One&Only Nyungwe House

Stunning hotel in a stunning location. From the greeting to the packed lunch provided on departure we were treated like royalty all the way. Wonderful facilities and activities: the most picturesque pool you can imagine, archery and spear throwing lessons. The rooms were luxurious and well appointed - everything had been considered. The food was a fine dining experience at every meal. Hope to return. Thank you to all the staff we met at the One & Only.

This place is amazing. Not only is it absolutely stunning and beautifully maintained, but the people are just fabulous. They take such wonderful care of all their guests and make you feel very special. Everyone from the porter to the driver to housekeeping to the spa to the restaurant to the front desk, were all lovely. I loved my 90 min massage with Estrella who is a genuinely caring and lovely young woman. Our servers John and Sam were very attentive and knowledgeable. The cuisine was delicious. The chef pulled out all the stops to make beautiful and thoughtfully prepared meals. Will definitely return with our children !

We had an unforgettable stay at One&Only Nyungwe House—truly the highlight of our trip. While we also loved Gorilla’s Nest, this lodge captured our hearts. The setting is breathtaking, the rooms are beautifully appointed, and the service exceeded all expectations. The culinary experience was extraordinary. Chef Batiste is a true artist—he prepared an incredible Rwandan feast on our first day and, to our amazement, created several dishes from our own cultural background with remarkable authenticity. One day, after I mentioned loving dumplings, a stunning dumpling dish appeared on the menu. I confess: I had four servings! The food was not only delicious, but also beautifully balanced—gourmet and healthy in a way that’s hard to find. The hospitality throughout our stay was exceptional. Our host was thoughtful and attentive, and every activity was made special by the passion and knowledge of the staff. Jacques led a memorable tea ceremony and a morning birdwatching walk where we spotted an eagle, a blue iridescent hummingbird-type bird, and several other striking species. We also loved the painting activity—one of the staff members spent nearly an hour encouraging and supporting our daughter, which meant so much to us. Finally, the spa was the perfect place to relax and recharge—the treatments were of the highest quality and deeply restorative. Thank you to the entire team for making us feel so welcomed and cared for. Every detail was thoughtful and personal. We are already dreaming of returning!

We stayed at The One and Only Nyungwe and it was just AMAZING. What a stunning evironmental friendly beautiful place within a tea plantation. With eye for detail around every corner. The rooms, the amenities, the staff, the food with a huge vegetarian/vegan-option, the activities (Canopy Walk) just all a great experience.

A truly magical and fairytale experience at One&Only Nyungwe House, Rwanda, which has been for a week the Heaven on the Earth for us!! Where do I even begin? As the words and pictures can’t do justice to the sheer beauty of the location, to the outstanding personalized service and unforgettable moments we had. However, even is very difficult I will try my best to share the highlights that made this stay a lifetime experience for me and my husband. Our journey start right from the airport where our amazing driver Ramazan organized by the hotel was waiting for us, with a luxury car, providing refreshments and WiFi, the trip to hotel was around 5 to 6 hours. There was also a faster way to reach the hotel with helicopter and the helipad is just a few minute away from the main entrance, very convenient and easy. We personally loved the car trip, the green landscape, the culture and locals which we met in our way, our coffee breaks with view, the rice plantation, corn, tea, etc, and Ramazan sharing the stories and his knowledge of the country makes the time fly. Arriving at the hotel we were welcomed with warm greetings; drums.., than escorted to main lodge where we have been served the best tea I had in my life, in the front of a cozy cracking fireplace with the breathtaking and mesmerizing tea plantation view, there was also two lovely ladies from Spa waiting to offer us a back massage after our long trip, which was a very nice touch. Watching the surroundings, ambiance, view, and the kind and warm welcome, I felt so much joy and happiness and I was thinking “is this place and this moment even real” ? Later we were escorted by Micheline to our Canopy Treehouse and we couldn’t be more happy, the room was a dream with fireplace, a big bath tub, local art on the walls, and personalized welcome card with fruits basket and bottle of wine, a mind blowing balcony facing the forest from where we could see the sweet colobuses monkey playing which made the room an absolutely fairytale. Tired and excited we decided to rest for few hours before the dinner, however we wake up with the sond of drums and people dancing, when we reach the main lodge, the guests were sitting on comfortable sofas around a big fireplace getting served cocktails and canapés while the local dancers performs, they offered us their traditional dress and we were invited to join them for the local dancing, we can’t explain the unique experience we were part of. At the dinner we met the One&Only Bosco, his professionalism on explaining the menu and the different dishes and the history behind it , his knowledge is outstanding, our dinners and the tranquility by the fireplace has been nothing but extraordinary during our entire stay. Bosco surprised us with a wedding anniversary rose petals set up, which will always remain memorable for us, big thank you! Also, thank you to chef Battista who approached us and inquire if we have any special requests or we would like him to make specific dish for us, we felt so special, like we had a private chef, the attention to details was above and beyond expectations, was like nowhere else, truly it’s the One&Only!!! Breakfast with the Sunny plantation tea and Jonny explaining us the jams and from which country was each, has been absolutely Perfection!!! Thank you to Micheline, Celine and Valery who always inquired if there is any activities we would like to book for the next day, and we did it all, hiking, biking, canopy walk, archery, spears…. I highly recommend tea tasting and pick up the tea leaves experience, Jack explained to us the tea making process and the hard work involved which absolutely change our perception of the tea. We spend some time by the pool and it was amazing, perfect heated water temperature with nature view. Louis at Spa with her magic hands and the Fire Ritual treatment is a definitely must try. We loved everything and when we believed that nothing can’t surprise us anymore, we got an upgrade to a stunning villa with bigger windows from where I was able to spy my preferred colobus monkey better and have a bigger fireplace. On our supposed last evening Micheline surprised us with a wedding anniversary cake and two baby chimpanzee toys souvenirs, the next day we are the ones surprising her as we wanted to extend our stay, it was funny!!! And lastly huge thank you to Bob, Max and Christian who did miracle and the impossible being possible, calling the airline and assisting with the last minute changing the flight ticket, in addition with the extension of the booking and all necessary arrangements for transportation. It’s difficult to find the right words to express how much this experience it means to us and how much all of you contribute to it. Definitely, One&Only Nyungwe House is a place that perfectly marries luxury, adventure and the beauty of nature. Every moment felt special, and every detail was carefully curated and personalized. This was not just a hotel stay; it was a once in a lifetime experience!!! If you ever have the opportunity to visit, I promise you it’s a journey worth taking. PS: Lock the balcony door, colobus monkey are smart manage to open the door and eat my cake and all the fruits, which make me laugh and happy!!! 🤭