Lilac Elevate Inn

My family of Eight and I spent two nights at Lilac Elevate Inn during our visit to Tarangire and Ngorongoro over the Holidays. Though the hotel is fairly clean and decent, the management can do better considering their cheapest room is Tshs. 80,000 (~ USD 35) per night. This was our experience: We arrived at the hotel in the early evening hours after visiting Tarangire. We carried most of the luggage to the reception for check-in etc. As I was signing the check-in papers, a white couple came in behind us and were given welcome drinks - not sure what that meant, considering we were not even given a glass of water when we arrived - DOUBLE STANDARDS!!!!! We got to our rooms (paid for four rooms for two nights) and to our surprise a Tshs. 80,000 room does not have a TV, AC, Telephone or Coffee/Tea station. When I asked the hotel why that was, their reason was ‘it is a standard room’. Now, I might not be well-traveled, but surely, things like TV, Coffee Station, etc., are not a luxury; they are essential things in any hotel room. I then ordered room service for our four rooms, which were on the same floor and adjacent to each other, and I was told it would cost an extra Tshs. 5,000 to deliver food per room. Mind you, I had just paid Tshs. 640,000 for the two nights we were going to be there!! On top of that, my mobile data, which was almost non-existent, worked better than the hotel’s WiFi. The rooms had no windows, which meant if you wanted fresh air, you had to open the back door and hear all the noise coming from the streets because the hotel is next to the road. If I had not paid in full and were not too tired to move, I would have definitely moved hotels.