Reviews of Mountain Gorilla View

"Location is great with beautiful views of the volcanoes and a short distance to the Park HQ for the treks.

Rooms were very clean and comfortable

Food is buffet style which became a bit monotonous and wasn't great for vegetarians. Service was good

The shower is set at a height of about 5 foot so not great for taller people.

Electricity is only available at certain times of the day so if you get back from a trek late then you have to shower in the dark and can't use a hairdryer. Also, after tekking you are offered ginger tea but if you don't like this then nothing else is apparently on offer - I asked for coffee but couldn't have any because the generator was off. There is a kettle in the room and tea and coffee so my top tip would be to take a little flask that you can fill with hot water when the electricity is on.

It was great to have our boots cleaned after each trek - very much appreciated

We were prepared for the cold temperature but even so the fire could have been lit earlier (we had to ask one evening for it to be lit as it was past 6.30 and it does start getting chilly at 4pm). there was no heating in the bathroom and this was freezing.

In the evenings there are numerous people coming to the room - person to light the fire, person to bring hot water bottle, person to check the fire, person to bring your boots - this could be disrupting.

There was certainly plenty to occupy birdwatchers and the manager (we think) Victor is very knowledgable about what birds are around the lodge.

The dancers in the afternoon were really enthusiastic and entertaining" See all these reviews: 11n in Rwanda

"Highlights we're hot water bottles, fires in room and boot cleaning service, followed closely by the catering staffs singing and dancing extravaganza in the dining room.

Gorilla trips were awesome.

Buffet style food not to our liking, so reason for lower score." See all these reviews: 13n in Rwanda

"grnerator could be on longer hours
cabins not heated very well by fireplace
matches in rooms are useless
staff was very friendly and helpful" See all these reviews: 5n in Rwanda

"It would be very easy to improve the average score we have given Gorilla Mountain View Lodge to a good score. There were some quick fixes that could be implemented at minimal cost which would significantly improve the user experience.

1. Have a salt and pepper pot on every table so the guest does not have to hunt for one on the other tables.

2. Vary the menu a bit more and make the food less bland. We were there for 4 nights and got pretty bored with the food by the end of it. We appreciate that it is difficult to cater to everyone but most of the dishes were very safe ie irish stew, pasta, grilled fish. We were dying for something with a bit of spice ie a curry or chili con carne by the end of the stay.

3. We were in room 6. We don't know if the quality of this room is typical of the general room quality but if it is, then we would say: buy new towels or bleach the ones you already have. We know they were clean but they were no longer white and had gone grey, which makes them look dirty even if they are not. Likewise with the bed linen, it needs replacing. The room needed a lick of paint as it had gone dingy. In our room we had lashings of hot water but it only came out of the tap as a trickle. This made showering impossible and meant it took 20 minutes to run a bath. Incidentally the bracket for the shower head had fallen off the wall at some point in the past and had not been repaired - with the bracket left sitting on the side of the bath. So even if we had wanted a shower, we would have been hard pushed to keep the head up on the wall.

4. We really wanted to tip as many staff as possible i.e the boot cleaners, fire setters, bar staff and table waiting staff, but soon ran out of small denominations in either dollars or Rwandan currency. But each time we went to the front desk, we struggled to get them to change larger bills for us, even when we explained that we wanted to use it to tip their staff.

5. We had two kingsize beds in our room which is probably great if you are two single travellers but as a couple it felt really odd, almost as if surplus furniture had been wedged into our room. One bed is enough thanks!

If the inside of the rooms were as beautiful as the grounds, then they would be very impressive. And as we said it wouldn't take that much to improve them." See all these reviews: 5n in Rwanda; 2n in Zanzibar

"We really enjoyed our time at Gorilla Mountain View Lodge. The staff were very friendly and attentive, led by a visible and communative manager. The food was simple but with great soups and stews was what was needed with the cold. The rooms were spacious and needed the fire and hot water bottles. A heated towel rail in the bathroom and better lighting would have been welcome.

The boot cleaning service after our muddy trips to Gorillas and Golden monkeys was really appreciated.

The lounges were pleasant but would have been more welcoming with fires in the afternoon.

The gorrila trekking was fantastic." See all these reviews: 10n in Rwanda; 5n in Tanzania; 2n in Zanzibar; 1n in Kenya

"the staff were always ready to build fires in the room. Quality and variety of food could definitely be a lot better. Bar area is dark and uninviting.

Birding excellent around the lodge.

They supply a small kettle in the room but as there's no electricity from 1.30pm to 5pm, we're not able to enjoy any hot drinks!" See all these reviews: 7n in Zanzibar; 6n in Rwanda; 5n in Tanzania

"This is a mountain lodge and the service provided are good but erratic, one day your fire was lit, the next not, each room was supposed to have a telephone to reception but ours didn't.

You will feel cold and damp due to the region whether it is the dry season or not, so go prepared, having said that, seeing the gorillas makes up for any short comings and beyond. A little more attention to detail could make the difference." See all these reviews: 5n in Tanzania; 5n in Zanzibar; 4n in Rwanda; 1n in Kenya

"Wonderful location, friendly helpful staff. Buffet meals made good use of fairly limited ingredients and meant you could refuel quickly before and after activities.

Good sized rooms. Fires in rooms and hot water bottles lovely but much needed as it gets really quite cold at night.

Electricity supplied by generator so only available at fixed times." See all these reviews: 10n in Rwanda

"The lodge was lovely with bungalows for each couple. A fire was lit in your bungalow every evening and hot water bottles were brought after dinner (but often not before you'd gone to sleep).

The service of the bungalow was poor and not up to the standard we expected (glasses not washed, bottled water not provided, etc)

The Lodge was well located for golden monkey and gorilla trekking from the National Park Centre being only 20 minutes distant by car.
The days trekking were excellent and we had great encounters with the gorillas. Each day we went to a different group of gorillas. One day they were moving around and feeding and the second day they were resting and playing. Each day was highly memorable.

Our driver/guide, Augustine, was excellent in ensuring that we got on good treks and then finding interesting activities for us to do in the afternoons, eg travelling north to see the Burera and Ruhondo Lakes, visiting the Iby' Iwacu Cultural Village and the local daily market." See all these reviews: 13n in Tanzania; 4n in Rwanda

"Overall the Gorilla Lodge was very good the staff always helpful. accommodationwas very good.

There was one slight problem for the first day was the length of time the breakfast course took, especially the leaving time of 6.30am, however as soon as they introduced the buffet style breakfast the problem was over come.

Not sure where to include this but Kamanzi Aloys [Ed: our guide for this traveller] was excellent." See all these reviews: 5n in Tanzania; 4n in Rwanda