Mount Meru, the towering peak above Arusha can be viewed from practically all parts of the city.
However, this Tanzania’s second highest peak, after Kilimanjaro, is reportedly best seen from the scenic swimming pool located within the Forest Hill Hotel, a property located in Kisongo area.
The experience is such that the blue horizon of the pool edge makes one swimming in it feel like the water extends to the foot of Mount Meru, far away.
There are two swimming pools too, the main one for the adults and another other one for children.
Forest Hill, a luxury hotel located in the elevated area of Kisongo, in the suburbs of Arusha, is one of the new properties in the city that are attracting the world to Northern Tanzania.
The Hills Have Eyes
The design of the hotel building is exclusive, especially the trademark rounded arcs.
Forest Hill, according to Jurie Van Riel, the Hotel’s General Manager, derives the name from the surrounding thick clusters of acacia trees surrounding the property.
The hotel is also perched onto a beacon hill.
Previously the hotel used to be known as ‘Sundown,’ when it first opened doors in Arusha around 2021, but later got renovated, expanded and relaunched as Forest Hill.
Standing adjacent to the Arusha-Dodoma Road, the hotel is quite close to the Arusha Airport, a terminal which is located about 3 kilometers from the Hill’s main gate.
The road is also the main highway connecting the city to popular tourists’ destinations such as Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater and Tarangire National Park.
Road less traveled
En-route from Forest Hill to these places, one can always branch off into the nearby Arusha Snake Park to get a close look of assorted reptiles, ranging from venomous snakes to pythons as well as crocodiles.
The park also features Maasai cultural activities and camel’s rides.
Anyway, back to the Forest Hill
The hotel sits close to the newly constructed Stadium which will be hosting the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Pamoja tourney in 2017.
Forest has 32 rooms, but soon the number will reach 49.
Out of those, 29 happen to be full-fitted standard rooms, each with its own coffee percolator.
The remaining three are the high-end executive suites.
All the rooms’ décor has been designed and hand painted by local artists from Arusha.
Apart from leisure stays, people usually drive there for food, including breakfast, lunch and dinner.
While Forest Hill attracts various resident borders, it is also a popular stopover for diners as well as travelers on their way to Ngorongoro, Tarangire and Serengeti.
When it comes to meals, Forest Hill Hotel offers exclusive Indian dishes, local Swahili flavors, Tanzanian and continental cuisine.
It is also a place for conferences with a large hall capable of hosting 150 delegates and a smaller one with a seating for 25.
A curio shop is thrown in the mix for maximum effect, with stocked carvings featuring all types of wildlife for souvenir.
But other activities at the Hill include nature walks into the surrounding forest for bird watching during the day.
During the night other wildlife species creep out.
These include the porcupine and mongoose species, among other small animals.
Mongoose?
Yeah! Plenty of them.
This therefore means that the place does not have slithering snakes, right?
Whether you are in for a longer stay, dining experience or simply swimming at the foot of Mount Meru, the Forest Hill has eyes for that.