RELAIS DU KIRINDY

Perth and Kinross

We ended up staying an extra night at Relais due to a local emergency and the staff could not have been more accommodating. Despite not arriving until 930pm they kept the kitchen open to feed us and were very welcoming. There is a nice laid back vibe at Relais and the grounds are beautifully presented. The swimming pool is also a welcome relief from the unbelievable heat.The bungalow style rooms are very spacious and there is a nice outdoor terrace to relax on. Unfortunately my wife was ill during our stay there but the staff were concerned and frequently checked to make sure she was ok. They are a great representation of their country and do their utmost to make guests feel welcome. We would definitely stay here again.

Cambridgeshire

My reviews for Madagascar are rated as against other accomodation in Madagascar and not Western ratings.I enjoyed my stay here but as a destination with no fossa sightings and few lemurs I am not sure I would go out of my away except it is en route from Tsingay to Morondava. Our welcome was lovely with juice and flannels. All staff were charming and friendly throughout. The room was a decent size in what I now recognise as fairly typical style . The bungalows are a decent distance apart and there are wooden statues throughout the grounds. I am not sure about the 'over the water' description as there seemed to be no water but, with the bugs, I am glad we weren't over water.Electricity is limited and not on all the time which meant getting the fans to work and charging items was difficult but this is in the middle of nowhere and we need to shed our privileges. WiFi did work in dining area. Shower was adequate. There are a lot of bugs and fortunately I had my own mosi coils. The windows of the rooms are screened which helps but there were a lot of holes in the roof and walls which were, therefore, counter productive. It was a comfortable sleep. Sunset was nice. There is a play area for children and the pool looked inviting.Food was OK. The usual couple of choices. Payment was accepted by card including mastercard. The only hotel where this could be done in a month's travelling.

Antananarivo

I’ve a 2 nights stay at Relais du Kirindy. A lovely place to stay after visiting l’allée de Baobab and to discover the Kirindy forest or on the way to Tsingy de bemaraha.The bungalow is clean and confortable. The manager (host) is too nice, helpful and friendly.The food is good and you can walk around the hotel for a great sunset.Highly recommended during your trip around Morondava.

Port Elizabeth

This a another typical 3 star accommodation typical of the type of accommodation to be expected in such a remote part of the country.The WiFi is however non-existent and to be fair to the other remote hotels this was the only hotel where I could NOT ONCE connect to their WiFi, despite several attempts in the 15 hours I was there.The room was comfortable enough, but there was hardly any water pressure from the shower, and I literally had to use the hand-held shower to get more than a trickle of water over my body. Hot water is also only available in the afternoon due to their solar power system.The generators are switched off at 10 pm. We, however, did have a lovely dinner at their restaurant, with large Cameron prawns in a curry sauce being the highlight!Not a very long stay here, since we were whisked away for a nocturnal walk, a mere 15 minutes after arriving here at 16:45.

London

This is one of those 'three stars, and that IS a recommendation' reviews. Overall we had a good stay, and it's likely one of the best choices in the area. The bedroom-huts are delightful, the walls made of woven rattan, with shutters and fly-screens on the windows to keep out the sun/bugs. I was surprised to find the temperature completely fine in the room with the fan on - and I say that as your typical Scottish person who melts above 20C! But definitely this is a hard location to be in if you become unwell, as I unfortunately did (though I can't say for sure why). Particularly tricky is the lack of running water most of the time. The rooms are also quite dark and the electricity goes off at night. In normal circumstances you can say that's part of the experience, but unfortunately it does make things tricky if experiencing stomach issues - something us fragile tourists can be quite susceptible to in Madagascar! However, the reception, restaurant, garden and pool areas are lovely, and the staff are very kind and helpful. We did get some music from the village next door at night, from an all night circumcision party, but that made us feel in amongst it! Though maybe take some ear plugs if you're noise-sensitive. So overall I'd recommend to anyone of reasonable health/resilience. Again: three stars IS a recommendation!

Antananarivo Province

Well! Kirindy forest is the reserve to see the fosa. They have only a dormitory and some bungalows. That makes the Relais de Kirindy a good option if you need a better accommodation. It is not recommended to arrange the midnight-walk to see the jumping rats if you stay there!

