Ngorongoro Crater Lodge

August 22-25

Zebra graze on the grass between the buildings providing a nice addition to the glorious view from this lodge.
Crater Lodge is the epitome of luxury. The "huts" may look simply on the outside, but don't let that fool you. The guest rooms are spectacular - beautiful beds, nice leather chairs in front of a fireplace which is lit every evening while you're at dinner, gorgeous views off your private balcony, and a bathroom to die for. The attention to detail in these units is quite impressive.
  The bathroom has a large free-standing tub in the middle, adorned with about four dozen red roses in a large vase. Between the two large sink areas is a huge open shower. Luxurious terry bathrobes are provided to step into after your bath of shower.

The rooms have electricity 23 hours a day (it's turned off from 4PM to 5PM).
Laundry service is provided to have your clothes cleaned. This normally takes less than 24 hours, but ours took a little longer. The laundry slip does have a disclaimer, though, that the lodge can't be held responsible if baboons steal the laundry from the lines - fortunately this didn't happen to us.

It got surprisingly cold at night on the crater rim, probably down in the low 40's. The rooms are heated using the fireplace and also have electric blankets, but they were a little chilly in the mornings. Fortunately, the staff provides hot tea and coffee with your morning wake-up, and there was an ample supply of hot water.
Crater Lodge actually consists of three separate sections, each with its own main lodge, group of rooms, and staff. This is done to provide more privacy and seclusion for the guest and more personalized service.

We stayed in the upper most section, so we looked down on the other buildings and the beautiful crater views.
The main lodge has a formal lounge completely with a wide selection of books about the crater and Tanzania in general, some classic literature, games, and even a VCR with videos about the wildlife in the area. 

The staff served drinks and snacks in the lounge or out on the deck overlooking the views (which we all preferred).
The dining room was very elegant with beautiful sculptures and other artwork to admire. The chef prepared excellent five or six course meals, but we were all so tired from our long days of traveling and game viewing that we had a hard time appreciating them. The kitchen was also very flexible in providing special selections for some of our group with slightly upset stomachs.
The grounds surrounding the lodge buildings are also very pretty. Moss growing in the trees caught the light in the late afternoon and was very beautiful.

Overall, I was very impressed with the luxury and level of service at Ngorongoro Crater Lodge. But it did feel a little too formal for my tastes. Everything was so elegant that it was a little hard to relax. Also, the guests were so isolated from one another, it was hard to interact like we were able to do at other lodges.

If we go back to Tanzania, I would definitely like to stay here again, but there are other lodges that I enjoyed a little more.