This is recommended as the best Lodge in the Ruhangeri district when wanting to trek for Gorillas. It was certainly a great place to stay at with open fireplace in the cabins and great view overlooking the Volcano. Also close to more rural villages and local schools at walking distance. The Food (Bufee) and service was very good as well.
We stayed two nights, and did a golden monkey trek (wonderful) and a gorilla trek (a bit disappointing, because we were unlucky in getting a group near the top the mountain and then found to be sleeping most of the hour).
The rooms were big and warm enough during our stay, the fire was a nice touch. The space was nice to have, the shower was strong, and the beds were comfortable. Internet, even though a bit spotty, was a luxury to have on our trip through remote areas
The food was better than expected on the basis of reviews here -- lots of fresh salads and vegetables, and lots of options.. made-to-order omelets in the morning were great
The grounds were lovely, with lots of beautiful birds to watch in the afternoon
The place has a funny feel -- kind of a cross between a big hotel and a lodge, but the staff were very helpful and friendly, and it was great to have our hiking boots cleaned!
We stayed here in preparation for out trek to see the gorillas. This place has just about everything one would want...nice rooms (working fireplaces, too), excellent service, super food. The local young dancers welcoming visitors in the evening was a nice touch. They seemed to really enjoy what they were doing. We wish we could have stayed another night, just to enjoy being away from the city. Would go again.
This hotel just lacks everything! From comfortable beds and pillows to consistent service. One night we had a meek fire in our room and the night prior nothing. The food is below average and don't even try the desserts they are horrible. The staff is kind and friendly and this almost made up for what the hotel lacks. Not my favorite place. Hopefully they can improve with some light in the lobby, new sofas and making it more appealing. They did have nice show of student dancers.
If i was rating it for value for money I would say excellent - it is a great place between the high end pricey places to stay and the budget options.
The rooms are all individual cottages and are enormous with huge bathrooms. well appointed with a fireplace and you can ask for a fire each evening.
The grounds are huge and when you get back from your gorilla trek there are lots of birds to see on site. they also usually have some cultural activities.
Gorilla trekking can get quite wet and if you don't want to carry all the gear you can hire stuff like gumboots , waterproofs etc at the lodge.
The staff are helpful and friendly and the lodge is well located to get to the place where you have to meet up for the gorilla reks
We spent two nights in this comfortable lodge - huge rooms - and enjoyed it overall, but found the service uneven. The staff are quite friendly and seem genuinely interested in making your stay comfortable; and if there is a problem, they go out of their way to remedy it. But many little things suggest a fault in the management somewhere. For example, while the bungalows have fireplaces and they routinely light fires in most rooms and have the staff set up to do that (nights at that high elevation can get pretty chilly), we didn't get it the first night, even through we asked specifically (and after a while we were too tired to bother), and only got it the second night right on the line between acceptably and unacceptably late. We belatedly heard from a friend that they also provide hot water bottles for the bed and a small heater in the room, though we had neither and didn't know they were available. On our last morning, as we went in for breakfast, we clearly surprised the staff, one of whom commented "Oh, we didn't know anyone was still here." (The rest of the guests had left early for their hikes to see the gorillas - the nearly-exclusive reason for staying there - and the next batch hadn't yet arrived.) To their credit, they quickly provided a tasty meal for us, but the experience was in keeping with those many small flaws that suggest weak management in some areas. Of course, I only point out these admittedly minor flaws precisely because this is a high-end property. If it were a budget one, I wouldn't expect so much. But if they charge upwards of $250 per night in a country where many in the local middle class barely make that in a month (and some in the villages don't in a year), we should expect fewer such flaws. But I'll conclude on a positive note: it's a beautiful property and, as I already noted, the staff are exceptionally friendly and helpful. In fact, they cleaned our hiking boots to the point where they literally look nearly-new! Finally, the evening cultural entertainment (a local dance troupe) was actually quite good and pretty authentic, and this jaded traveler found himself charmed by it.
