29. Apr 2016
Where do I start with what I liked:
*I learned that their HR department will bring any donated items to people who need them. So if you desire, you can bring clothes, school supplies, or anything else (just not most food items).
*The staff were fantastic! Polite, helpful, on top of everything! I was greeted with a smile and welcomed instantly and they even asked to make a copy of my activity itinerary so that they could confirm all of the dates/times with the company for me. They also seemed to plan the room cleaning and turn down service according to my activity schedule.
*On the last day there I needed to contact my credit card company and the number wouldn't work on my cell. After trying their office phone and realizing it wouldn't work either, they offered to find me a staff member with a cell phone. I want to emphasize that it is extremely uncommon to have an unlimited cell phone plan, which means, they were going to offer to use their personal paid minutes to help me make the call. I declined of course because no one should pay for my phone call! But the fact that this was the lengths they were willing to go to instantly, without a thought, was heart warming!
*There is a complimentary mini bar (including sodas, alcohol, etc.). Um...yes!
*The room was spectacular.
*The view was beautiful.
*The bar/restaurant overlooks a watering hole. My first night there a herd of elephants and about 100 water buffalo came to drink. Oh yeah, and you can see the hole from the pool.
*The pool is so cool (as in awesome, not freezing).
*They do a free vulture feeding at 1:00pm every day (this involves hundreds of vultures. It was amazing!)
*Breakfast was included with my stay and included a full cold spread (meats, cheeses, fruits, bloody mary, etc.) as well as a menu (albeit small) for hot items (including omelets and french toast). I wound up never even getting the hot items because the cold spread was so filling.
*Where do I start? Let me just stay Augustine is AMAZING! He is the hospitality manager there and absolutely change the entire trajectory of my stay and helped coordinate a huge activity that I otherwise would not have been able to be a part of. He is fantastic!
*It is farther away from the falls, which I thought might be a bad thing, but they offer hourly free shuttle to the falls, the open market, and 2 other stops, so I never felt distant from anything. Plus, I realized that I only got 2 mosquito bites over 6 days, while others I spoke to who stayed closer to the falls/river complained of a lot more bites. So maybe being away from the falls was actually a plus. Also, because they have so many things there (vulture feeding, beautiful restaurant view, The Boma, and the water hole) you can actually do more AT the hotel than you can at most other places.
*The Boma is a fun place and is right there at the hotel. Short walking distance, yet they still have an additional shuttle that will take you straight there.
What didn't I like? Um, leaving? Really, it was such a wonderful place!
