William C
Google
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.
