Tag Archives: Hotel

New flight options to Kilimanjaro

Turkish Airlines launched on 5 December 2012 its maiden flight to Kilimanjaro from Istanbul via Kenya’s coastal city of Mombasa. The new route will make Turkish Airlines fly five times a week between the two destinations.
Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA) is within Tanzania’s tourist destinations and only 40 minutes drive from Onsea House and Machweo in Arusha. By launching this direct flight to Istanbul, we expect an increase in overnight hotel bookings for clients after their arrival in Tanzania and dayrooms before their flight departure after midnight.
KIA serves more than 650, 000 passengers every year and the number has been going up with 15% on yearly basis.
Tourists from Europe and America will have another option to reach Tanzania’s northern tourism circuit as the Istanbul hub provides many opportunities to capitals and big cities around the world.

For travellers who live close to Schiphol (AMS), KLM offers convenience at its best. Effective December 27, 2012 until March 30, 2013 KLM will operate non- stop Amsterdam – Kilimanjaro – Amsterdam twice weekly. The flight will depart Kilimanjaro on Fridays and Sundays at 01:25 to arrive Amsterdam same day at 08:40.
Departure from Amsterdam will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 13:10 arriving Kilimanjaro same day at 23:35. In addition, the already existing daily flight from Kilimanjaro via Dar es salaam to Amsterdam will continue to operate every day. That means nine total weekly flights into / out of Kilimanjaro!
Make your travel easier, smoother and more time efficient. Check out the list of attractive destinations we have selected for you and book now until December 15, 2012 for travel until May 15, 2013.

Other international flights arriving in KIA include Qatar Airways via Doha, Ethiopian Airlines via Addis Abeba and charters from Condor from Frankfurt and Edelweiss Air from Zürich.

Contact info@onseahouse.com for comfortable overnight bookings and/or dayroom and dinner after arrival and/or before departure.

Arusha conference and congress hotel accommodation upgrade

Tanzania will host the first Pan-African Conference on Sustainable Tourism Management in National Parks and Protected Areas which will bring delegates from 50 different countries to Arusha, at the AICC. The conference will run from October 15th to October 19th, 2012 and is organized by the United Nations World Travel Organisation in collaboration with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism.
The conference aims to encourage professional approach to better position “park tourism” as one of the core components of overall national park management in Africa and to acquire an overview of the current challenges in terms of demand and supply chain. Furthermore new partnerships and business models shall impulse re-engineering of park management structures in order to maximize the economics and social benefits to the local communities.

Secondly, Tanzania will be the venue for the 7th World Rangers Congress from November 4th to 9th, 2012 at Ngurdoto Mountain Lodge. The Congress is organised by the federation of rangers’ organisations from different parts of the world and will provide valuable opportunities for tour operators to network with other players in the tourism industry.
The congress will be of great value to conservation in the East Africa region and will assist in raising the profile of rangers and especially the emerging community ranger sector of Tanzania.

Participants should make their own accommodation arrangements with the hotels. Those who want to be away from the crowds and relax in a peacefull luxury retreat just outside Arusha should consider an upgrade and stay at Onsea House or Machweo Wellness Retreat & Fine Dining. Contact info@onseahouse.com for our best offer.

Member of African Travel and Tourism Association

Since July, exactly 3 years after the opening in July 2006, Onsea House in Arusha has been proposed and accepted to be member and shareholder in ATTA, Europe’s largest trade association linking tourism in Africa with the travel trade, the UK Foreign Office and the media.

ATTA creates the platform for buyers across Europe to meet suppliers of African tourism product at networking events, trade shows and through its links with the media. ATTA distributes news on tourism matters throughout Africa to its wide membership and acts as an information hub between the news media and the tourist industry in times of crisis.

Onsea House has its own member page in the ATTA online member directory. Contact info@onseahouse.com and/or visit www.onseahouse.com for any further information.

