Naivasha Kongoni Lodge - Lakefront Getaway

Kongoni lodge is a place we visited before We booked a cottage with 2 bedrooms for my mother and ourselves (couple) as husband was doing mtb race - this was confirmed 4 weeks in advance The night before the race we headed to kongoni lodge for the night. My driver also called the lodge to book his accommodation there. We arrived at 7pm. Front desk gave us welcome drinks, hot towels took our passports and made us fill up the forms But just before passing the keys she casually informed us that we will only have 1 bedroom for 3 of us and the other room in the same cottage was already occupied by a sick traveler who will depart next morning: We obviously jumped. Firstly There was ample time for the hotel to contact us before we arrived at 7pm and inform us so we can make alternative arrangements - the roads leading to kongoni werr bad and this was was a pure waste of time especially when everyone is exhausted after the ride from Nairobi Secondly to make us fill up forms, provide them passports then tell us the news was not acceptable. This could have been said upfront vs after all admin In addition the female desk manager was not honest - she stated repeatedly she couldn’t get hold of us. We didn’t get any missed calls. Also there is email, phone options? my driver confirmed he spoke to the lady manager to reconfirm his own room booking and even received 2 phone calls that day to enquire about the time we were supposed to arrive Finally after we protested about sharing a cottage with a sick traveler - she reluctantly offered an option for us to move to another hotel but we have to make our way there, check out in the following morning and move the stuff ourselves back to Kongoni it would cost us 10,000 kes but we had to pay kongoni directly. An arrangement we couldn’t figure why This was not feasible as husband was racing the following morning 7am till 3pm I was to follow the race as well. This meant we had to pack by 6am and check out from the hotel and mode stuff over to kongoni. Before going to the race Then unpack again at the new room at their lodge assuming the guest recovers. We are appalled at how this was being managed - the lack of honest and upfront communications. Finally the lady assured us she would be on standby to assist We tried calling back when we were at the replacement hotel to find rooms for ourselves Needless to say the kongoni front desk never picked up our calls I am appalled how they had treated and dumped us without any remorse, or attempt to help us despite this massive glitch. Till today none of them even called to apologize to us I will never recommend them to anyone and urge all to rethink as well at this unprofessional, irresponsible and unhelpful management

While we liked the general vibe of the hotel - with it's rustic cottages, swimming pool and walkable areas inside, the residential areas require maintenance. The food was tasty, but compared to other hotels we stayed at during our safari, had a lack of options. It rained when we were staying at the hotel and we had water dripping into the cottage. The bedroom, although well maintained was really loud due to the rain and we hardly managed to get any sleep. The bathroom was really rusty and dingy. Although the nice staff cleaned the bathroom once again upon our request, the condition of the bathroom was bad. I would only recommend this hotel to people who are looking for a brief stopover, but not for longer stays.

Me and my family of 4 were at Naivasha Kongoni lodge for 3 days /2 nights and the experience was absolutely sublime. We loved the place, we loved the staff, the restaurant, the pool and the landscape. We were accommodated in a picturesque cottage with wonderful decoration and special Woden furniture. It was special being at the balcony listening to the silence, sometimes with the birds singing and the thunderstorm and rain in other occasions.

This place is really stunning. Away from busy City live, located near the Lake Naivasha on a hill with nothing but nature. Sometimes Monkeys come for a visit, but besides that only beautiful birds are there. The Cottages rate from normal to exclusive with an private small pool at the place. (Only Exclusive!) Each Cottage comes with a Solar Panel on the Roof from Bosch, to safe up and receive hot water. The Living Room is stunning and huge, it has a 2 couches, with a wooden table and big chairs in it. The Bedroom has a Twin Size Bed with a moskito net. The Bathroom has a big rainshower and two nice sinks. For the Exclusive Cottage a Whirlpool is also included in the Bathroom. The way from and to the restaurant is walkable and the signs lead the way, in case you get lost. The Staff is sweet, helpful and very nice. Food was incredible good and not much, because they only serve food on how many people stayed at the Lodge. They want to prevent wasting much food. Prices are fair and at some point affordable.

The overall experience was absolutely horrible. It was a total waste of 3 days of holiday. Had booked their top luxury cottage with a private plunge pool but it was way below even an ordinary room.. post checking-in spent some time to tidy up the sitting room... the basics like straightening the furniture etc. No hand wash in the bathroom, rickety shower, torn bathrobe and torn bed linen. Hot water was an issue and July gets cold!. At night no bonfire for guest or any other activity... just a dead place. The bartender couldn't put together the most basic Kenyan Cocktail - Dawa. The soft furnishing in the cottage was definitely worn out and requires an immediate change. The old man (the guide) who takes you for a short walk to the observation point at the top of the hill was the only positive experience. Overall an extremely bad experience - a 100% write-off as a holiday. Total waste of time, money and peace.

Excellent reception and service Looking forward to visit next time and enjoy the rest of the facilities within the lodge. The service team in the restaurant are friendly and up to task when needed. Thank you.