Having decided to travel to Rwanda for two weeks, we booked our flights and realised we would be arriving into the bustling capital Kigali at 1am late Friday night/early Saturday morning. Â It was going to be an adventurous trip which would push us out of our comfort zones at times, but after a 14 hour flight with three small children I wanted to spend our first weekend somewhere that I knew would be fantastic and that I knew would look after us. Â I turned to the Marriott.
With exceptional standards across the world I had no hesitation in choosing the Marriott for our stay in Kigali. Â I hoped the rooms would be clean, air conditioned, and comfy and I also hoped the service would be top notch. Â I wasn’t disappointed.
AD | I have been or could be if you click on a link in this post compensated via a cash payment, gift or something else of value for writing this post. See our full disclosure policy and privacy policy for more details.
We were met at the airport by the Marriott’s transfer team and the sign with our name on was very welcome in a busy bustling airport. The car coped with our large number of bags easily and it made the twenty minute journey from the airport to the hotel incredibly simple.
On that first night, we all fell into bed, sleep came instantly and we awoke to a sunny bustling day in Kigali and made our way down to breakfast.
Breakfast in the Kigali Marriott is a thing of wonder. Â There are about 8 different stations with noodles, charcuterie meats, eggs cooked all ways (pancakes were the girls favourite!) breads, cakes, doughnuts and far far more.
Both hubby and I made the mistake of ordering omelettes both mornings we were there. I say mistake. It was not a mistake at the time they were delicious; however as we were then served an omelette practically every morning of our trip thereafter, we should probably taken advantage of some of the more varied breakfast items on offer at the Marriott that weekend.
After breakfast we made our way down to the pool with three excited little girls. Â For them holidays usually involve swimming pools and beaches and this was going to be a little different so it was nice for them to enjoy a couple of mornings in the pool.
The pool itself was a tad cold as it wasn’t heated but the girls didn’t let that stop them spend hours in it. The lifeguards around the pool were generous with the towels when they saw the girls had got cold and provided new ones when needed.
The pool area was immaculate and there was lots of staff around to bring drinks or food when required. Â The actual speed of the food being served did seem a little slow both lunchtimes that we ordered, probably due to large conferences being on both days, but perhaps leave more time that you think you will need if ordering sandwiches and pastas rather than using the ample lunch and dinner buffets on offer.
We came back to the Kigali Marriott twice more during the trip. Â After spending 5 nights in terrible accommodation in Ruhango the Oasis that is the Kigali Marriott was even more welcoming than it had been on night one.
The girls must have spent around 3 hours in the bath, I had at least 3 showers and the beds felt like they were fit for a Princess. Â We also devoured the apples in the fruit baskets – apples are in short supply in Rwanda and my girls love them.
The other incredibly helpful assistance the Kigali Marriot provided was storage of the items we didn’t need to haul round the country. Â We travelled with a large amount of rugby balls for the Rugby Charity we support and didn’t need to take them all to Ruhango so they held onto them for us until we could pass them onto the right people in Kigali. Â We also used quite large Travel Snugs so the girls could sleep easier on the long flight and they looked after those for us too.
The final time we came back to the Kigali Marriott was the day we flew out. Â A flight that left Kigali at 00.45am was always going to be a challenge, but arranging a day pass for the Marriott so we could spend the afternoon in the pool and then shower and change before we left for the airport late evening was invaluable. Â It felt like we were enjoying the last day of our holiday rather than just hanging around until we left. Â I even got chance to read some chapters of my book!
I can’t recommend the Kigali Marriott highly enough if you find yourself in Kigali with your family or without.
NB: We were guests of the Marriott during our stay but all views and opinions are my own.
Linking up with Mummytravels.com and Wandermum.co.uk
Why not PIN this post!
Karen Beddow founded Mini Travellers in 2014 while doing what she loves most...going on holiday!
Mini Travellers is for parents looking for holiday ideas, destination reviews, days out and things to do with the kids. We also have family travel tips, activity ideas and all other things family holiday related. Take a look at some of our latest reviews for holidays and day trips in the UK.
This looks gorgeous! For city breaks we usually go for a well known brand where we know we’ll be well looked after and get a good night’s sleep. Great that you could leave some of your baggage there securely and the pool would be a huge hit with my two as well, especially with the kind of trip you were doing. Can’t wait to hear more! Thanks for linking #citytripping