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Mountain Gorilla View Lodge
Mountain Gorilla View Lodge
Mountain Gorilla View Lodge
Mountain Gorilla View Lodge
Mountain Gorilla View Lodge
Mountain Gorilla View Lodge

Mountain Gorilla View Lodge


1°25’42.7"S 29°33’18.5"E

Reviews of Mountain Gorilla View

Wildlife sightings and reviews

114 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Mountain Gorilla View and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa

Wildlife sightings by our travellers
Starting in Jun-2018, 24 of our travellers have recorded their wildlife sightings at Mountain Gorilla View.
Mountain Gorilla

100% success

Buffalo

24% success

Elephant

0% success

Pangolin

0% success

Spotted Hyena

0% success

Showing 31-40 of 114
Duration
Arrival date
Mr R
Los Altos Hills

"2nd stay at MGVL"

4 nights Arrived 28 Dec 2017
"Great location. Friendly staff.

Would stay there again." See all these reviews: 6n in Botswana; 5n in Rwanda; 3n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Good
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Average
Ms M & Mr S
USA

"Mountain Gorilla View Lodge review"

3 nights Arrived 20 Dec 2017
"The service was terrific. They anticipated our needs before we even knew we had them: they lit a fire in our fireplace every night, and provided us hot water bottles to keep us warm through the cool evenings. They washed our boots when we came back from Gorilla trekking completely soaked and covered in mud. They also got up very early on our last day -- 4:30am -- to cook us a hot breakfast before we left. I was quite impressed with the level of service.

The room itself was comfortable and large, with a nice view. It felt very private even though there were other bungalows nearby. It was a little bit of a long walk to the lodge, and when we wanted to ask for more firewood, we had to walk all the way back to the lodge since there is no way of calling the front desk.

We had a very pleasant time. The food was good -- buffet style." See all these reviews: 10n in Tanzania; 4n in Rwanda
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Good
Service:
Excellent
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Excellent
Mr B
Hertfordshire

"Mountain Gorilla View Lodge review"

4 nights Arrived 6 Oct 2017
"This lodge is situated within a reasonable distance (by vehicle) to the trekking centre. It's difficult to decide whether the somewhat old fashioned interior design is part if it's rustic charm or whether it's just well past its sell by date and in need of upgrading - probably the latter.

Large bed/lounge area with open fire which was lit for us by one of the staff. There was an electric kettle of sorts; not a type seen before - a small jug which only just warmed the water. The shower/wash room, which was huge, left quite a lot to be desired; the shower head was mounted close to the corner of two walls and as a result you could not adequately cover yourself with water. The shower area floor should have anti-slip paint applied or mats to prevent possibly slipping. The wash basin had no plug.

The choice and quality of the food was just about average. Have not previously had the pleasure of eating cold toast - not to be recommended." See all these reviews: 6n in Rwanda; 6n in Kenya
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Average

Location:
Good
Service:
Good
Rooms:
Average
Food:
Average
Mrs M
London

"Mountain Gorilla View Lodge review"

3 nights Arrived 24 Sep 2017
"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!" See all these reviews: 10n in Rwanda
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location:
Good
Service:
Good
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Good
Ms G
Sarnia

"Mountain Gorilla View Lodge review"

3 nights Arrived 15 Sep 2017
"It was very cold and damp in our room. It was not until our third night that I realized (based on another guest's experience) that we could request a small electric heater for our room. This was great as we were able to get our bath towels to dry. Even clean bath towels and sheets were always damp prior to obtaining this electric heater.

The food was excellent. We had lots of vegan options which was wonderful.

The staff were all very accommodating. The fact that we could rent gaiters (prior to trekking) was great. Perhaps knowing this prior to the trip would have been helpful as I wasn't sure whether or not to pack our gaiters - which would take up valuable suitcase space.

It was also wonderful that the staff cleaned our hiking boots after our very muddy trek!" See all these reviews: 9n in Tanzania; 4n in Rwanda
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Rooms:
Average
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Good
Mr J
Storrington

"Mountain Gorilla View Lodge review"

5 nights Arrived 2 Sep 2017
"Mountain gorilla view lodge is of medium class .The accommodation choice for us was always secondary to seeing the mountain gorillas.The food was not great .We think a lot of this is down to how the meat is butchered. We really enjoyed the stir frys though ,and the buffet style meals in general.

