Relais du Kirindy

Stayed one night. I had seen multiple negative reviews, and indeed the place deserves them. It's not the expected limitations due to the remote location, but the lack of any effort to make the place slightly more comfortable. I arrived in mid-afternoon and was hoping to recharge my camera and phone before going on the evening game walk. Instead, I found out the electricity would not be turned on until 18:00. This is way too late, because the sun sets before then and the room was pitch dark. There was no flashlight or battery operated lamp in the room. When I asked, I was told that guests need to use their own phones. This is really petty and disrespectful, considering the limited opportunities to recharge electronics. The hours electricity is available are not posted, and the staff is not forthcoming. Even after I inquired, they failed to disclose that in the morning it is turned on only between 05:00 and 07:00. At 07:00 I was still packing my stuff when the room plunged into darkness, and I had to waste precious phone charge to gather my things. Rooms are huts, which are very basic and gloomy. Even with the lights on, the room and bathroom are very dimly lit, and not all lights work. The room had a fan, which obviously worked only when the electricity was on. Cleanliness was questionable. Reasonably comfortable beds, but the (quite dirty) mosquito nets didn’t match the openings. Very low water pressure and barely lukewarm water. No wifi in the room (and no phone reception). I requested a breakfast box for 07:00, but at 07:15 it wasn't ready yet.

The options of staying near Kirindy forest are limited. My wife flatly refused to stay at Kirindy eco lodge despite me trying to convince her by saying that gave us the best chance of seeing a fossa. To be honest after seeing the condition of the Kirindy Eco lodge I was secretly thanking her. That leaves Akiba Lodge and Relais du Kirindy. Akiba lodge is just off the main road and inside the forest. They have a small private reserve. Definitely worth visiting. RDK is not inside the forest and it takes about 20-30 minutes to reach Kirindy hiking point. They had planted quite a few trees and the lodge area looks much greener now than when it opened. It is a sprawling lodge and it was surprisingly busy with several tour groups when we were there. The very first thing to say is that it is really really hot , even in May. You should not go out in the midday. So here comes the problem of electricity. Unfortunately the electricity is switched off around 7 am and does not come in the room till late in the evening. Check the electricity timings carefully with the staff. Battery charging etc must be done well in advance and carry your power bank and if possible a solar charger. There is so much sun here that with good solar panel whole resort can be supplied 24/7. Wifi is never an issue for me and it was definitely available in the restaurant. I also had Telma SIM card and had good reception. The pedestal fan was very effective the whole night to keep us cool and I slept well. Water pressure is weak. It was hot enough for me. In fact I had a cold shower. The room has two beds and the mossie nets are not very effective but surprisingly there were no mossies in the night. The room unfortunately is dark and gloomy and the bathroom /toilet are even darker. Even in the middle of the day. Cleanliness is not too bad. Storage area is limited. I put my suitcases on the bed. We had cottage 20 , close to the reception. It had a nice little veranda. Not very private though. Lots of people walking around and the next cabin is pretty close. The food is acceptable and is not going to win any prize. The veg fried rice lacked spice. The breakfast is adequate. The baobab ice cream was superb. The drinks were not that cold and i told them to chill my bottle of beer 30 minutes in advance. The staff were all very nice and friendly. The pool was out of action. Overall, considering its location I think it is an acceptable stay. BTW we did see the fossa at the Krindy eco lodge without staying there !

Beautiful resort in the middle of the forest, ~15 minutes from the national park de Kirindy. Bungalows are huge, clean and well spaced. The communal area is well maintained with a good pool and tasty restaurant. As per the rest of Madagascar, there is electricity cut during the day, but not impacting since by that time we were at the visit of the park. Perfect stop to visit the national park and as a break in the trip between tana and tsingy.

Our 2 night stay here was to visit the Kirindy Forest Reserve. This hotel was perfectly positioned for this. The bungalows are comfortable and spacious. The staff were friendly, humerous and helpful. The food at the restaurant was great. This resort is often mixed up with the other resort Kirindy Lodge which is located within Kirindy Forest Reserve. So to clear this up Relaise du Kirindy is a grwat place to stay.

This hotel we called the "so call " hotel. it looks so promising- looks beautiful, the restaurant area, with the pool beside, the welcoming to the hotel, but it has too many deficiencies - the door to the room doesn't close well, no nets in the shower windows, which you cannot close even- very cold at night. the shower is a bucket one- they bring you to the room a bucket full with hot water- excellent shower, if only it wasn't so cold from the windows you cannot close. the restaurant was disappointing, and the breakfast, was one of our least favorite from the 3 weeks trip. but there are also not many options near the Kirindy park. so it is what it is...

Thankfully, we only spend one night here. The room was basic with just 4 cramped beds side by side, the dinner was cold and expensive and the breakfast was quite minimal compared to the price and other places we visited while in Madagascar. They had a pool which seemed like a great idea when we first booked it but it was quite dirty so the kids didn’t want to go in anyway. Wi-fi was almost nonexistent but this is the case in most places around Madagascar so we can’t really hold that against them. This place was probably nice when it was first build but it looks like no one maintained it since then. Since there are only two solid options in this area you really don’t have a choice anyway so unfortunately, they can get by with what they offer and still run a good business.