Reviews of Mountain Gorilla View

"Wonderful bungalows and fabulous grounds with the volcanoes as a backdrop. People were very friendly and welcoming. Enjoyed the enthusiastic local dance performance very much as well as the cultural village Iby'iwacu. The lodge is a fantastic place, highly recommend! Can't say enough good things about our stay here. We loved it and I want to go back!

Constructive criticism: It would be nice to give an advance warning to guests that every evening the power switches to a generator and there is a short, temporary black out. This way no one will be concerned that the power has been lost. Also, it would be better to do fresh coats of varnish on the bungalow bathroom floor when it has a couple of days to air out before the next guest arrives.The smell was a little overwhelming for a couple of days. Lastly, there is a morning rush for a quick breakfast before gorilla trekking and eggs seemed to be high in demand. But there was only 1 person at that grill and a very long line. Might consider a second pair of hands." See all these reviews: 5n in Tanzania; 4n in Rwanda; 2n in Zanzibar

"The open fires are great. Worth tipping the firelighters for dry wood!" See all these reviews: 11n in Tanzania; 4n in Rwanda; 1n in South Africa

"Staff very friendly and helpful. Location is ideal in terms of closeness to park headquarters. As a general comment, the lodge bedrooms are dark, especially the bathroom.

The rooms are also very cold partly due to the wasteful and inefficient open fire." See all these reviews: 6n in Rwanda

"Volcanoes N P was very good;the gorillas were extraordinary.

One last point which was a disappointment in Volcanoes as in Nyungye was that in the afternoons we were expecting to be able to go for local expeditions to look for birds/ appreciate the environment. Because of the attention attracted by visitors from children/ others asking for money etc one really needs a local guide/ companion but when we asked in the hotel or our driver if we could go out for a walk we were simply advised against it. We tried on a couple of occasions to go out by ourselves but the level of hassle was uncomfortable and so self defeating of a relaxed appreciation of the environment. A local guide would have solved that.

We did insist on our driver taking us one afternoon to the twin lakes in volcanoes but this was not readily offered, although it was on our itinerary." See all these reviews: 8n in Rwanda

"Nowhere near luxurious but good value for money in a great location for early morning gorilla trecking.

Power was only on for part of the day and the rooms got cold despite efforts to heat them with a wood fire - but this is what we told to expect.

Food was good, service great and wine reasonably expensive." See all these reviews: 7n in Botswana; 4n in Rwanda; 3n in Namibia; 2n in Zimbabwe

"My only complaint about this part of the trip is that I was unaware that there were other parks and activities which I could have experienced; my fault as I assumed that we were only going for the gorillas, and had done no research on the rest of Rwanda." See all these reviews: 7n in Botswana; 4n in Rwanda; 3n in Namibia; 2n in Zimbabwe

"The staff were very friendly and accommodating. Rooms were comfortable with open fires that were prepared each night being a nice touch for the cold nights. Disappointingly the coating on the bathroom floor was sticky requiring the wearing of thongs. Coating sticking to your feet if thongs were not worn.

Food generally fairly basic and not as good as we had experienced at other locations. Wine expensive in comparison to hotels in South Africa.

Thanks to our Primate Safari driver Hussein our treks with the Gorillas were easily managed, given our ages and physical condition. A once in a lifetime experience thanks to knowledgable and passionate guides and trackers." See all these reviews: 7n in Botswana; 4n in Rwanda; 3n in Namibia; 2n in Zimbabwe

"This was well located for gorilla trekking and (when the rain/mist clears) has great views of the volcanoes. The buffet was more than adequate and varied (we were there five nights).

In December it was cold and despite the fire and hot water bottles it could feel a little damp. People should be aware that the electricity generator is only on at certain times. It does have internet (not to be taken for granted in hotels in Rwanda), albeit slow.

Staff are very helpful. Boots are cleaned to "as new" after trekking. There are Intore dancers performing in the afternoons. I'd advise avoiding new years eve - the loud disco they put on just made sure people had a really bad nights sleep (everyone gets up at about 5 AM for the trekking). Every other night it was very peaceful.

A variety of birds are in the grounds." See all these reviews: 13n in Rwanda

"Great location, rooms are looking a little "tired", shower was very poor, food OK - although repetitive. Staff helpful - great idea to clean the boots after a trek. Hot water bottle at night essential." See all these reviews: 12n in Rwanda

"Reviews in various places on the web paint a mixed picture of this lodge. We were a party of 5 staying in rooms 1-4 which were located close to the main lodge. We found the rooms comfortable, hot water erratic (as you might of a place with time limited power) and the welcome warm.

On the whole it was a much nicer place than I expected and the biggest challenge is the generally damp, cool weather which could be troublesome for travellers who hail from warmer climbs. The weather ranged from something akin to a beautiful spring day in the British countryside to dark and stormy November rainstorms of the east coast.

The lodge is open and spacious, heating is limited to a wood fire in your room and an electric heater which may or may not work (ours didn't but others in the group were toasty). However, we spent a glorious afternoon in the sunshine after our trek drinking coffee on the lawn in the shadow of the volcanoes. In the evenings though you'll find yourselves sat in the restaurant or bar wrapped in a fleece or jacket.

Overall I thought it was a solid place to stay, in a beautiful location with edible food and friendly staff. I wouldn't hesitate to return and recommend it to all but the most demanding of travellers - if you want a spa, michelin food and butler then its probably not the place for you." See all these reviews: 5n in Tanzania; 3n in Rwanda; 1n in Zanzibar