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Reviews of Discover Rwanda Youth Hostel

2 out of 5
Discover Rwanda Youth Hostel
KN 14 Avenue, Kimihurura, Kigali

Reviews

7.0

Good

Rating 10 - Excellent. 10 out of 81 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 37 out of 81 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 22 out of 81 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 6 out of 81 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 6 out of 81 reviews" "

7.0/10

Cleanliness

7.8/10

Staff & service

6.0/10

Amenities

6.4/10

Property conditions & facilities

Reviews

10/10 Excellent

Aili

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 3 nights in Jan 2021

8/10 Good

Roberta, Canada

Travelled with partner
Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
They are currently shifting to the place across the street, so things are bit haphazard as they make the change. They did switch us to a different room when our key wasnt working. They also worked very hard to accomodate us in other ways. Overall good experience.
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2020
Response from Hostel Team on 19 Feb 2020
Thank you for bearing with us. It's looking good now. Looking forward to having you again.xx

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2019

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Staff & service
This is a good, bare bones hostel for budget travelers.
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2019
Response from Hostel team on 19 Feb 2020
Thank you. Looking forward to having you again!!

8/10 Good

Victor

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
I had a fantastic stay at Discover Kigali.
It was fine.
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2018
Response from Hostel team on 19 Feb 2020
Thank you.

6/10 Okay

Espen

Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
A place to sleep, bring your own food and Coffee
Low cost. And the outside area was cool. Showers and toiletts was ok. Tried to contact the hostel some day before arreivel, to organize transport from the airport, but No answere on email. If you want food with your Breakfast get up early and start waiting in the food area. There will only be food to the 4-5 frist in line.
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2018

8/10 Good

Signe

Liked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

8/10 Good

Tom, Kenya

Liked: Staff & service
Friendly place in a good location.
A good place - the funds raised support a local charity. Nice open air restaurant and good food options.
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2017

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
It was lovely and I was satisfied!
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2017

8/10 Good

James, Northampton, UK

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Good price and good location.
Was in a good spot and the rooms were fine, most of the staff were friendly, some others not so much. Would definitely stay here again.
Stayed 7 nights in Sep 2017

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Cleanliness
It was disappointing with communication issue between Hotels.com and the accommodation. I booked a twin room but there was no my name on the list and no available room. Wifi is only available at the reception hall and canteen area. Apart from this experience, the reception staff helped me to find another room and refunded the extra cost. Very friendly and sincere. I'm satisfied with the staff service.
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2017

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Disappointing in many ways.
Wasn't that best (and I'm really not a fussy guest having stayed in some interesting places). Stayed in a 'VIP room' but felt like anything but a VIP. No sink in the ensuite and no towel (asked for one but none available) which were not major. Big issue was it smelt really damp and had a mouldy ceiling. There was a locked shower cubicle in the room that was the source of the bad, bad smells. Imagine sleeping in the boys changing rooms at school and you will get the vibe. Also directly underneath the bar so couldn't sleep untill 3am on Friday night (bearable but not ideal). Asked to move the first day but no other rooms available. When we arrived another guest was sleeping in our room. He got kicked out for us and the bed was changed. If you are reading this kind sir, we are sorry, but I think on balance we did you a favour. All felt strangely disorganised given that Rwanda is such a beautiful and orderly place. Breakfast... Coffee (simple thing in the land of coffee) was so bad (if you are a guest house or hostel proprietor, kindly consider that a good cup of coffee makes up for all measure of issues with your establishment). No drinking water available. One positive - the central location is really good.
Stayed 3 nights in Jun 2017

10/10 Excellent

jillian

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Pretty great hostel
I absolutely loved staying here, the staff really made everybody feel like family here :)

8/10 Good

Victor

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
I had a nice stay. The place was convenient and clean.

8/10 Good

Richard

Liked: Staff & service
Very basic hostel room - mosquito nets on bunk beds (but not much place to sleep under the net if you were on top bunk) - but fine, and convenient :)

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Staff & service
Decent hostel.
Only complaint about this hostel is lack of hot water. Besides that the wifi is perfect, restraunt and bar are very nice, comfortable rooms, good location, and as clean as you would expect a hostel to be. It's not super cheep but it's worth it.

