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Concierge.com's insider take:
The Oyster Bay hotel in Dar es Salaam is such a mellow, friendly affair that it's a shame most guests spend just one night here on their way to Tanzania's game reserves. Hotel manager Maretha Wentzel and her staff greet guests at the door with scented towels, cold drinks, and a warm welcome (when we arrived sans baggage after an airline snafu, toiletries, pajamas, and shopping suggestions were quickly forthcoming). While the neutral color palette and emphasis on texture (rattan couches, brushed concrete floors, jute carpets, and leather armchairs) in the eight guest rooms has the feel of an urban loft, details, such as oversize tribal portraits, root the design in Africa. Each suite faces the Indian Ocean and has a large bathroom with a rain shower and a large soaking tub. At night, the garrulous Wentzel, and occasionally a cast of her expat friends, joins guests at the communal dining table for Africa-inspired seasonal dishes, which adds to the impression that you've dropped by the villa of a globe-trotting friend. —Collen Clark
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