Latest situation about Dar Es Salam airport access/ Lounge

Dear All,
We will have about twelve hours between flights at Dar Es Salam (arriving at 16.00 on a Saturday from Zanzibar, flying out on Turkish Airlines at 3.30 AM the following/Sunday morning). I don't know yet if our flights will be landing/leaving from the same terminal. We will be flying economy class so won't have direct access to the lounge.
I have read older reviews about a) access to the business lounge b) poor conditions at the lounge c)not being able to get into the airport at any time - i.e. access restricted depending on the time of the flight.
Could somebody please give me recent and up to date information on this? Can we access the terminal at any time ahead of our Turkish airlines flight (supposing we have to exit from the other terminal after landing from Zanzibar) and if yes, can we enter the business lounge by paying a fee even if travelling economy class?
How is the business lounge? Does it have showers and can we envisage sleeping a few hours there? Or are we better off getting a room at a hotel for a shower and a few hours of sleep?
Advice from recent travellers would be most appreciated! Please no commercial replies from people trying to sell hotel rooms, taxi rides, etc.
Many thanks,
Vanessa

A couple of questions - which airline are you travelling on (out of Dar es Salaam)?; which airline are you flying with from Zanzibar to Dar? If its Precision Air then you will have a 50 metre walk from baggage collection to International Departures. However as you have 9 or so hours until check in you are going to have a long, uncomfortable wait. There are airline Business Class/First Class lounges however these cannot be accessed until AFTER you have checked-in (which will not open until about 2-3 hours before departure).
From personal experience Dar International is definitely not a "user friendly" airport - it does have a small coffee shop and I think a bar but I cannot remember what their operating hours are. Is there any chance you can switch to a later flight (although I think the last one is around 6.00 PM). Sorry this is not the news you wanted to hear.

Thanks Orion Mike for the details, much appreciated. I kind of expected such an answer so it's good to know and we'll work our way round that.
Yes, we're flying Precision Air from ZNZ to Dar and Turskish Airline from Dar to Istanbul. We could get a later precision air flight (there are another three flights after 15.00) but I wanted to book the 15.00 to be on the safe side and have a back up plan in case of delay, cancellation, bad weather, etc... In your experience is Precision air reliable (i.e. not last-minute cancellations, wild rebooking, on schedule?)
Do you have any idea how much the business lounge access costs for economy passengers?
many thanks,
Vanessa

There's not much at the airport, when I was on the same 3.30am flight in March I don't think even the duty free shop was open.
If you have no luck with the business lounge - have a look at the sleeping in airports web site, they should have some info - you could do what we did and take a room across the road at the Transit Motel. It is just 5 mins from the airport and in an area with plenty of small shops and a couple of decent pubs to keep you entertained. Cost about $50 for a double room with bathroom and aircon.
You can easily walk from the airport (it's just straight out and across the road, then follow the unmade road directly ahead and across the railway lines) but in view of the time of the night flight we used the hotel's transfer service (8000 Tsh) to go back.

I've just checked Sleeping in airports, looks like the lounge costs £20 per person to book online.

Thanks Kaz!

I always stay at the Transit Hotel, as Kas says it is very close and Rachel the manager will book you a taxi to get you back to the airport, short walk but not wise at night. I'm on the Turkish Airline flight too!

Agree with kaz and alcotter, the Trasit Motels (there are two actually, one close to the international terminal, just across the main road and a block down, the other one a little bit closer to the old terminal, on the main road).

Hi Stefo, I didn't realize there were two!
I stay at the one near the International terminal, food is ok too but you do have to wait quite a while.

Just checked their website - Transit Motel Ukonga is closed at the moment, so there is only Transit Motel Airport, which is the one across the main road from the new terminal.

Thanks, we've booked a room, it seems like the best solution indeed!

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