Best hotels in Tanzania

This luxury tented camp is family-owned, staffed with a multicultural team who share extensive knowledge of the bush and a passion for thoughtful hospitality. Simple and stylish, the accommodation gives you a comfortable and memorable stay in the bush.

Built on the site of the former Rhino Lodge, the oldest lodge in the crater, Laba Ngorongoro enjoys an exceptional location. Just a few steps from the “Rim,” the edge of the crater, it is also the closest lodge to the park entrance. It also offers breathtaking views of the lush surrounding forest and the Oldeani and Makarot mountains. From what was once the Rhino Lodge, the former curator’s house has been preserved as a tribute. It was once the home of Henry Albert Fosbrooke (1905–1996), the region’s first ecologist, whose tireless efforts led to the creation of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and its designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. He was its first conservator. This highly symbolic residence will house the lodge’s reception, bar-lounge, and boutique.

Up in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, near the Elerai River and within reach of the great crater, this is the smaller, smarter sister to the Serengeti camp. Just ten tents look out over the acacia, and the whole operation runs small and personal: chef-cooked dinners, coffee on tap and service that learns your name by day two. The headline draw, of course, is the Ngorongoro Crater itself, a collapsed volcano packed with wildlife and a morning's drive away. A smart little base for the crater, and a soft place to land after.

Kaskazi is named after the warm wind that blows through Zanzibar. It is also the name we gave to this place — because the feeling is the same. Warm, easy, and exactly right. The hotel sits on a cliff on Zanzibar’s southeast coast, in the village of Jambiani. 16 apartment suites, 2 superior suites with private pools and ocean views, and 14 double rooms — all designed for that moment when you walk in and think: yes, this is it.

The ocean is always close. From the pool, from the restaurant, from the rooftop bar at golden hour. The staff are warm without being stiff. The food is fresh, local, and genuinely good. And the two superior suites with private pools have the kind of view you will not get tired of. This is not a designer hotel. It is not a resort. It is the place your coolest friend would take you if they lived in Zanzibar.

Tamu means sweet in Swahili. It is the perfect word for this place. Tamu Tamu is a 10-room wellness retreat in the fishing village of Pwani Mchangani, on Zanzibar’s northeast coast. The village is quiet, the beach is 30 seconds away, and the hotel itself is a lush, tropical garden filled with mature plants, birdsong, and the kind of stillness that makes you breathe differently. This is a place for people who care about how they feel. The food is built on a vegetarian foundation — fresh, seasonal, and genuinely nourishing — with the flexibility to layer on keto, high-protein, or whatever your body is asking for. The rooftop yoga deck has warm wooden floors and open sky. The outdoor gym has proper weights. The pools are cool and quiet. The spa treatments are personalised. Tamu Tamu is not a spa hotel and not a yoga retreat brochure. It is warm, human, and Zanzibari — with everything you need to stay connected to your practice while you are on holiday.