2/10 Terrible

Peter, Auburn, AL

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Contact the property before arriving. Crucial!
I arrived late. The guy on duty could not find my booking. This happens A LOT WITH HOTELS.COM. Beware!! Them them it's Expedia and often it shows up. Next he says there are no rooms left..which is weird given you have a confirmed booking! So he says I have to go to their other place, about 8km away. AND PAY FOR THE TAXI!! 45 mins later when the taxi arrives we get to the second place. Only the guard is there. There is no desk to check in. The property is completely unmarked. In the morning all the other guests reported the same story. So if you've booked at Discover Rwanda I suggest you call in advance to (1) confirm your booking and (2) ask which property you are staying at Hotels.com.. You need to update this information as well!

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Disliked: Property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Overpriced
Bit far out of town. Staff disorganised and could not find booking. Room similar to prison cell. Wifi poor. Breakfast ok. Overall not worth price.

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Disliked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Not many other options
Disorganised place. Rooms were run down and uncared for. Staff were polite and friendly but not effective or bothered about custom. Felt like it was coasting as there are a lack of other options here. Overpriced for standard of accommodation.

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Staff & service
Nice Hostel except for a few details
The hostel was an affordable choice for my pocket. I found the staff quite helpful with requests I made. For a hostel it scored pretty well. However it would be nice to have firmer beds that do not creak when you turn at night. Otherwise I would stay here again.

8/10 Good

charlotte, Hurghada

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Very good value for money.
The hostel is very good value for money. It is in a peaceful location with lovely views but a short moto ( local motor cycle transport ) ride from downtown. The staff were friendly and helpful, the food inexpensive and OK. Nice breakfasts. I did have a problem with the water on my first stay but subsequent visits were fine. Getting hot water in budget accommodation in Rwanda is often a bit of a problem anyway. Avoid the Chinese restaurant next door like the plague! The food is inedible.

6/10 Okay

Hiroko

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service

6/10 Okay

Peter, Auburn, AL

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
A step down from the sister in gisenyi
Good for an overnight. Decent breakfast, close to the airport. Rooms are a little sparse, with the shower water pressure almost non existent.

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great hostel in a great city
Brilliant hostel with nice bar/restaurant/lounge areas. Good wifi!! Rooms and showers are clean, good pressure and hot water. There's a small area for camping as well. Nice breakfast included. Staff are super friendly and helpful. It's opposite a bank (open until 8pm) which is handy and a good supermarket just down the street. A bit of a distance from the city centre, but you can get a mototaxi for Rwf500.

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Staff & service, room comfort
Cheap, friendly staff and well located
The staff are friendly and helpful. The rooms are simple but clean but the bathrooms needed more frequent cleaning. The restaurant produced a very nice meal and the WiFi connection was acceptable.

2/10 Terrible

Verified traveller

Disliked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Everything that could go wrong, went wrong
We stayed at this hostel only for about 8 hours and during our stay pretty much everything that could go wrong, went wrong: 1. They did not come to pick us up from the airport (we had confirmed this 1 day before we arrived). 2. They did not have our booking (finally it turned out that they had put the wrong dates to their system). 3. They asked us to pay for our room again (we had paid online already and we had to explain this to the staff). 4. They could not rent us a towel (we asked three times and finally on the third time, this was in the morning, they said that we will not get it). 5. They did not lock our room after cleaning it (we had all our stuff in the room including money and passports). 6. We never got our change (we bought a bottle of water). They came up with all kinds of explanations why they can't give us our change so finally we left without the change.

2/10 Terrible

Verified traveller

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Get a manager and do some maintenance
Staff was not trained because there was never a manager on site. I asked to speak to a manager several times. I asked for the owners email too. I never got either. The staff did not know any of the questions I asked. They would just give you a wrong answer. Downstairs showers were in need of maintenance. My stay was full o problems. If you require water electricity hot showers and food served on time find another hostel

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great hostel in Kigali
Clean rooms, great staff, and lots of tables / space on the porch. Water/beer for sale in the lobby, along with free breakfast and inexpensive lunch/dinner.

8/10 Good

kelly, nairobi, kenya

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
A great home base for exploring kigali
We had a wonderful experience! The room was clean and spacious (we splurged for the double ensuite and it had a great private balcony!) We didn't spend so much time in the guest house itself, but between activities we always came back for a nice coffee. Nice, location, easy logistics. The nearby Mezze Fresh was a daily go-to for my very hungry boyfriend. AND-The wifi actually works!

