Our itinerary for Tanzania is set.
Jun 17th, 2006, 03:26 PM
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Our itinerary for Tanzania is set.
We leave the second week in August and I' getting very excited. We're combining some less visited camps/areas with days of cultural immersion with the Maasai and the waHadzabe bushmen, some must see places (Ngoro Crater) and our required beach stay as the finale. We're going with two other couples and will have our own vehicle/guide most places. Unchartered Outposts put it all together and have been incredibly responsive to our every niggling question or request. We fly USA to Paris CDG, and on to JoBerg (using ff miles) then fly JoBerg to Arusha.
2 nights Ngaro Sero, Arusha
3 nights Chada Camp (aka Roland's Camp) at Katavi (fly in)
4 nights Greystoke Camp ( aka Zoe's) at Mahale (fly in)
3 nights Serengeti Safari Camp (fly in)
2 nights Serengeti Loliondo Camp
2 nights Kisima Ngeda (fly in, then drive to Lake Eyasi)
2 nights Ngorongoro Crater Lodge, Tree Camp
3 nights The Palms Hotel, Zanzibar
1 night Emerson & Greene, StoneTown, Zanzibar
Zanzibar to JoBerg to Paris and finally back to Los Angeles
Any comments, must see or do suggestions?
2 nights Ngaro Sero, Arusha
3 nights Chada Camp (aka Roland's Camp) at Katavi (fly in)
4 nights Greystoke Camp ( aka Zoe's) at Mahale (fly in)
3 nights Serengeti Safari Camp (fly in)
2 nights Serengeti Loliondo Camp
2 nights Kisima Ngeda (fly in, then drive to Lake Eyasi)
2 nights Ngorongoro Crater Lodge, Tree Camp
3 nights The Palms Hotel, Zanzibar
1 night Emerson & Greene, StoneTown, Zanzibar
Zanzibar to JoBerg to Paris and finally back to Los Angeles
Any comments, must see or do suggestions?
Jun 17th, 2006, 04:09 PM
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Sounds like an INCREDIBLE itinerary.
The only part that stands out a bit is the 3 nights at The Palms. Let me just say that I met others at the Palms who had also stayed at Mnemba Island (CCAfrica) and they were much more passionate about Mnemba than they were about The Palms.
I was just expecting a little bit more out of The Palms, in all honesty. It is a very luxurious property but there are just too many little things wrong that add up into something more.
1. You have to go through a long driveway with another property owned by a neighbor who tends cattle (not the grandest of entrances).
2. The sun does not set on the side of the island that The Palms is located.
3. It is a pretty small property. Only enough room for the 5 or 6 chalets and not much more. Altogether, I would be very surprised if it was more than about 2.5 acres.
4. The Palms is built right up against its sister property, Breezes, and for some services it is necessary to walk over to Breezes (not a far walk, but not a self-contained property, either). For one snorkeling activity, I had to walk over to Breezes, and then there were THIRTEEN of us packed into the back of a truck and driven 20 minutes away in the heat of the day to do our snorkeling. Water or fruit was never offered during the 3 hour snorkeling trip.
5. Although the rooms are quite large, I found a lot of the space wasted...too many walls. A completely unnecessary office and other room that was never used...who the hell is going there to work???
6. The bathroom is nothing special. My bathroom at Tarangire Treetops and Ngorongoro Crater Lodge were both much nicer.
7. Food is average if you are not a big seafood eater.
8. Portions of seafood were tightly controlled.
9. The manager, a young Kenyan gentleman of about 28 years old, was not the most hospitable person...basically we saw him upon check in and check out, while he left the food and beverage manager, to do the hosting duties and just about everything else!
10. Internet usage was not included and was quite expensive.
I know a lot of this is being expressed for the first time, but for anybody that remembers, I was in bad shape during my stay at The Palms, due to a bad infection (ingrown toenail). Even had I been 100%, however, I don't see how it would have changed anything in the above 10 items listed.
The Palms would be great for about $300 per person per day, but I just don't think it is worth $500 per person per day.
For almost the same price you could stay at Mnemba Island or you could save a lot of money by switching over to Breezes or elsewhere. Because the property was so small, I never sensed the expectant exclusive experience.
The only part that stands out a bit is the 3 nights at The Palms. Let me just say that I met others at the Palms who had also stayed at Mnemba Island (CCAfrica) and they were much more passionate about Mnemba than they were about The Palms.
I was just expecting a little bit more out of The Palms, in all honesty. It is a very luxurious property but there are just too many little things wrong that add up into something more.
1. You have to go through a long driveway with another property owned by a neighbor who tends cattle (not the grandest of entrances).