Very remote place next to the Kirindy village and very close to the Kirindy Private Reserve.The bungalow was very cute and simple. Even though there was a net around the bed there was a never ending struggle with the bugs. I was not the only person from my group of nine who struggled with having an overwhelming amount of bugs in their bungalows(make sure you leave the lights off).The bungalows do not have electricity 24 hours. They do have solar but the fan would still shut off in the middle of the night. The lighting was so dim that I had to use a flashlight to see. For the shower, there was only water pressure when it was on cold. The pool and dining area was nice. The pool was clean but warm. The dining area is the only place with 24 hour electricity. The food was fantastic. Great portion sizes and great menu. Amazing desserts but they would always run out of one dessert before our group picked what type of dessert they wanted. Which was our only complaint food wise. The employees were always very kind. Biggest room recommendation to management is to provide enough electricity for the fan to run all night.

Santa Fe

This is the unique place where you can have a pool after the very hot visit inside the beautiful park of Kirindy. A bit noisy when you get room by road side and behind the village but you can as for another better located room

London

Lovely location by a remote village and was such a welcome sight after a long drive. The hotel has a main restaurant area with a wonderful and very clean pool and the rooms are large bungalows on stilts – full of atmosphere, quiet and comfortable however it is very dark at night and you will need a torch to get to and from the dining area. Whilst it is probably unusual, we did see a snake (apparently all non-venomous in Madagascar) so a torch would help!Staff were very welcoming and the food was great although patchy Wifi and no gin (!) were the only downsides!

Shiraz

after a half day tour to Kirindy Forest we went there to relax and to have our Lunch. the service of the restaurant was with stars since it was good and the staff are well trained. the food was nice and looked nice either.

Limassol City

The place is really nice and rustique. Don't expect modern, western life luxuries, and instead embrace the simplicity and beauty of the place. As you will correctly read in other reviews, don't expect 24h electricity and wifi. Instead, shut down all your apps and enjoy the sunset at the terrace with an amazing backdrop of baobabs. We had no trouble with the temperature. It was quite cooler during the night.Unfortunately, we were in a hurry to go for our night walk in the Kirindy reserve, so we did not get the chance to really slow down and enjoy the sunset at the lodge. I wish we had one more day to enjoy both this and the Kirindy forest which was also VERY rewarding and easy to walk through.If we had more time and more prepared with school material and gifts we would have visited the kids that live in the village right next door. I would have enjoyed a walk in the village.Recommendation to mgmt: breakfast needs to be improved

Fordingbridge

A one night stay here before visiting the Kirindy Forest Reserve and travelling onto Bekopaka, this was a wonderful, quiet and peaceful haven to overnight in. Our cabin was spacious and comfortable and the communal eating area by the pool was very pleasant. The staff were friendly and the food very good, even though a little more expensive than most places we stayed in Madagascar - but at 30,000 MGA (less than £7) for a main course, there are no complaints.

Kamloops

We loved this special oasis after the drive from Morondava. Although we only stayed 1 night we enjoyed the casual atmosphere .. The staff were very friendly and made us feel special bringing coffee to our bungalow. The room was clean and comfortable. The wifi was only in the restaurant but this reminded us to enjoy being off the grid... It's Madagascar... Enjoy the moments!

Long Island

If you are planning to visit the Kirindy Forest, a beautiful dry forest a couple of hours north of Morondava, worth a visit both in the day and night, definitely stay at this property. The bungalows, perhaps a step above basic, were a good size and quite adequate. Food was very good, and staff extremely welcoming and helpful. Note that the property runs on a combination of solar and generator power, so hours of use may be limited, as they were during our stay.

Harpenden

We spent a couple of nights in one of their spacious bungalows with its authentic, thatched roof and pleasant terrace for sitting out. The comfortable bed was protected by a mosquito net which was necessary here. Rooms situated closer to the neighbouring village can prove noisy at night. The restaurant was partially undercover with the option for al fresco dining overlooking the nice swimming pool. The food was freshly prepared and fine and was served by lovely staff.The hotel provides easy access to the nearby reserve enabling early morning viewing of the lemurs and other game.