Our room (above) at the KIA Lodge was clean & comfortable 
The rooms all have mosquito nets over the beds & are equipped with safes, air conditioning units & a telephone
The rooms are individually set in the lodge gardens & surrounded by lots of local vegetation
The thatched dining room has large doors opening out towards the gardens, & letting in the cool night air
My husband's beverage of choice - served ice cold in the lodge dining room !I can’t believe that I’ve been in South Africa for a week already. I’ve been keeping busy, & the time has flown. My daughter & I have another week before my husband arrives, and I can’t wait as we really miss him !
The night before we flew (or should I say, the night before our travel disasters and delays !) we stayed at a lodge near the airport, and I thought it would be interesting to do a post about it as I know a lot of people find this blog through online searches for info on travel and hotels in Tanzania, and over time and as I visit various places around Tanzania, I’d like to build quality content on the blog that people who plan to visit the country can use for future reference.
Tanzania has 2 international airports – the Kilimanjaro International Airport which is situated about half way between the town of Moshi & the city of Arusha, and the Julius Nyerere International Airport in the city of Dar es Salaam. Most tourists who come to Tanzania to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro and / or to do the traditional ‘safari circuit’ (Serengeti National Park, Tarangire National Park, Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater etc) fly in to the Kilimanjaro Airport. (KLM has daily flights to/from Kilimanjaro International Airport directly from Amsterdam).
The airport is situated less than 2 hour’s drive (in either direction) from Moshi & Arusha, and due to the fact that for most international flights you have to be at the airport an hour or two before your flight departs, this can make for a very early start or if your flight arrives late at night, a long drive to reach your hotel and for this reason many people opt to stay at the airport lodge, aptly named the Kia Lodge (‘Kia’ standing for ‘Kilimanjaro International Airport’). The lodge was only built/opened a few years ago (we first stayed there in 2003 and it was very new) and is the only airport accommodation, at just 3 minutes from the airport itself (with a shuttle service offered to/from the airport/lodge).
Unfortunately, we arrived at the lodge after dark so I was unable to take many photo’s but it is unlike most airport accommodation you’ll find in that it is set out in and amongst natural bush & vegetation, with sweeping views of Mt. Kilimanjaro on a clear day, and it feels like you are staying in a bush lodge in a national park somewhere.
The thatched rooms are individually scattered amongst the lush gardens, and are clean and comfortable. Most rooms contain single beds (we had a triple room as our daughter slept with us), and all have en suite bathrooms with showers. There are mosquito nets around the beds, and each room has air conditioning, a safe & a telephone. There are no TV’s in the rooms. The lighting in the rooms is quite dim for reading, and the only bathroom amenities provided are soap and towels (so take your own shampoo, body lotion etc). Small bottles of complimentary drinking water are provided in the rooms, too. Insect repellent would have been a handy addition to the room, as we found that despite the mosquito nets there were still many mosquito’s buzzing around throughout the night !
In general, we found the rooms to be clean, quiet (not many ‘planes taking off/landing throughout the night) , the beds comfortable and the water piping hot, and you couldn’t really ask for more in a short stay transit type hotel.
Dinner was a set 3 course menu served in the main dining room, and the food was simple yet tasty fare very nicely prepared and presented. For starters we had a delicious creamy vegetable soup and an avocado salad to choose from, and for main course I opted for the vegetable pasta bake and my husband had the pork chops (steak was also on the menu). Dessert consisted of a light and fluffy banana parfait or ice cream and chocolate sauce. Our only complaints about the meal were that despite being only one of two tables in the restaurant, the service was extremely slow (we were served our starters after waiting just over an hour) – not great when you want an early night as you have to be up before sunrise the next day ! We were also surprised that the lodge offered no children’s meals or children’s prices, and that our 4 year old was charged the full adult price for the meal, despite us requesting half portions for her !
Aside from that we had an enjoyable stay at the lodge and it is definitely a comfortable & convenient place to stay for a short stopover before/after an international flight. The lodge also has a curio shop, bar and swimming pool and of course, magnificent views during the day.
The night before we flew (or should I say, the night before our travel disasters and delays !) we stayed at a lodge near the airport, and I thought it would be interesting to do a post about it as I know a lot of people find this blog through online searches for info on travel and hotels in Tanzania, and over time and as I visit various places around Tanzania, I’d like to build quality content on the blog that people who plan to visit the country can use for future reference.
Tanzania has 2 international airports – the Kilimanjaro International Airport which is situated about half way between the town of Moshi & the city of Arusha, and the Julius Nyerere International Airport in the city of Dar es Salaam. Most tourists who come to Tanzania to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro and / or to do the traditional ‘safari circuit’ (Serengeti National Park, Tarangire National Park, Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater etc) fly in to the Kilimanjaro Airport. (KLM has daily flights to/from Kilimanjaro International Airport directly from Amsterdam).
The airport is situated less than 2 hour’s drive (in either direction) from Moshi & Arusha, and due to the fact that for most international flights you have to be at the airport an hour or two before your flight departs, this can make for a very early start or if your flight arrives late at night, a long drive to reach your hotel and for this reason many people opt to stay at the airport lodge, aptly named the Kia Lodge (‘Kia’ standing for ‘Kilimanjaro International Airport’). The lodge was only built/opened a few years ago (we first stayed there in 2003 and it was very new) and is the only airport accommodation, at just 3 minutes from the airport itself (with a shuttle service offered to/from the airport/lodge).
Unfortunately, we arrived at the lodge after dark so I was unable to take many photo’s but it is unlike most airport accommodation you’ll find in that it is set out in and amongst natural bush & vegetation, with sweeping views of Mt. Kilimanjaro on a clear day, and it feels like you are staying in a bush lodge in a national park somewhere.
The thatched rooms are individually scattered amongst the lush gardens, and are clean and comfortable. Most rooms contain single beds (we had a triple room as our daughter slept with us), and all have en suite bathrooms with showers. There are mosquito nets around the beds, and each room has air conditioning, a safe & a telephone. There are no TV’s in the rooms. The lighting in the rooms is quite dim for reading, and the only bathroom amenities provided are soap and towels (so take your own shampoo, body lotion etc). Small bottles of complimentary drinking water are provided in the rooms, too. Insect repellent would have been a handy addition to the room, as we found that despite the mosquito nets there were still many mosquito’s buzzing around throughout the night !
In general, we found the rooms to be clean, quiet (not many ‘planes taking off/landing throughout the night) , the beds comfortable and the water piping hot, and you couldn’t really ask for more in a short stay transit type hotel.
Dinner was a set 3 course menu served in the main dining room, and the food was simple yet tasty fare very nicely prepared and presented. For starters we had a delicious creamy vegetable soup and an avocado salad to choose from, and for main course I opted for the vegetable pasta bake and my husband had the pork chops (steak was also on the menu). Dessert consisted of a light and fluffy banana parfait or ice cream and chocolate sauce. Our only complaints about the meal were that despite being only one of two tables in the restaurant, the service was extremely slow (we were served our starters after waiting just over an hour) – not great when you want an early night as you have to be up before sunrise the next day ! We were also surprised that the lodge offered no children’s meals or children’s prices, and that our 4 year old was charged the full adult price for the meal, despite us requesting half portions for her !
Aside from that we had an enjoyable stay at the lodge and it is definitely a comfortable & convenient place to stay for a short stopover before/after an international flight. The lodge also has a curio shop, bar and swimming pool and of course, magnificent views during the day.
