Utengule Coffee Lodge

Utengule Coffee Lodge is a gem. Stunning views over the valley, beautiful gardens, and a peaceful atmosphere. The staff were warm, attentive, and made us feel at home. Food was excellent from breakfast to dinner. One of our best stays in Tanzania, we would return without hesitation.

It looked so promising on the website, beautiful rooms with views, a stunning restaurant with exquisite food, beautifully kept gardens. The reality was the opposite! Rooms expensive, overpriced and dirty, unkempt, awful shower that leaked out to the entrance area and was dangerously slippery. Food disgusting, staff were the only good thing, they were pleasant and tried to be helpful but obviously they are only able to work within the limitations of the owner and management. So disappointing.

This resturant has it all beautiful views over the valley from the restaurants patio, the staff really care for you and the large menu is clearly labeled with gluten free, vegan, and vegetarian items. The food is fresh, tasty and delicious plus it comes out fast. There is a large alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverage menu too, with local chocolate and of course the restaurants own coffee too.

I stayed at Utengule Coffee Lodge for a conference in Mbeya. This had some downsides (below), but we’d do it again. The rooms are basic in some contexts but they check the boxes for clean, charming and practical. The late evenings and early mornings on the patio with a coffee can be cool at the altitude of Utengule so bring a jacket. Fortunately the showers are abundant and warm. The pool is functional and nice in the afternoon. WiFi is good for email and even downloads but spotty for Teams and Zoom video. The restaurant and bar were good - the poached eggs over avocado toast for breakfast was a highlight. The coffee was what you’d expect from a coffee lodge. If you are a fan of good coffee, take the tour of the coffee processing facility about a 20 minute walk along an easy trail, about twice that for a walk along the roads or 10 minutes by Landcruiser. That you can walk freely without concern about being troubled or run over by a motorcycle is a huge benefit over staying in Mbeya, 20 km to the east. Unfortunately the new road is still in progress so you must take your turn following trucks creeping along so the trip takes 90 minutes eastbound, but only 20 to 30 minutes westbound, at present. The Songwe airport is a faster trip.

Couldn’t recommend the coffee lodge more. We had the most amazing holiday. The staff were all very friendly and the service was 10/10. The rooms were very beautiful, clean and spacious. The location was beautiful with a great sunset view, with just a short drive to great hiking locations and the coffee farm. The best hotel we have ever stayed in Tanzania.

I've never stayed overnight, but it's an awesome place to visit for the day. Day pass price is reasonable, and there's nothing better than lounging by the pool. Easy to get to from Mbeya.

I recently stayed at the Utengule Coffee Lodge in Tanzania, and it was an incredible experience! The entire team, including the owners, were absolutely amazing. The stay was wonderful, with beautiful rooms where every detail is carefully thought out. Not to forget, the cuisine was outstanding. Highly recommend!

Utengule is a beautiful, peaceful place to visit. Good coffee as you could imagine. It has the potential of being 5 star but is not there yet. 3 stars on the food, mostly overpriced small portions. 4 stars on the service (mostly ridiculous service fee just to enter). Location 5 stars