Reviews of Mountain Gorilla View

"Gorilla Mountain View Lodge has a memorable location, with views towards misty volcanoes in all directions: we spent the afternoons after gorilla tracking simply enjoying the view!

The rooms, which are self-contained cottages, were extremely generous and very well appointed. Three things were a little disappointing, however: the interior lighting was poor, which meant it was difficult to do anything in the evening (the sun sets at 6:30 PM) - a little extra lighting would improve the room ambience immeasurably. The rooms were also a bit cold. The lodge supplies a small fan heater and there is a fireplace but these are not sufficient to keep the place warm. The bathroom, in particular, felt glacial at night and in the morning. Lastly, there is no TV anywhere in the lodge. This is not really a big issue, except that it was the World Cup and there was nowhere to watch a match within 45 minutes drive!

On the plus side, the staff in the hotel were uniformly friendly and attentive, and the buffet meals were convenient and delicious. The shoe-cleaning service is a huge plus as well: the joy of clean shoes is second only to the joy of seeing gorillas..." See all these reviews: 8n in Rwanda

"The accomodations were attractive and clean. The service provided by all who worked there was very good. All were friendly and helpful.

The food was similar to that eaten in other African countries. As Americans. much was not to our taste, but we did not go hungry. Two of the best things was the fire built in our room each night and getting our boots cleaned after trekking up the mountain to see the gorillas - wow - what an incredible experience." See all these reviews: 3n in Tanzania; 3n in Rwanda

"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

"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

"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

"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