Meliá Hotels International has announced the addition of a new hotel in the Ngorongoro crater in Tanzania, a particular conservation region in which tourism is only permitted provided it respects the natural environment and local populations with the utmost care. The hotel has been a fixture in the nature reserve for some time, but it will reopen in 2023 following a major renovation designed to adapt it to the needs of modern travelers without compromising the hotel’s personality and authenticity or its total integration with its natural surroundings, a characteristic of Meliá Collection hotels.
After the makeover, the Ngorongoro Lodge will provide 52 rooms with crater views (24 of which will be suites), as well as two restaurants, a small barbecue restaurant, a pool, and a spa. It will also feature a pool and a spa.
Together with the hotel’s owner, Albwardy Investments, with whom Meliá operates other excellent hotels in various locations across the globe, the brand has devised a rehabilitation plan that places special emphasis on safeguarding the natural environment, including native flora and fauna, waste management, and energy efficiency.
The hotel will generate a significant portion of its energy from solar panels and will reduce its electricity consumption by employing local fans that are more efficient than air conditioning. It will also manufacture its own water for human consumption using a bottling factory that processes local water to eliminate the need for plastics and transportation. From a social perspective, the hotel will aim to integrate and promote Masai heritage and culture from within the lodge, employing local Masai tribespeople and using indigenous decorations made by local craftsmen and companies, with products that can be sold to guests to generate additional revenue for the community. There are also plans to form partnerships with philanthropic projects similar to those at Meliá Serengeti Lodge or Gran Meliá Arusha, such as the Dada Project or Sanaa, which support local women entrepreneurs and the most disadvantaged, and the Moshi-based NGO Born to Learn, which operates a school and clinic for local children and their families.
Globally, the Hotel Sustainability Programme will be connected with the corporate values of Meliá Hotels International and will be given as a vital attribute and important selling feature to travelers with an interest in this region of the world. International recognition
The hotel is part of an exclusive group of lodges in the so-called “crater highlands” area in northern Tanzania’s Arusha region, 180 kilometers from the city of Arusha and with easy access to Kilimanjaro Airport (220 kilometers) and Lake Manyara (41 kms). The Ngorongoro Crater is also known as “the Garden of Eden” due to its astounding biodiversity, which includes more than 20,000 herbivorous mammals and the world’s largest concentration of major predators, all of which play a crucial role in maintaining the ecological balance, in addition to the incredible views over the 600-metre-deep crater.
The hotel complements a portfolio of exclusive Meliá hotels in Tanzania that have already received significant international recognition, including the Meliá Zanzibar, which was named “Best All-Inclusive Resort” in East Africa by the World Luxury Awards and “Best Initiative in Sustainable Development and Social Responsibility” by the Worldwide Hospitality Awards, and the Meliá Serengeti Lodge, which was named “Best Luxury Bush Lodge in East Africa” by the World Luxury Awards.
