Travellers Lodge

Helen and Frank Pieper

Forty-five coconut palms, 4 wild fig trees and a few thorny sand-dunes - that was all we found here in the summer of 1991, north of Bagamoyo where the dream of our very own lodge in Africa was supposed to become reality. All? Not quite! There was also this incredibly beautiful, white, lonely beach. There was the ocean. The endless sky above an untouched spot of the Earth. And the determination to change this piece of "desert", to make it our new home - a home away from home.

Construction started on 6 February 1992. After a lot of "blood, sweat and tears", Travellers Lodge opened its doors on 15 August 1993, one of the first hotels in Bagamoyo. It was a humble beginning. There were four simple rooms for our first guests. (This building, which was more or less the nucleus of our lodge, has been converted into our conference room.)

Year after year, the hotel has grown and matured. Travellers Lodge is no sterile hotel complex that shot up overnight. It has grown slowly and naturally. Everything has been planned and built according to our own inspiration and design, using local materials, labour and love. Each bungalow has its own individual flair and "personality".

We are especially pleased with our restaurant, which has become the centrepiece and the "heart" of Travellers Lodge since the remodelling and extension of the main building in December 2000. The impressive architecture, with its open, palm-thatched (Makuti) roof, warm wooden beams and incorporated Makonde carvings, creates a delightful ambience in which to enjoy the specialities of our kitchen.

Over the years, Travellers has developed and improved. We will continue to change and adapt to the needs and desires of our guests. But one thing will always remain the same: the easy, friendly atmosphere that guests from all over the world cherish.  The feeling that one is not a stranger in this place, but that one is at home and part of the family...

This accommodation provider has taken action to address one or more issues (whether environmental, social or cultural) which will contribute positively to the long term viability of the destination and hence their site displays a Caring for the destination rating.

Main area of focus in Caring for the Destination:
Local Economy.

Detailed description of the Caring for the Destination Initiative:
The Travellers Lodge supports the local economy by hiring only local Tanzanian staff, especially people from the Bagamoyo region, as well as purchasing its products locally for construction and furnishing of the facility over a slow and naturally progressing growth process.