Mbalageti Serengeti

We spent 2 nights during our safari tour. The room we had at first was very basic, small and no charm at all, the mosquito net had holes everywhere and super tight around the bed, I dont know how you're supposed to go out and in of the bed. They gave us another room which was ok. The staff did his best but the new manager was totally useless. He told us that it is hard to work with the locals because they don't have good standards (what the hell do you tell us that??) It was agreed that my parents would have power all night long because of a breathing machine for the night, they didnt explain him which plug would actually still be on during the night so he didnt have the machine on the first night. The first "picnic " they gave us for the lunch was a joke. Not even enough for a child, and they call it "luxury place". The owner was helpful and nice to help us with the problem we had and the rest of the staff were nice as well. The view from the pool and the restaurant is great. I was about to leave 3 stars at the end of the stay, but it was before to hear the "manager" laughing with a staff about my dad who was shaking when he was trying to explain them the the picnic was a joke and it was not normal to pay for that.. disgusting! Oh and if you would like to invite your guide/driver for the dinner or breakfast, you need to pay ~30usd for that.. joke again. Im sure it could be a really great place to stay in the future, after a lot of adjustments.

Just got back from our 9 day safari, sleeping almost every night at a different hotel and Mbalageti is the one I cannot recommend. Rats, ants, spiders and scorpions, all in one night.... it is just too much. The location was good, it was a beautiful drive crossing a river with monkeys, and looking out from the porch area of the restaurant was beautiful. The pool was full of insects, the bar people were not super nice (could be the only not nice people all trip). The food was very good, beautiful display, tasty indian food and nice staff. The room they gave us at first, 18, was huge but it was clearly not well-maintained with missing railing, literal piles of bat poop around the entire house, rat poop also in little piles along the walls inside, and ants eating crickets on the floor inside. The views were a good distraction from the broken board on the floor and the rotten wooden deck. When i walked in the bathroom two rats ran across and sneaked out through the seam between the rocks and the tent material. I prayed they were gone for the day and didnt say anything to my family. My son discovered ants around the bidet in the other bathroom, and when I sprayed them with mosquito repellents all hell broke lose..... millions, I mean millions of ants came out of the volcanic rock that made the wall, they were pulling out the colony's eggs and were moving in like balls that would fall on the floor.... i have never seen anything like that. Along with the ants a spider as big as my open hand also came out of the rock and jumped out almost to my shirt. House of horrors. We moved to room 1 and everything was spotless, clearly recently cleaned and tidied. Next morning we were informed that our driver was bit by a scorpion that got in his pants as he showered before our drive. They gave him ibuprofen and said he was good to go. They didnt have any antidote or any means to treat anything serious in such a remote location. For these very unpleasant reasons, I cannot recommend this lodge to anyone. I liked the time limit with the electricity, I liked the walkie talkie situation, I enjoyed seeing the baboons stealing our food.... but having been to many tented lodges, this was the worst experience by far.

Amazing views for sundowners! Wonderful character and unique artwork at the lodge. Tent chalet was very comfortable and private with a huge bathroom!

The sunrise was beautiful. We did not know (who would though) that there would be controlled burns so it was Smokey during our time (one month ago) the rooms were cool and unique and it had classic safari vibes. I liked the long walk to places and the mix of tent and stone. It was a great stay with great service 🙌