One&Only Nyungwe House

Our experience at One&Only House, Nyungwe was delightful. The setting is gorgeous, and the kindnesses abundant. Fist rate comfort --we loved the accommodations, hospitality, thoughtful considerations of all possible needs--even outfitting us for trekking with backpacks, gaiters, waterproof coverups. We were offered excellent and creative food selections with special attention to vegetarian requirements, and service beyond compare. The entertainment and activities were culturally interesting and fun, and the pool looking over the forest is magical. And bonus!: Each day we found a lovely local gift in our room. Micheline, Sam, Joseph, and Jack treated us with special care. Our welcome was just like arriving on Fantasy Island, and our departure teary eyed! We are grateful for the time we got to spend at One&Only House, Nyungwe.

We had the pleasure of staying 2 nights at the One&Only Nyungwe House for my 50th. It We were greeted and treated like royalty. The staff went out of their way to make sure we had the best and most memorable experience. The hotel manager Adelinha came to introduce herself and sat down with us for a chat. Bosco the food and beverage manager made sure every meal was a feast. Ghadi is a very well informed guest relations manager and we thoroughly enjoyed the tour of the tea plantation. All the staff at the hotel were so lovely, special thanks to Francois and Paul too who took care of our room making sure everything was available all the time.

Wow, wow and wow. This hotel treats you like a dignitary. This retreat is geared for the upscale traveler where cost is not an obstacle. It ain't cheap by any stretch of the imagination but like they say, you get what you pay for. They have thought of everything at this hotel. The rooms are immaculate, private and very comfortable. The service is impeccable. The food is gourmet and generous. It is like going to a Michelin star restaurant. The staff is EXTREMELY attentive and glow with appreciation that you are their guest. The hotel common areas are spotless and attended to with great detail, attention and care. Most people come here for the chimpanzee trekking. Understand that unlike the gorillas, chimps are far more mobile and like to climb high up trees. If you are lucky they will come to the ground long enough for you to get a good photo but for the most part, you are shooting up into trees. Once you get to the family, be aware that they may move again. As such, a short trek can easily evolve into a very long trek. Some travelers find that a chimp trek is much less rewarding than the gorillas who tend to be on the ground much longer and travel far less allowing for better photo ops. Having said all that, we got lucky and after a very strenuous 2 hour trek finally found a chimp family that was fairly stationary allowing us to get memorable photos. If you book this experience, go into it with an open mind and understand that there is no controlling chimps so you may have an amazing trek (like we had) or you may be disappointed. Unlike the gorillas which pretty much guarantee a 100% chance of a one hour encounter, chimps are a little less predictable. If you have ANY concerns about visiting Rwanda, put those worries aside. The regional airport in Kigali is very small and easy to navigate. The troubles of 30 years ago are in their history and today's Rwanda is warm, welcoming and very safe. We fell in love with the people, the country's spirit, breathtaking scenery and the wildlife. Being with gorillas is exhilarating and lifechanging. The Rwandan people embrace tourists and we always felt welcomed and appreciated. While not the cheapest destination in the world, it is a MUST SEE and we cannot wait to return.

Nestled within a tea plantation, Nyungwe house provides a very chill five star experience. They seem to make an effort to give the impression you're the only ones there, with every meal set up for you in a new and special spot. The accommodation is spacious and tasteful with a short walk through the plantation from the main lodge to the various clusters of rooms. Abutting the jungle, we kept a constant eye out for glimpses of monkeys, but ended up with one leaping about on our balcony on the last day. Food is amazing, staff are great. Do the e-bike tour because it'll give you a different point of engagement with Rwanda. Also do the tea tasting experience. I can't believe the things about tea I didn't know. The chimp trek involves a very early start, and a decent but not arduous walk into see the primates, who are mostly up in the trees. This is a good prelude to doing a gorilla trek later in a trip. When you collect your snack items to take with you, grab a few extra things for your driver as he may have missed breakfast. It's a long drive to get to Nyungwe, but it's definitely worth it for all of Rwanda you will see along the way.

A phenomenally beautiful "lodge" in the midst of the idyllic setting of an actual tea plantation. Everything about this lodge was incredibly lovely, understated and had the sort of quiet African luxury available to fortunate travelers on this continent. The staff however may be a bit of an issue (it was for us). Whereas many travelers, in particular at these sorts of lodges, want/expect/enjoy the, at times, excessive sycophancy of the staff (where they repeatedly thank you for the "pleasure of serving you" and that sort of thing) we find that behavior overly solicitous, not genuine and reminiscent of colonialist attitudes. Another unexpected issue involved one staffer in particular who was dismally far from subtle in his expectation of a tip (and he was the singularly most unhelpful and unreliable person we encountered; fortunately an exception). The accommodations are excellent, top notch in every regard, as is the food. The staff is undeniably helpful. The reason we stayed there was as a base for chimpanzee trekking which we found to simply be not worthwhile. We no more than glimpsed an occasional chimp and saw only their backs and rears and not a single face. The trek was unpleasantly demanding and difficult and, in our judgement, far from worthwhile. If you wish to enjoy the beauty of this setting in Nyungwe apart from chimp trekking, we can highly recommend it. If you are using it as a base for chimp trekking, your time might be better spent.