The Home Stay House at Moshono Hillside has 12 budget-type guestrooms, a large kitchen, a common living- and dining area, and a designated room for a so-called Dada The Dada keeps the house in order and prepares the meals that are included in the monthly (or weekly) accommodation payment. One of the rooms is bigger than the others, and well suited for couples. The other rooms have a single bed, a desk, a chair, and a wooden wardrobe structure to store clothing. Two of the rooms have their own bathrooms while guests in the other rooms share gender-separated bathroom facilities.
The guests are typically younger people of 18 years plus, who stay for periods of 2 – 4 months while they participate in volunteer or internship programs. They have access to the common hotel facilities such as the Restaurant, Gym, Swimming pool, Spa and the rooftops.
Moshono Hillside has 6 luxurious 100 – 120 m² Hotel Apartments, each with 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a living room with a 55” smart TV as well as a kitchen with refrigerator, induction cooking, electric oven, dishwasher, stove set, plates, cups, glasses, and cutlery. Each Apartment is also equipped with a washing machine located on a small terrace outside the main door, from where there is a stair and easy access down to the swimming pool area. All apartments have a beautiful view of the skyline and landscape surrounding the eastern parts of Arusha City.
The bedrooms have air-conditioning, a clothing cabinet, night tables and a laptop safety box as well as slippers, towels, and towels to be used at the pool area. The bathrooms have hand wash, toilet, shower and standard accessories such as towels, body soap, shampoo, conditioner, body lotion and hair net.
The living room and the master bedroom has a sliding door out to a 40 – 60 m² private terrace where 75% of the area is covered by a roof to provide shade and protect against sun and rain. Every terrace has a teak furniture set, consisting of a table, 4 chairs and 2 sun-beds. The terrace areas overviews a 20 x 8 m swimming pool and a surrounding pool area with child-pool and access to a fully equipped gym, as well as a spa and wardrobes with lockers and bathrooms. Each Apartment has its own designated staff member – to take care of cleaning and other needs.
Although there are questions around the origin of Boutique Hotels, many publications trace the entire idea back to the U.S. citizen Bill Kimpton, who worked as a mobile investment banker in the ‘60s and ‘70s. He was traveling in Europe, staying at small hotels where you get to know the owners, have wine in the lobby, and where everything was personable and intimate. Upon coming back home to the U.S., he would find hotels who lacked that kind of personality. That inspired him to open a hotel where people could talk with each other and get to remember each other’s names.
This is how Tiffany M. Braun defined boutique hotels in her 2017’ case study:
“The emergence of boutique hotels features properties with contemporary or minimalist décor while offering many additional lifestyle amenities. These properties have a high level of customized services, reflecting the personality and style of the owner, designer, or entrepreneur.”
