Reviews

This house is everything, and much more. The grounds are stunning, and the house is gorgeous. Usa River is a pleasant, attractive area, and the walk to the village and up the hill are about as good as it gets. In other words, you can book this place for a week, and not leave. Mwanaidi, the cook, was fabulous: she was funny, kind, creative and confident in her skills. (Her chapatis are brilliant.) There's a great sound system, a wonderful pool (although COLD!), and the place is very tastefully decorated with a Maasai theme. And when the clouds clear, you can have a stunning view of Mt. Kilimanjaro while you're enjoying your breakfast! Highly, highly recommended.

What a wonderful house and wonderful experience! I needed a large venue for a reunion of 10 Tanzanians and Australians. I wanted somewhere that was a bit special because people needed to travel long distances to join us. Chele Chele Villa was exactly what I needed. The photographs show the house just as it is. The grounds are beautiful; the house has clearly been been restored with love; it is filled with interesting artefacts from a life spent travelling in Africa; it has lots of space so people can be together or apart as they choose; we used the swimming pool every day. The staff are wonderful--welcoming and helpful. And although the owner is not on-site, he was extremely helpful via email. So, what are the down sides. There are few but they are real --The owner will warn you about the access road. Everything he says about the last 1 1/2 km is true. The trip in and out are not for the faint-hearted or for low slung cars. Ideally you will be driving an old LandRover and be used to driving on washed-out unsealed roads. We did not have our own vehicle , so we relied on transfers to and from the JRO airport and to and from Arusha. If you choose the house partly for the view of Kilimanjaro, you need to know that there is a lot of haze for most of most days, and there were several days when we couldn't see it at all. As compensation, you can usually get clear views of Mount Meru (also impressive). --We had fewer power black-outs and internet problems at Chele Chele in rural Tanzania than in Addis Ababa, but you should expect that they will happen. --In Africa, I regularly feel uncomfortable about living in comfort so close to people living without any comfort at all. So, this is an ideal place for a retreat, or to spend quiet time with friends and family, or to recover from privation. Unless you have an indestructible vehicle, it may not be the best base for daily commutes to Arusha/Moshi or into the 2 nearby National Parks. P.S., the directions to the house are accurate but several people in our group got lost. The locals are very helpful, but if you need help, ask them how to get to Aziz's house (not how to get to Chele Chele Villa, which is not a name many are familiar with) in order to get good directions. Would I come back? In a heartbeat.

We love this house. We have just stayed for our fourth time and cannot wait to stay again. It is a wonderful escape from the Dar es Salaam heat and is a really peaceful and relaxing getaway. Our kids can play freely and go on nature walks- extensive ones, and this is only inside the grounds. Lots of great walking to do just outside the gates too. During our most recent visit, we saw more black and white colobus monkeys just walking down to the village than we did in the national park! We are very well looked after at Chele Chele Villa. Mwanaidi and Lomitu are warm, welcoming and attentive- as are the other staff who work there. Richard, the manager always checks in regularly to ensure everything is great, though he doesn't need to because it always is.

Ah. This house is a dream. Beautiful house, lush garden, lovely pool, amazing view. Top standard from great beds & sheets to elegant furnishing - even the bookshelf is filled with good taste literature. The house is really more of a luxury private hotel than a Airbnb-house that we are used to in Europe. So for a security-clinging Westerner it might be useful to know that several persons work and live at the property - housemaid, gardener, guard etc - which is purely an advantage and makes you feel quite safe and well taken care of. Also there is a security system w/ alarm and guards nearby. The people are all friendly and so very helpful. The house is reached via a very, very steep road from the village below, Usa River, and an ordinary car is not recommended (but luckily a driver is not a problem, see below). Above the house the scattered houses and banana fields continue up the mountain. Aziz will help out with everything regarding transport (we had Richard as our handyman who took us everywhere we wanted at a very reasonable rate). He also - as he runs a large travel agency - arranged a four day safari which was absolutely perfect. We had our own guide who picked us up at the house and took us to three different great hotels, through three parks. The guide Gabriel expertly showed us all the animals we could expect - and we saw everything. The Big five included of course, but so much more. It was the best safari.

This house is just PERFECT. It is located in a wonderful area of Tanzania, with beautiful nature and home of really friendly people. The house itself is spectacular. The decoration is brilliant and the architectural design is great. It definitely has the "wow" factor, particularly when you go out to the master bedroom's balcony and you see mount Kilimanjaro in front of you. You can also see it from the main veranda. On our last day there we all sat there and watched in awe the sun rising behind Kili. Fantastic! It is a great place for families and groups of friends. We stayed there for 4 nights, including New Year's Eve, and we absolutely loved it. The house staff is also great. They were extremely nice and helpful. Both the house and the beautiful garden are very well taken care of. And the amazing swimming pool as well! Aziz was a great host to deal with. Although he doesn't live in Tanzania at the moment it was very easy to keep in touch with him. He replied to my emails promptly and he gave us all the information we needed. Staying at Chele Chele Villa definitely was a 5 star experience that we hope we can repeat soon!

Our experience in this house was excellent.This house is even more beautiful than it looks in the photos.The house and the rooms are all really beautifully decorated.The cook is really good and it is really a nice haven for people looking to have a nice time in a private setting. A definite destination to revisit