA

"Rhino Lodge review"

2 nights Arrived 9 Feb 2018
"After an initial concern on arrival, my experience there was totally positive. At reception, I was told they had overbooked, and the room reserved for me was only available for one night. I was not informed of this prior to arrival, although they told me my tour operator had been made aware of the situation in December.

I had the option of staying there one night, then moving to the manager’s room for the second night, or staying in the mgr’s room both nights. I viewed both. The room reserved was small and basic, with two single beds. After being escorted to the mgr’s room past the clothes lines, propane tank and staff lodging I was shown the mgr’s room. With a fireplace, livingroom area, couch, and a porch obviously I was very pleased to stay there the two nights!

The setting, dining area and food were all very nice. The staff was exceptional. I preferred the smaller, cozier atmosphere at Rhino to a larger, more commercial place with more amenities, and would highly recommend it, My room rating below is based on the room I would have stayed in." See all these reviews: 7n in Tanzania; 3n in Zanzibar
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Good
Service:
Excellent
Rooms:
Average
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Good
Lauren
California

"Great budget-friendly choice above the crater"

3 nights Arrived 13 Sep 2015
"The setting of the Rhino Lodge is idyllic, at elevation and surrounded by lush, green trees. The cool air was a nice change, and having to wear a jacket at night felt great after warm days and nights elsewhere.

The managers of the lodge are extremely welcoming and friendly. The rooms are spacious and clean, with brightly colored blankets and nice patios overlooking water buck and even marabou stork. The bathroom was extremely basic- nothing was wrong with it, but it could've used a bit of bleach, and the hot water came and went depending on how many other guests were using it. This wasn't a big deal, however, as we got 2 really good nights sleep here and loved the setting.

The food is what sets Rhino Lodge apart- it was buffet style, so there was always something for everyone, and it was really tasty. The picnic lunch that was packed for us was our favorite of the trip, and beat out picnics from other more "high end" accommodations.

I was sorry to leave here, and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it as a stopover that is pleasant and as a bonus, budget-friendly." See all these reviews: 12n in Tanzania
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Good
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Good
Ms M
Lethbridge

"Enjoyed the resident wildlife"

2 nights Arrived 3 Feb 2015
"Even though the lodge is a little dated, we loved the atmosphere. A very friendly wecoming place to stay.

The resident animals made the visit interesting. We saw waterbuck and a Malibou stork on the grounds here. Our driver amost walked into an elephant after dark.

We enjoyed the hot showers after our day at Manyara. Laundry was included in the price of the lodge which we appreciated. Food was excellent.

We appreciated the cool evenings and knew we could have a fire, in the fireplace, in our room if needed.

We would have liked to stay here longer." See all these reviews: 8n in Tanzania
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Good
Mrs C
Shaftesbury

"Rhino Lodge review"

1 night Arrived 15 Jan 2015
"We used Rhino Lodge for an overnight stay, travelling from Kili airport on to a tented camp in the Southern Serengeti. We wanted to see the Ngorongoro Crater on route and this lodge looked really convenient - and it was.

An attractive single storey lodge with Simple comfortable rooms, with balconies and a wood burning stove. A very attractive large dining room with a large central fireplace with sofas has a really nice feel to it. Overall a very good stop over and means you can get into the crater nice and early." See all these reviews: 8n in Zanzibar; 4n in Tanzania
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Good
Activities:
Good
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Average
Facilities:
Good
Mr & Mrs F
Neterlands

"Rhino Lodge Review"

2 nights Arrived 27 Sep 2014
"We were welcomed to Rhino Lodge by the resident Marabou Stork who looked like a grumpy old man. The room had a lovely wood burning stove to take the chill off at night - much appreciated. The food was also very good and an excellent location for visiting the crater. We did not make use of any of their activities.

Again, our marvellous guide Silvanus made the trip into the Ngorongoro Crater an unforgettable experience. The views from the rim were breathtaking. Silvanus seemed to have eyes like a hawk and without him we would not have noticed the Black Rhino for instance. We also saw numerous lions and hippos." See all these reviews: 9n in Tanzania; 8n in Zanzibar
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Rooms:
Average
Food:
Good
Mr & Mrs G
Dartmouth

"Basic but good value and excellent position"

2 nights Arrived 30 Aug 2014
"We were told that it was basic and indeed it was. However, we found the staff helpful and efficient, the location was superb and overall we found it excellent value for money." See all these reviews: 9n in Tanzania; 1n in Kenya
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Good
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Good
A & K
London

"Simple but effective"

2 nights Arrived 20 Aug 2014
"This is a rustic / simple type of safari lodge but it has a number of great qualities about it:
1) Location - on top of the crater means you are in a greater location for an early morning start, we were one of the first cars into the crater and it made a massive difference
2) Setting - has beautiful grounds and the surrounding areas which meant you saw wildlife right outside your room. It is true you are not overlooking the crater but I did not think that this was a massive drawback
3) Personal touches - loved the wood fire stoves in the room, the very friendly staff and owners
4) Food - both breakfast and supper were very good with a range of food offered which set you up for the day ahead.

Overall this is not the most glamorous or fashionable place to stay, but for us that is not what we wanted on this trip. Instead you got the feeling that they cared very much about their guests, the surrounding area and not creating eyesores in this perfect landscape (which cant not be said for a number of the more fashionable / expensive options within the crater)." See all these reviews: 11n in Tanzania; 3n in Zanzibar
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Good
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Good
Dr W
Pennsylvania

"Recovery at Rhino Lodge"

1 night Arrived 12 Aug 2013
"A basic lodge - nothing fancy - but most welcome and the people were friendly." See all these reviews: 7n in Tanzania
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Average
Activities:
Average
Rooms:
Average
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Average
Showing 1-10 of 22
91%
22 reviews of Rhino Lodge by travellers since August 2007
Overall rating by our travellers
12
10
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0
0
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