10/10 Excellent

Ryan, Seattle, WA, USA

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Travelers from all around
The staff is very friendly and helpful. Many of them call me by name. The common areas are clan and welcoming. Friendly travelers come here. It is located close to the center of town.

8/10 Good

Des, Sydney

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great value budget accomodation
Good budget place near the city centre, a short moto ride will bring you there. ATM for VISA right outside and lots of taxis and motos outside too. Decent wifi in reception and rooms. Great service overall. I had private room, cleaned every day. Only downside was the shower, not much water in the morning. Would definately recommend if you need something cheaper than hotel and want to stay near city center too.

6/10 Okay

Michael, Ascot

Disliked: Cleanliness, room comfort
Good location and nice communial area. Poor dorms
Nice communial area but the dorms were small and the bathrooms poor.

8/10 Good

jikri, malaysia

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
backpackers to rwanda
Very good,nice staff,need various breakfast in morning.

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Cheaper option in Kigali
Like all budget accommodation in East Africa this is not worth what is charged. However it is a good 'budget' option in a city filled with expensive accommodation. Good location.

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Ok for a youth hostel
Good for a youth hostel but bathrooms are terrible!

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Good backpacker's base in Kigali
Good basic place to stay. Pros: - location - good wifi - friendly and (mostly) helpful staff Cons: - old building with odd bathrooms and mostly with no hot water - our room had no power sockets - one of the guys on reception had no idea and was trying to double charge several people and accusing me of having a bar tab and not paying for it (we didn't have anything from the bar at all).

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great place for the budget traveler
Excellent for a hostel. Definitely best place in Kigali for the price range. People on staff are exceptionally friendly and helpful. Highly recommended! I would definitely stay here again.
Response from Sam Boarer on 1 Feb 2015
Dear Guest, Thank you for your feedback and rating - we are glad you enjoyed your stay in Rwanda and at Discover Rwanda and that the staff were helpful. We hope you will stay with us if you visit Rwanda in future! Best wishes! Sam

8/10 Good

Nathan, Allegan, MI, USA

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Good accomodation for a budget travele
Overall, the stay was excellent. The only reason I gave it a rating of four insteas od five is because I booked a private room and they somehow mixed up my reservation and had me in a dorm instead. By the time I arrived, no private rooms were available. However, they got me a private room the next night and refunded me the difference in cost through the services they offered (food and drinks). I don't know if the discrepancy was their fault, but I want to emphasize that they made it right with me and my stay was otherwise great. One more thing, I really like that this establishment contributes their proceeds to Aegis in Rwanda.
Response from Sam Boarer on 1 Feb 2015
Dear Nathan, Thank you for staying with us at Discover Rwanda - we are glad you enjoyed your stay and apologise for the problem with your reservation. It is good to know that it was resolved to your satisfaction and I am pleased to inform you that we have been working closely with Expedia to resolve the issues we have had with the booking system. Thank you for staying with us and - as you said - thereby supporting Aegis Trust in Rwanda. Your feedback is helpful as we strive to improve our services and I hope that we may one day have the pleasure of hosting you again. Best wishes! Sam @ Hostel Management

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Room comfort
Response from Sam Boarer on 4 Apr 2015
Thank you for your review of Discover Rwanda! We hope you enjoyed your stay and appreciate the star rating which helps us know there are still improvements to be made. We hope we may welcome you back in future and see a 5 star rating! With best wishes, Sam

10/10 Excellent

kashif, PAKISTAN

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Cleanliness
GOOD
IT WAS NICE

8/10 Good

Alex, London

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Stay was pleasant
It was a good short time i had there. Compared to Hotel prices elsewhere, here it is reasonable and you get to meet lots of people (some of whom I am still in touch with).

8/10 Good

Cynthia Nemeckay, kentucky

Liked: Staff & service
I enjoyed staying here very much. The atmosphere was very friendly. I felt safe. The people at desk very helpful. Near the embassies. I enjoyed the delicious homemade bread for breakfast. Soooooo good!; I enjoyed this hostel in Rwanda. Very frieb

4/10 Poor

Chezza, New Zealand

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Ffacilities could do with a good cleaning
Discover Rwanda is a good place to meet people but the place needs a good clean. The bathrooms in particular were not regularly cleaned and were often grimy. The rooms are basic but pretty reasonably priced. The reception staff were always friendly and helpful. The location is good, though the hostel can be hard to find or give directions for. Breakfast is included and is ok but it's only served til 9.30am. Serving until 10 or 10.30am would have been much more convenient, especially since many people explore Kigali's nightlife on the weekends. Wifi is provided but is often hit and miss.

