Yambi Guesthouse

Wonderful guesthouse with very friendly staff and great food! Would recommend to anyone who has some days in Kigali. Staff is helpful, cook is great, and the guesthouse is very beautifully decorated with much attention to detail.

The guesthouse is exceptionally clean and the gardens are beautiful and peaceful. I spent many hours just relaxing there. They have good wifi and a bar with a wide selection of beer. The food is well-prepared and the kitchen staff is very accommodating. The guesthouse is out of the way. You can walk into town in about 20 minutes, but the house is on a dirt road for the first part of your walk. After that the walk is easy. There are not many choices for food within a 10 minute walk although there is (usually) a chef on staff to make you a meal. The staff is able to arrange transportation for you into town but note that many Moto drivers may not know the location of the guesthouse when you are trying to get back, so make sure to take the address with you. You would probably have better luck with a taxi although that would be more expensive. The staff is helpful if you ask them, but if you are used to staff approaching you to see if you doing well, you will need to temper that expectation. I did have a shirt lost in their laundry there, but they were very helpful in working that out with me. Note that some rooms do not have a bathroom, so you would be sharing one with other guests. This wasn't a problem for me, but you may want to ask when you are booking a room. Overall, the guesthouse is a good choice for a comfortable, clean budget accommodation (if you don't mind that it is somewhat out of the way) and a very relaxing place to stay.

Positives Rooms are clean and decorated in an African style. Beds are comfy and clean. The communal area is nice and a nice place to sit in. The small garden is very colourful and pretty. Breakfast is fine and other meals can be paid for onsite. I ate dinner there one evening and it was nice. The guesthouse is situated off the main road on a mud road. Hot water in shower. Good WiFi in common area. Cons There is a big gap between the room’s door and the outside so insects, mice etc can enter the rooms. Rooms are dark as the only windows look out on the communal corridor so you have to keep the curtains closed. Fortunately during my stay it was quiet but has the potential to be noisy as all doors open out onto this corridor. Breakfast was included in the room rate but it is only served after 7am. If you are going on a day tour or have an early flight then you get no breakfast. They refuse to pack a simple breakfast or even provide a teaspoon of coffee to make your own coffee in the morning. If you want a packed breakfast then you have to pay for it again. The staff aren’t helpful in providing transport options around Kigali. They wanted to charge me USD 30 to take me to 2 museums just a few kilometres down the road. They wouldn’t help by organising a taxi using the local cheap app. As a solo traveler I found this place to be very unfriendly and just trying to make money out of the tourists (unlike my experience at some other backpacker places that I have stayed at). I was disappointed with this place and wouldn’t have stayed 3 nights if I could have cancelled out for free. Staff unhelpful and certainly didn’t want to please.

Staying in Kigali for a couple of days as a backpacker Yambi was definitely the right choice. The dorm is simple, but clean, the shared bathroom modern and has warm water, the staff is extremely friendly and attentive and you can order fresh, delicious food at reasonable prices any time of the day. The real highlight for me was the common area though. I spent more time than I care to admit sitting on the cozy wooden porch with a coffee, tea or beer reading, writing, chatting with fellow travelers or just looking at the lush tropical garden and the lights of the city beyond.

A super cosy hotel in a beautiful neigbourhood. Relaxing garden, a little gym and the best african tea with delicious breakfast. The neighbourhood is quiet with amazing walks and beautiful views over the city. Take a walk in the evening, you will see stars on the ground :)