Travel reviews by Mrs M from London

"The Serena Hotel in Kigali was to the standard expected, and it was very pleasant sitting having breakfast on their balcony overlooking the pool before the sun became too strong."

"Weather was cool and largely overcast at Nyungwe, and one minor niggle was having to walk up to the central lodge to ask for a fire to be laid and lit. Whilst appreciating the need to conserve fuel, the combination of altitude and cooler weather, meant that some heat was needed in our lodge to take the chill off in the late afternoon. We were not bothered by the fairly basic standard of the facilities available – the beds were fine, the water was hot, the food good enough, with a decent variety of vegetable soups – but did also notice the lack of heating in the main central lodge. Not helped by the design and keeping the doors open at all times: the poor staff at reception must have been freezing!"

"We caught up with the sun again at Lake Kivu, and decided we would have a lazy day staying around the hotel on our full day there. It did mean we were able to take the hotel boat out in the late afternoon on both days, with the manager as guide on the first day. We were sorry for the management as the quality of the rooms was good – although the shower floor gets very slippery when wet – and more people were expected on the second night but didn’t turn up, and that raises the one point possibly worth making. We went past the access to the hotel and up to Karongi as Kathy and I wanted to see the local Friday market, which we did. The 23km journey from Karongi to the turning to the hotel, and then the 8km drive in from the road for lunch took an hour. Whilst interesting and scenic the road in is slow. Indeed that was part of our reasoning for having a lazy day the next day, and the sun shone all day!

The generator usage times were a little variable resulting in no water in the room, albeit temporarily, whilst the infinity pool was being topped up. It also was off earlier than anticipated/scheduled the first evening – not a major problem, more a re-adjustment to the early “lights out”

Perhaps another point to mention; the lodge has only been open since early 2017 and, commendably, employs several local staff. The information from the owners mentioning helipad and boat access clearly intends this to be a place for visitors with (possibly/probably) higher expectations and demands than us. This said the lodge should therefore expose the staff to further levels of training to meet these (possible/probable) expectations."

"The Mountain Gorillas Lodge, sister hotel to Lake Kivu, had the same slippery shower floor problem, but otherwise the lodge facilities and standard were fine, although after relative quiet at Nyungwe and two days of splendid isolation at Lake Kivu it came as a bit of a shock to the system to find a fully occupied dining room. The altitude and weather were now back to being cooler, even when not raining, and again we took advantage of the fireplace in our room, although again it had to be specifically requested, but it was clearly a much more regular occurrence. Food was fine, and, from the non-meat eater’s perspective, throughout the trip there was one of the best ranges of food available, with plenty of fish and interesting vegetable dishes. Although the strength of the local coffee can be challenging!"