This is a great lodging option if the properties on the rim of the crater are full, or if you don't mind staying just outside of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. We think the lodge design is extremely stylish and we always find ourselves taking pictures to incorporate into our own homes. The German owners are very accommodating and the sleek colonial style of the lodge is inviting.
Plantation Lodge is set on a working coffee and arable farm just outside Karatu, less than an hour from the Ngorongoro Crater. The individually furnished rooms and suites, melting harmoniously into the flowering garden, offer comfort and relaxation. Everywhere you look, you can see and even feel the personal atmosphere of this owner-run lodge, with furnishings that were selected with great attention to detail.
The lodge, with only 16 rooms, has the comfortable and intimate feel of a beautifully run bush home. The elegant rooms are well thought out, with large beds, en-suite bathrooms, and wood-burning stoves in each of the sitting rooms. Outside, there are very pretty gardens with views over the adjacent farmland and a swimming pool. Food and service are of a high standard, and the owners, Renate and Udo Marahens, who have been farming in the area for many years, have a high level of input in the day-to-day running of the lodge.
At almost 7000 feet above sea level, this has to be one of the most seductive climates, with hot days and cool mornings and nights. Most guests use this property as a base to explore the Ngorongoro Crater, which is not to be missed as some 25,000 animals live in this remarkably diverse caldera, which has a diameter of 19 kilometers. During the rainy season, a lake pools in the center, attracting flocks of thousands of brilliant pink flamingos.