We would recommend people visiting the nearby lakes on a birdwatching trip." See all these reviews: 6n in Rwanda
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location:
Good
Service:
Good
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Average
Facilities:
Good
Mrs G
Fareham

"A sprawling hotel in a fantastic location"

4 nights Arrived 21 Aug 2017
"A superbly situated hotel in vast grounds. The biggest of all that we stayed in. Lodges were huge and well decorated with a veranda to relax on and indoor seating area. Occasional power cuts which were quickly rectified.

Food was buffet style but a huge choice and all very tasty and freshly cooked. Staff were very polite and attentive.

Lovely coffee bar and a roaring fire in communal areas at night and brilliant wifi.

We loved the boot cleaning service and the after trek foot massage!

Plenty of grounds to relax in and a daily local dance show" See all these reviews: 11n in Rwanda
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Ms M
Illinois

"Mountain Gorilla View Lodge"

1 night Arrived 25 Jul 2017
"The service and staff were excellent, and while the rooms (bandas/cottages) were nice, they didn't start the fireplace for me when requested (and it was a cool night), and the en suite bathroom floor needed a bit of work (wood planks in front of sink were broken) and the coffee/tea maker provided in the room did not work. As I was staying only one night, I mentioned this to the lodge staff upon checkout.

The meal service is buffet style with plenty of choices and all very good." See all these reviews: 5n in Rwanda
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location:
Good
Service:
Good
Rooms:
Average
Food:
Excellent
Mr V
Texas

"Mountain Gorilla View Lodge review"

5 nights Arrived 3 Jul 2017
"We had read mixed reviews of this lodge, but we were very happy with it. The staff to guest ratio was very high, and they worked hard to provide us with anything we required, cheerfully and promptly. It's close to the headquarters for Volcanoes National Park, the central gathering place for anyone doing a Gorilla or golden monkey trek (about a 20 minute drive).

There are now over 40 cabins, so it's not a small lodge, but having spent 5 nights there, it was nice to bond with other giuests, some of whom we later saw during our subsequent travels in Rwanda (which allowed us to have mini-reunions, of sorts). They are constructing some new units (numbers 40 and above, as I recall), and these are not nearly as charming as the single cabins with fireplaces that comprise the older part of the grounds. I would avoid these.

The chefs worked very hard, the buffets contained a bountiful assortment of foods, and we especially enjoyed the coffee bar, where cappuccinos and lattes could be ordered.

We did have one day where we lost water pressure, but management worked diligently to get things running again. In the evenings, we had a few extremely brief power outages, but nothing that lasted long. The bathrooms aren't luxurious, but they are perfectly functional, and the beds were very comfortable.

All in all, we'd be happy to stay again at Gorilla Mountain View Lodge." See all these reviews: 13n in Rwanda
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Good
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Good
Dr L
California

"Gorilla Mountain View Lodge review"

3 nights Arrived 30 Jun 2017
"The accommodations were much nicer than we expected based on the website description. The rooms were quite large and comfortable with a sitting area and fireplace, and attractively designed and decorated. The grounds were also attractive.

Being close to the start of the trekking is a plus.

A slight downside for us was that the meals were buffets rather than a la carte, but the food was good and there were lots of options, including local options which we very much appreciated experiencing. Being able to order a freshly made omelet at breakfast was also a plus.

The staff was friendly and helpful. We appreciated the extra touches of a nice fire being built for us in the room and the hot water bottles in the bed. We were also traveling with an elderly friend us who had sprained a knee in a wheelie bag incident in Charles de Gaulle airport, and had some difficultly getting around. So for one night and one breakfast we asked if someone could bring the meal to her room. So one of us worked with a staff member to pick out what we wanted, and they delivered everything for the three of us to her room and came back to pick up later. It was quite lovely!

These travellers trekked up to see the gorillas, and commented:

Fabulous!

We were very fortunate to have the well known and entertaining guide Francoise. He is very knowledgeable about the gorillas having been working with them since Dian Fossy's time. We had a great time with him.

Our group was Kwitonda, a large group of 29, which we saw probably a dozen of including lots of young ones who were very actively playing and generally showing off. It was so amazing to be so close to them and them completely unconcerned. In fact we had to keep backing up to avoid making physical contact.

We reached them fairly easily, which was great since one of our group was elderly and had sustained a sprained knee on the way to Rwanda and had to be carried the entire way in a litter. The porters did a wonderful job getting her up and back while also giving others a hand as needed.

All in all we couldn't have hoped for a better experience." See all these reviews: 3n in Rwanda
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Good
Showing 31-40 of 114
87%
114 reviews of Mountain Gorilla View by travellers since August 2007
Overall rating by our travellers
55
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12
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0
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