8/10 Good

Wilko808, Kenya

Great place to stay
Stayed here for 5 nights on my own in a room with en suite. Met loads of great people, really friendly and enjoyed some nice beers every evening. Not the classiest place in Rwanda but definitely the friendliest.

8/10 Good

Aman, Mohali, India

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Nice Hostel, felt like in college again
This hostel was amazing, beautiful location and room view ( room no.24), friendly staff and good place to make friends and meet new people. guests are ready to be in chat and discussions, I also went to one pub with 6 people whom i knew for just a 3 min talk, it was amazing exp.
Response from Sam Boarer on 6 Mar 2015
Dear Aman, Thank you for staying with us at Discover Rwanda - we are glad you enjoyed your stay and that our team was helpful and the environment and atmosphere were appreciated. We hope that we may be able to welcome you back in the future. Best wishes! Sam @ Hostel Management

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great vacation in Kigali
Nice venue and great location. We had a wonderful stay and met some fun people at the hostel. The staff was very pleasant as well.
Response from Sam Boarer on 19 May 2014
Dear Guest Thank you for staying with us at the Discover Rwanda Youth Hostel and for your comments and rating. As we constantly strive to improve our services, it is good to know how you feel about our Hostel and we are glad you had a great time meeting people and the location was good for you. If you are back in Kigali anytime - please come to visit! We hope to see you again in the future! Sam Discover Rwanda Youth Hostel Management

8/10 Good

H

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Response from Sam Boarer on 19 May 2014
Dear Guest, Thank you for staying with us at the Discover Rwanda Youth Hostel and for your rating. As we constantly strive to improve our services, it is good to know how you feel about Discover Rwanda Youth Hostel. If you are back in Kigali anytime - please come to visit! We hope to see you again in the future! Sam Discover Rwanda Youth Hostel Management

8/10 Good

Siska, Belgium

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
nice place with lots of young travelers
We only stayed one night in the hostel but could really recommand it to young people (backpackers) who are social. The staff was kind and breakfast was also fine.
Response from Sam Boarer on 18 May 2014
Dear Siska, Thank you for staying with us at the Discover Rwanda Youth Hostel and for your rating and feedback. As we constantly strive to improve our services, it is good to know how you feel about Discover Rwanda Youth Hostel. If you are back in Kigali anytime - please come to visit! We hope to see you again in the future! Sam Discover Rwanda Youth Hostel Management

6/10 Okay

Jonas

Disliked: Room comfort
Response from Sam Boarer on 19 May 2014
Dear Jonas, Thank you for staying with us at the Discover Rwanda Youth Hostel and for your rating. As we constantly strive to improve our services, it is good to know how you feel about Discover Rwanda Youth Hostel. If you are back in Kigali anytime - please come to visit! We hope to see you again in the future! Sam Discover Rwanda Youth Hostel Management

2/10 Terrible

ike, brooklyn ny

Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Avoid at all costs.
Through Expedia, I booked and paid for two rooms, nine nights, but when I arrived, the hostel had only one room for one night in their booking system. There was no other vacancy, so I had to find another hotel and am still trying to get a refund from Expedia, which so far has not been a quick and easy process. The hostel blamed Expedia for the problem, and I have no idea what happened. Their reservation system looked really old, like 1980s database software. I ate dinner at the hostel because I had arrived late. I also had a chance to see a room. The facilities are not very clean, and the hostel is loud. It's full of young Western travelers, which is fine if you are seeking something like this. I stayed at the Beausejour on the Airport Road in Remera instead, and it was so much nicer for not that much more. ($80/night for a clean, quiet, spacious single with private bath vs. $50/night at Discover Rwanda for a dirty small room with dirty shared bathroom). In the past I have stayed at Chez Lando, which is also much better than the hostel. Anyway, none of this matters if they cannot even reserve a room properly. You might purchase a room through Expedia, but there is no guarantee that the room is really available. The hostel told me this happens often, and in the past, they usually have other rooms available so it works out. I don't think that's good enough.