MT Meru the only five star hotel in Arusha
Arusha. Mt. Meru and the is currently the only five star hotel in Arusha city, according to a just-completed star-rating.
The 300-room Ngurdoto Mountain Lodge joins the 40 year hotel as another five star entity within the vicinity.
The hotel star rating was announced here yesterday after the completion of the classification exercise for Arusha and Manyara regions which started in March this year.
The Arusha Hotel, the oldest in town having opened its doors to clients in 1890s, was dropped from the rating as it is under a massive rehabilitation.
Reliable sources say, the 120 year old outfit, commonly known as New Arusha Hotel, would operate under the Marriot brand once it is re-opened next month.
The hotel rating as well as the classification of other tourist class accommmodation outfits for the two regions was announced in the four-hour event graced by the minister for Natural Resources and Tourism Prof. Jumanne Maghembe.
Only two of the city-based hotels managed to hit a four star mark. These are the Kibo Palace Hotel and African Tulip Hotel, both along the Julius Nyerere road in the leafy suburb of Arusha.
Besides Ngurdoto Lodge, the Impala Hotels Group, owned by the local investor the late Faustine Melleo Mrema who died recently, managed to keep its other outfits in the top rank, though.
The towering Naura Springs along the Afrika Mashariki road and Impala Hotel, both owned by the late billionaire, were ranked with three stars.
Other prominent hotels which were ranked high (three stars) in the classification included, Palace Hotel, another towering edifice in the heart of the city, Njiro Veta Hotel, Venus, New Safari, Snow Crest and SG Resort.
The star-rating announced by the deputy permanent secretary in the ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism Dr. Aloyce Nzuki, however, found the tourists lodges and tented camps excelling.
Many of them are located within the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA),around the Serengeti and Tarangire national parks or on the slopes of Mt. Meru like Ngurdoto.
Among the five starred lodges are Acacia Farm Lodge, Legendary Expedition, Tarangire Sopa Lodge, Kilima Mmoja Lodge and Ngorongoro Serena Lodge.
Speaking during the ceremony, Prof. Maghembe underscored for owners of hotels, lodges and other accommodation entities to maintain the required standards.
He said despite efforts that have been made to diversify tourism destinations in the country, the northern circuit remains the host to 80 per cent of tourists visiting the country.
The minister added that hotel classification exercise has been completed in Dar es Salaam and the northern regions of Arusha and Manyara and that it would be extended to other parts of the country soon.
