Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge has perhaps the best location on Ngorongoro Crater, the only lodge actually on the rim which faces west, so the only lodge with sunset views. The east side of the crater is much less steep than the west side, so another advantage is being able to leave the lodge and be game viewing on the crater floor in about a half hour. It takes a minimum of an hour and often longer from any of the west side lodges.

This is a typical large first-class tourist lodge, with trademark Sopa style rooms, tiny cottages squeezed together in two levels overlooking the crater. Each of the 95 rooms include a mostly unusable small sitting room and a large bedroom with two queen-sized beds. The tiled shower/bathroom supplies hot water only in the evenings. In a twist to the normal Sopa lodge style, each room also has a small glassed-in balcony overlooking the crater.

The famous towering dining room, built in the style of a Maasai hut but with a ceiling apex nearly 45' high, serves some of Sopa’s finer meals and many are sit-downs as opposed to buffets. There is also a large enclosed bar, a swimming pool few can use in this frigid air, and an upstairs video/meeting room. There are also two boutiques and a coffee bar.