Palace: The Hotel Towering over Arusha City at 360 degrees
When it was christened Palace, the hotel was essentially meant to promote the idea that guests will be treated like Kings and Queens.
But located at the heart of Arusha the Safari City of Northern Tanzania, Palace Hotel eventually evolved to become more than just a luxury accommodation property.
Towering at over ten floors, the Palace may not exactly be the tallest building in town but its strategic position automatically transforms the structure into a city spyglass.
From the hotel’s upper landing, it is only from the Palace that one can enjoy the entire view of the entire Arusha City.
Palace happens to stand at the intersection of Old Boma Street and the Makongoro Road.
This is a rather vantage section because it is where the city was conceived back in 1900, then as a small hamlet.
Even the first ever building to be established in town around 1905 which now serves as the National Natural History Museum or essentially the ‘Boma Fort’ is located just across the road from the Palace.
Yet Palace is among the newest hotels in Town, having been inaugurated in 2012.
The meeting place
But for some reason the property managed to occupy the most tactical location in town and that is why Palace remains the only tower where one can virtually tour the entire city from the comfort of his or her room.
Bahati Shirima is the Palace Hotels Group Sales and Marketing Manager who sums it all up by saying the hotel’s top balcony offers one a 360 degrees view of Arusha City and more.
But it is also a walking distance to the Arusha International Conference Center (AICC), a stone throw to the city hall, less than 20 meters from the Regional Administration Headquarters and just three minutes’ walk to the Clock Tower, which is the central point between Cape Town and Cairo on the continent.
The Palace Hotel boasts 97 rooms of different classifications categorized as Standard, Superior, Deluxe, Executive and Full Suites.
And there is something extra, Personal privacy is strictly being observed at the Palace and the management swears on it.
Then there is the issue of integrity among members of the staff who promise that even if you forget or misplace your valuables including money, rest assured that they will remain safe and protected.
From then to now
When the property was being inaugurated in 2012, as a joint venture between the National Housing Corporation (NHC) and Palace Hotels Limited, Arusha which is the Tanzanian tourism capital only had about 2800 hotel beds.
Mwanza in the Lake Zone, despite its tourism potential had only 915 beds, while Kilimanjaro also around 915 and Mbeya a measly 670.
By that time Dar-Es-salaam City had fared better with around 3500 hotel beds.
Again, during that time, Tanzania had a total of 15,000 hotel beds countrywide which according to experts was a measly figure because Nairobi, the Capital City of Kenya alone has more than 15,000 hotel beds.
The coastline of Kenya boasted 28,000 tourist standard hotel beds.
But things have changed now, more accommodation properties have come up in Tanzania within the space of 15 years of Palace Hotel operations.
Latest entries like Dodoma which became the country’s new capital, have also spawned more hotels, rooms and beds, but Palace remains a place of choice for those touring the Northern Zone circuit, attending conferences or simply relaxing.
For meetings and conferences Palace offers three spaces, including Jumbo Hall, the largest, Faru Hall the middle of the road size and Mbogo Mdogo (Little Buffalo) for smaller gatherings.
The ten floors have also been put to proper use, each with distinctive color to complement different moods.
This concept must have been borrowed from Japan.
Starting with the Foyer, which features a typical sitting room setting of soft and heavy sofas, large screen TV sets, complimentary newspapers and large glass windows for one to consume the events of the outside world.
The first floor is where food gets served through the large airy Twiga Restaurant which offers continental, traditional, Hindi and Chinese cuisine to spellbind any certified gourmet.
Adjacent to the restaurant there is the Turaco Bar where guests and visitors can drench their throats with practically every type of drink with complimentary snacks gazing at the Boma Street below.
From the 2nd to the 8th floors is where the rooms are located while the 9th floor is for the conference halls. The top most area has the gym, sauna and other fitness offerings and a balcony to view Mount Meru, Tanzania’s second highest peak and if the weather permits one can even get a glimpse of Kilimanjaro.