Reviews of Mountain Gorilla View Lodge
(88%) From 101 travellersThey do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa.
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Great time at Gorilla Mountain View Lodge
The Gorilla Mountain Lodge is in a great location with amazing views of the mountains where the monkeys and gorillas live. The lodge is quite quirky, with rooms spread out over the site. The food was great; three courses at lunch and dinner with plenty of options. The evenings were quite chilly so we had a real fire in our rooms, which were very welcome. Also, hot water bottles in our beds; very nice!!
We had a great time here, the only negative points we would say is on the point of tipping. We decided to leave a tip at the end of our stay, to be shared amongst all the staff. Whenever any of the staff did anything for us they would linger, obviously waiting for a tip. We actually found this quite embarrassing and it made us feel uncomfortable. I would suggest that the hotel is made aware of this, as I am sure other people felt the same.
Whilst in Rwanda, we organised a private driver-guide and 4WD for these travellers. They commented:
Theo picked us up from the airport and was very professional at all times. He was a very careful and safe driver and made us feel very confident, even when we were in busy traffic. He was very knowledgeable and told us a lot about Rwanda and the genocide that happened. He recommended a visit to the local market which we found very interested. We didn't really do a lot with him as we were only in Rwanda 4 days; one day travelling to the gorillas and three days seeing the monkeys and gorillas.
On our return to the airport my daughter left her passport in the hotel. Fortunately Theo hadn't left the airport and was waiting to make sure we got on the plane OK. He quickly took my husband back to the hotel to pick up the passport; I don't know what we would have done if he had gone.
Gorilla Mountain View Lodge review
A large lodge, exceptionally well located in the shadow of Volcanoes National Park. Absolutely magnificent views of the chain of volcanoes in the Park. Dated, somewhat dilapidated common areas and rooms. Somewhat uncomfortable rooms (especially in the cold of morning and late of day) useful almost solely for sleeping. Cafeteria style dining in order to accommodate the very large number of guests. Average food. Attentive dining service by a large, well-meaning staff. Good service otherwise, especially the complementary boot-cleaning available to those returning from a muddy hike.
Words cannot adequately describe primate tracking in the Park, whether gorillas or golden monkeys. It is simply an experience of a lifetime.
The lodge is excellently located amid the various jumping-off points for tracking. Two days of gorilla tracking provide the opportunity for many points of comparison in tracking experiences and is recommended. For those with time and/or who are seeking additional pre-tracking acclimatization to altitude, the nature walk is recommended for its beauty and its solitude (we were the only visitors on our particular walk).
Gorilla Mountain View Lodge Review
Very attentive and friendly staff.
Food was very good.
Items in the shop were extremely over priced e.g postcard was $3 and identical thing was $1 at tourist shop down the road.
Gorilla Mountain View Lodge review
This lodge is ideally placed for the Gorilla trekking in the volcanoes national park. The room was nice, with an open fire which was lit and stoked up periodically.
The bathroom however was very basic. Some sort of enclosure around the shower would be good, and maybe a handle or something to hold onto as it was a large area and fairly slippery.
The food was a buffet with a reasonable amount of choice. The staff were very friendly and helpful - and keen that you enjoyed your stay.
The gorilla trekking that we did from here was well worth it. We had requested a 'short' walk which was 2 hours, much of it uphill and a very steep downward trek. However the rangers and porters were great at ensuring that everyone kept up, and it was well worth it once we arrived at Family Kwitondo!!
On our way back to Kigali our guide took us to two beautiful lakes - which was a trip well worth doing.
Gorilla Mountain View Lodge review
Gorilla mountain view lodge turned out to be a very pleasant surprise. Did'nt have very high expectations after reading other reviews, but we found the accommodation fantastic. Very clean spacious cottages with everything you could need for your stay, hot water bottles in bed every night and a fier lit for you (although in my opinion it wasn't that cold, still a nice touch). Very good food, although a bit repetitive after a while. Excellent location for the gorillas around 15 minute drive to the briefing point. Staff very very good, literally falling over them selves to help and serve you, maybe a bit too much at times!
Only slight downside was that prices of drinks seemed to change depending on you waiter, a glass of red wine one night was $3 and the next night we were charged $7, didn't impact on our stay too much but maybe a drinks menu or price list could be implemented. Water, tea and coffee was included.
Other wise perfect base for gorilla trekking and a very confortable stay.
Rustic and charming.
This place is conveniently situated close to the national park headquarters and to the activities in the area, so you don't have to drive nearly as far as you would if you were staying in a number of other locations. It's a very charming place with huge rooms and a nice main lodge.
It gets cold at night, and each room has a fireplace that the staff comes and lights for you, and they give you a surprisingly effective hot water bottle under the covers at night. Everyone who works there is very enthusiastic about serving the guests.
The shower left something to be desired, as the water pressure was very weak, but at least the water that did come out was hot.
Gorilla Moutain View Lodge
The views are amazing and the rooms are individual bungalows which have a nice fireplace and they will make a fire in it any time of the day. There is entertainment with local dancers&music outside at 5pm. The meals are buffet and plenty of choices to find something you will like. The staff is amazingly friendly and helpful. There are two fireplaces in the lodge and internet is only in the lodge, so the area is usually crowded late afternoon and early evening. The furniture is in need of replacement and is not cohesive, it looks like it came from various garge sales. A small gift shop is available. There are no safes in the room so you need to use there safe. This would be a recommendation for them to change in the future and put in-room safes in each building. Their bathrooms also need remodeling. If they would remodel they could command a much higher price. There are now new hotels going up in the same area and we would check into these in the future. They appear to be boutique in nature from what we could see.
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It was also better than I expected. Nothing fancy, but everything you need.
Common area was the only wifi service, and limited somewhat. But it was fun to congregate there, enjoy the fire, and enjoy the company of others. The rooms and open showers were kind of different, but fun.
Good buffet food, the lodge does a nice job. It's all about the gorillas!
Gorilla Mountain View Lodge review
a rustic hotel but overall a good experience. showers were a bit dodgy but good quality food and service.
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