2. The sun does not set on the side of the island that The Palms is located.
3. It is a pretty small property. Only enough room for the 5 or 6 chalets and not much more. Altogether, I would be very surprised if it was more than about 2.5 acres.
4. The Palms is built right up against its sister property, Breezes, and for some services it is necessary to walk over to Breezes (not a far walk, but not a self-contained property, either). For one snorkeling activity, I had to walk over to Breezes, and then there were THIRTEEN of us packed into the back of a truck and driven 20 minutes away in the heat of the day to do our snorkeling. Water or fruit was never offered during the 3 hour snorkeling trip.
5. Although the rooms are quite large, I found a lot of the space wasted...too many walls. A completely unnecessary office and other room that was never used...who the hell is going there to work???
6. The bathroom is nothing special. My bathroom at Tarangire Treetops and Ngorongoro Crater Lodge were both much nicer.
7. Food is average if you are not a big seafood eater.
8. Portions of seafood were tightly controlled.
9. The manager, a young Kenyan gentleman of about 28 years old, was not the most hospitable person...basically we saw him upon check in and check out, while he left the food and beverage manager, to do the hosting duties and just about everything else!
10. Internet usage was not included and was quite expensive.
I know a lot of this is being expressed for the first time, but for anybody that remembers, I was in bad shape during my stay at The Palms, due to a bad infection (ingrown toenail). Even had I been 100%, however, I don't see how it would have changed anything in the above 10 items listed.
The Palms would be great for about $300 per person per day, but I just don't think it is worth $500 per person per day.
For almost the same price you could stay at Mnemba Island or you could save a lot of money by switching over to Breezes or elsewhere. Because the property was so small, I never sensed the expectant exclusive experience.
Jun 17th, 2006, 04:18 PM
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Sorry...forgot one more very important item.
#11 - No ocean view from rooms.
I guess I just needed time to make sure I was not faulting The Palms for things that would have been better had I not been in such bad shape. In retrospect, I don't believe that any of the items mentioned here would have been viewed better by me had I been 100% healthy at the time of my visit.
In closing, let me add that my wife was charged a whopping $75+ for a manicure & pedicure and that although the brochures in the lobby clearly stated that laundry was included that I had to pay $32 for laundry despite pointing this out to the manager upon checking out.
For $500 per person per night you would think that laundry and internet would be included, but it was not. Plus, non seafood fare should have been better. I am not a seafood fan but my wife preferred the seafood at the Serena Inn in Stone Town, and I say this as someone who is not a huge fan of Serena properties.
Sorry it took so long to properly express myself on The Palms, but I guess it took this long for me to sort everything out in my head. Not trying to be a party pooper here, just giving fair warning while you still have the opportunity to save some money at a different property or upgrade to Mnemba Island or elsewhere (is there anywhere else besides Mnemba more expensive than the Palms?)
#11 - No ocean view from rooms.
I guess I just needed time to make sure I was not faulting The Palms for things that would have been better had I not been in such bad shape. In retrospect, I don't believe that any of the items mentioned here would have been viewed better by me had I been 100% healthy at the time of my visit.
In closing, let me add that my wife was charged a whopping $75+ for a manicure & pedicure and that although the brochures in the lobby clearly stated that laundry was included that I had to pay $32 for laundry despite pointing this out to the manager upon checking out.
For $500 per person per night you would think that laundry and internet would be included, but it was not. Plus, non seafood fare should have been better. I am not a seafood fan but my wife preferred the seafood at the Serena Inn in Stone Town, and I say this as someone who is not a huge fan of Serena properties.
Sorry it took so long to properly express myself on The Palms, but I guess it took this long for me to sort everything out in my head. Not trying to be a party pooper here, just giving fair warning while you still have the opportunity to save some money at a different property or upgrade to Mnemba Island or elsewhere (is there anywhere else besides Mnemba more expensive than the Palms?)
Dec 12th, 2006, 02:35 PM
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My husband and I accompanied Robbie and husband on the trip.Katavi was wonderful ,but Mahale was the highlight.We had a few chimp sightings which were very exciting I thought Loliondo was not up to the standards of our other tented camps,but the guiding was excellent..Our least favorite destination was Ngorogoro-too many vehicles and animals that behaved as if they were in a zoo.Crater Lodge-beautiful and crazilly fanciful.In fact, one day we stayed at the hotel and had massages,etc.The Palms was a perfect stop at the end.The service was excellent and we felt very well taken care of.The amount of food and the choices was more than abundant.Our stop in Stonetown could have been better.We had an awful guide and the meal at Emerson and Green was the worst!However,all in all-a great trip.
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