Luxury lodge is helping to preserve the Serengeti

“Keeping prices high and tourist numbers low could be the way to preserve the Serengeti and make it profitable. The new, luxurious Bilila Lodge Kempinski is part of the plan” reports The Independent on Sunday in an interesting (and funny) article about the opening of the newest and most luxurious hotel in the Serengeti last week. During the formal opening of the US$ 50 million Bilila Lodge Kempinski by President Kikwete, he sounded a curious note by calling on the country’s tourism authorities to go slow on building more hotels in the Unesco World Heritage Site.

The East African Business Week reported that the UAE owner Ali Saeed Albwardy of ASB Tanzania Limited, promised that there is more to come: “We promise to build more hotels in Tanzania. We are ready to invest in more hotels because the investment atmosphere is right. We have been in Tanzania for five years and already we have invested in Kilimanjaro Hotel, Kempinski in Dar es Salaam and Zamani Hotel in Zanzibar”.

We had the privilege to meet Ali Albwardy who came for lunch at Onsea House and revelealed his plans of the luxury 178 rooms Kempinski Hotel Saba Saba in Arusha with 3 restaurants and 2 bars, conference facilities for up to 800 guests and spa with 8 treatment rooms in late 2010. Now it is also official that Kempinski Hotel Stonetown is in the pipeline with 57 rooms and suites, 2 restaurants and a bar, conference rooms and spa with 4 treatment rooms in late 2010. Last but not least the Kempinski Ngorongoro Crater is foreseen for opening in 2012. With this expansian plan, Tanzania will take the lead with 6 properties in all Middle Eastern and African locations and even come globally in the top ranking after China, Germany and India.

Onsea House was invited for a familiarization with the Bilila Lodge Kempinski which was a throughly fantastic experience. While staff got trained to soon welcome up to 160 guests in 74 rooms, suites and villas, we had the luxury to discover the property with just 12 guests. The lodge facilities include a beautifully decorated restaurant, lobby lounge, bar, boma, wine cellar, art gallery and gift shop. The infinity pool and Anantara Spa provide for the ultimate relaxation after an exciting day of a game drive. Bilila combines the height of through 5 star luxury with romance in spectacular African wilderness surrounds.

Read about the special promotional introduction action or contact info@onseahouse.com for any further information and/or a stay at Onsea House as part of an attractive last-minute Kempinski package.

Serena Hotels acquires two luxury boutique properties in Tanzania

Traval Wires reported that Serena Hotels has taken over the operations and management of two new luxury boutique properties in Tanzania, a move that will effectively strengthen its safari circuits and brand presence within premier leisure destinations in the East Africa region. Both properties, the Mivumo River Lodge and the Selous Wildlife Lodge are located within Africa’s largest game reserve and a proclaimed world heritage site, the Selous Game Reserve in Southern Tanzania.

Set to open on July 15th 2009, the Mivumo River Lodge comprises 12 superior rooms and 3 premium luxury suites decorated in an elegant African style of a bygone era incorporating local materials from the region. Each superior room consists of a luxurious bedroom and lounge with a private balcony offering an indoor bathroom, outdoor shower and an intimate plunge pool. To ensure privacy and exclusivity, the rooms are spread out and strategically located along the mighty Rufiji River, all with magnificent views of the breathtaking Stiegler’s gorge.

The lodge also offers full aromatherapy Spa treatments and a variety of activities including game viewing river cruises, exclusive guided walks, bush picnics, private game drives and sundowner river cruises.

To complement the Mivumo River Lodge is the Selous Wildlife Lodge, a luxury tented camp unit located on the Eastern bank of the Simbazi River, a tributary of the Rufiji, is set to open on 1st August 2009.

The camp comprises 12 tents each of which enjoys outstanding views of untouched wilderness, with scatterings of enormous trees and lush, dense vegetation. It has a dining area and guest lounge overlooking the natural watering hole which is also lit in the evenings for night game viewings. This is all complemented by an outside viewing deck and swimming pool.

This development brings to 23 the total number of hotels, resorts and lodges under the Serena Brand in East Africa.

