Tanzanian Seaside Hideaway

The drive from the airport in Dar is a valuable experience. You learn just what a pearl the Seacliff is and all the many challenges of life in the third world you don’t have to endure while ensconced in the beauty and class on its perch over the Indian Ocean. It really is on a “sea cliff”, sitting atop a 30-foot-tall cliff leading to the ocean. All modern amenities are available inside the hotel, but its exterior reflects African design touches such as a thatched roof and tropical landscaping. You’ll be greeted at the hotel entry doors by Masai tribesmen decked out in their full tribal regalia—quite a sight. The lobby area is small, but tastefully decorated in local colors, materials, art and furniture. The air conditioning in the guest rooms was superb; the beds, linens, pillows, and duvets were also wonderful. The design touches made the room special and are gorgeous by any standard, more so as they reflect African art and tastes. Furniture and fixtures are typically dark hardwoods, making for a nice contrast with the light wood laminate floors. A large, flat-panel TV was a nice extra. The bathroom deserves special mention—gorgeous multi-color terracotta tiles in local earth-tones; a rainfall showerhead and above-counter sink—all with high quality Western fixtures. The view, by the way, on the hotel’s ocean side is nothing short of breathtaking.
Breakfast is served on an open-air terrace which sits at the edge of the cliff and abuts the ocean, offering spectacular views. The breakfast buffet is very good and the price includes a number of hot local dishes which are made to order and very tasty and filling. The same terrace serves lunch, dinner, and drinks throughout the day. Three nights a week, a very good African band performs a wide repertoire of African, Reggae, and Western tunes. The real find, however, is the glassed-in and air-conditioned private lounge just above the terrace. This place is really style-central, zebra skins on the floor, beautiful earth-tone furniture, very classy design touches everywhere including vases of gazelle antlers and great club music.
There’s a small shopping center next door to the hotel, apparently owned by the same consortium as the hotel. It has about 15 shops including a full grocery store and maybe 10 restaurants/bars/cafes. There’s even a pretty large playground for kids on the ground floor which includes a huge “bouncy-castle” which will wear out even the most energetic little ones.
While there aren’t many downsides at the Seacliff, the internet situation is a frustrating mystery. Laundry is irritatingly expensive at the hotel (about what you’d pay in New York or London, it seemed). A/C in the hotel’s common areas was anemic and, as a result, the air sometimes smelled a bit musty. Perhaps most surprising for a hotel on the oceanside, there was no beach.

GPS: S 06 Degrees, 44.396 Min LAT, E 039 Degrees, 17.053 Min LONG

Somehow, visions of a colonial past, like in Southeast Asia, oddly, come to mind as you enter Dar’s open-air Q Bar. Located near the “Karibu Hotel” on Dar es Salaam’s “Msasani Peninsula”, it’s a local hangout and, while I didn’t try many, must be the most colorful place in Dar. Part pool hall, part fast-food joint, part youth hostel, part brothel and part rally point after the Hash House Harrier’s official down-down, the Q Bar is really something. A limited menu of mostly freshly-grilled meats is available as well as the usual (malted barley) beverages. The BBQ pit is smack dab in the middle of the joint, so the smell pretty much guarantees you’re gonna buy some grilled meat. The service is good from a huge cadre of helpful and friendly waiters/waitresses. The restaurant’s back door leads to a separate building offering cheap rooms ($35-$55 per night) in what looks like a cross between a youth hostel and a no-tell motel. From the provocatively dressed, blinged-out young local ladies, their circulation like honeybees at a flower and plant show, and the number of hook-ups going on, the Q Bar also appears to offer better-than-even chances of finding young ladies with flexible morals, for the right price, of course. The two pool tables are half-size and on Mondays you can play for free. There’s karaoke on Wednesdays and a string of events on other nights. This place is so wacky cool you’ve gotta see it; no trip to Dar would be complete without spending at least one evening at the Q-Bar.