Golf Eden Rock Hotel/MUGAMBIRA Aphrodis /Karongi — Hotel in Bwishyura

We stayed here as a group for 2 nights, in order to visit the west. We'd had a really excellent experience in Kigali, so this affected my view of Hotel Golf. ||||The main building feels like it's been added on to with no plan, and everything's rather random, so you get main stairwells that are poorly lit and narrow with low ceilings, and inconsistent steps. The annex is down several inconsistently spaced steps outside.||The car parking area is adequate, and it's clear where reception is located. ||||The entrance has security gate, however, everyone seems to walk straight past it. It was unclear which people were staff members, which would have been helpful in a large building. When we arrived, keys with cheap plastic fobs were distributed. Only as I went to bed on the first evening was I asked to complete a registration form, which felt disorganised. ||||This time I stayed in a room in the main building. Both beds had mozzie nets, and there was an en-suite bathroom. The room was always stuff and airless, and the only daylight came from the doorway out on to the lakeside terrace. My bed had a foam mattress, which provided little comfort. I think there were only a couple of electrical sockets, so I'd recommend bringing an extension cable & adaptor. A large TV took up space on the only table, so we placed our luggage directly on the painted cement floor. I know from experience and others in our party that the rooms in the annex are lighter and more airy. ||||The dining room was a shaded terrace area in the main building with view of the lake. Food was plentiful - make sure it's hot! One evening there were large insect flying around, and it took one of our party to dispose of it, as the hotel staff didn't...

I didn't stay in this hotel but stopped to have a drink with a friend and to play a game of pool. There was a hostile atmosphere when we arrived and the staff seemed angered by the fact that we were there when no one else was. We played our first game of pool and then when I tried to buy more tokens for the second game the lady behind the bar instructed me I was "finished". ||When I asked why she smiled and said no money (which I assume meant she had no tokens.-this was not the case as I saw the stack she pulled the previous token from 20 minutes ago). I told her I had money and wanted to play again. She suddenly stopped being able to speak English or French (despite being able to speak both very competently in our previous interactions).||My friend and I left (feeling bemused) to finish our beer on the balcony. The pool table lay dormant for about half an hour until some locals walked in and started using it with no issue. I went back in the bar and asked where this money had come from and she smiled and shrugged. ||I seldom think of racism as a motivation for actions but I can't help but feel that that is the reason behind this episode. It was so nonsensical for someone to stop another person spending money at their hotel (which serves tourists) in order to allow someone else who was a local to play in their stead. ||Don't go here if you're white and/or you're not a...

The beautiful location of this hotel belies the tip that it is, so do yourself a favour and avoid it at all costs! |Had we had the good sense to ask to see our room, especially after noticing-you could hardly miss them-all the dead flies and dust at the reception, we would never have stayed there. |After waiting for 1:45 hrs for our lunch, we got up and left. It was only after a helpful waitress, the only person who seemed to be responsible and doing any work, intervened, pleaded and brought our food now two hours after ordering that we relented and agreed to eat it. Obviously we decided to go elsewhere for dinner. |On our return in the evening, there was no water to wash with. Perhaps that was the reason why the hotel never even provided soap in the first place until we asked for some. In the morning there still was no water, and as the phone didn’t work, I had to dress, walk to the reception and ask them to send someone by to address the situation. It isn’t as though we had any intention of bathing-there was no shower-as the bath was in such a deplorable condition. This they did, but by the time we returned from breakfast, there was no water again. |The cherry on the cake was the cooked fly in my omelette. I lost the plot after that. |Oh, and if you don’t believe me and do decide to overnight there, don’t forget your headlamp to save your shins. There are no...