Contact info@onseahouse.com for advise and recommendations if you want to include a stay at Serena properties during your safari before or after your stay at Onsea House in Arusha.

Talk of the town at the 10th Karibu Fair

The Wine & Food tasting organized by Onsea House in collaboration with UZT was the talk of the town at the 10th Karibu Fair, East-Africa’s most important Travel Show, which took place from June 5-7 2009 in Arusha.

A limited group of 100 personally invited visitors and standholders, received an invitation to taste some interesting Wine & Food pairings presented by Onsea House chef Axel Janssens. 17 wines ranging from light white to full bodied red were tasted with 6 matching bites in 6 different sessions spread over 2 days.

At the times the tastings took place, the UZT tent was without any doubt thé most popular stand on the Show. Among the participating tasters were the “crème de la crème” of safari & beach property operators in Tanzania including Asilia, Fundu Lagoon, Kempinski, Kirurumu, Lemala Luxury Camps, Nomad, Saadani, Singita Grumeti Reserves, the ATTA African Travel and Tourism Association director and most of the Onsea House preferred operators.

On Sunday evening, the managing directors & owners of several top luxury Tanzania & Zanzibar beach properties picked Onsea House as dinner venue. 

Jan Haasiosalo, the Finnish managing director of the new Zanzibar Retreat Hotel, Bobby McKenna, the managing director of the brandnew stunning Kilindi, a 15 pavillion hotel in Northern Zanzibar, Fundu Lagoon designer & director Ellis Flyte, their general manager Matt Semark, Saadani Safari Lodge managing director Costa Coucoulis and their marketing manager Mark Evans came all for dinner at Onsea House.

The brandnew Kempinski Tanzania managing director and his sales director did not have space but have been served some bites and talked about their Discovering Tanzania project which helps to promote Tanzania in general and their properties specifically.

Contact info@onseahouse.com for further information on a stay at Onsea House and recommendations for accommodation during your safari and/or beach holidays in Tanzania and Zanzibar.

Best Safari House Award reveils hidden secrets

Onsea House in Arusha was nominated as only property in Tanzania for the Best Safari House Award in 2009. The final results of the Good Safari Guide Awards were announced on Friday 8th May 2009, on the first night of INDABA, Africa’s largest travel show.

The Best Safari House Award result reveiled some well hidden secrets of similar exclusive and intimate boutique properties in other Eastern and Southern African countries. It is no surprise that South Africa houses the majority of those safari houses. Shortlisted properties include the And Beyond Kwandwe Uplands Homestead, Morukuru LodgeAnd Beyond Phinda Getty HouseSingita Castleton Camp and The Manor at Samara.

The real hidden secrets and big winner in the category come however from Zambia with shortlisted properties Shiwa Ng’andu and winner of the Best Safari House Award Luangwa Safari House, a property of Zambian’s leading safari company Robin Pope Safaris, also award winning in the category Best Mobile Safari. 

Overall winner of the awards was Jack’s Camp, a property of Uncharted Africa Safari Co in Botswana who won (among others) the award of Best Safari Camp in Africa.

Contact info@onseahouse.com for any further information on Onsea House in Arusha or for any recommendation for a safari in Tanzania, Kilimanjaro hike or beach holiday on Zanzibar.

Attractive rates for 2010 launched for INDABA

Africa’s top travel show INDABA attendee numbers promise to eclipse last year’s record-setting global travel trade, media and exhibitor attendance. This is in spite of an international market subdued by the global economic crisis and the new Swine Flu virus outbreak in Mexico, according to SA Tourism.

The show, highlighting the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa opens its door from 9 until 12 May 2009 at the Durban ICC.

Onsea House, officially nominated as Best Safari House, is not personally present at the show but most Tanzanian ground safari operators, of which some are in the DEC Hall on the stands of Tanzania Tourist Board (DECC017) and Classic Safari Camps of Africa (DECB028),  represent and frequently book the intimate boutique property in Arusha and received already the new rates for 2010.

Contact info@onseahouse.com to request the rates for 2010 or for any other enquiry.