KGL (Korea Garden Lodge)

I had a working lunch at KgL and had my car washed while I was eating, as well as picking up a few items from Christopher for my incoming trips. Lunch was superb spring rolls with yummy Guchujang to start, then vegetarian noodles that took home and added roasted nuts to. Yum yum!

Our room was fine, clean and with hot water. Reception stuff was very kind and helpful. Breakfast was fine. The garden, pool, and bar area are really very nice to hang out. The neighbourhood is not bad, plus it's a walking distance from shops, some restaurants and other services (ie. money exchange, mobile operators, banks). I could come here again.

The rooms are clean, they have authentic Korean food, the people are so nice and the facilities are great. Overall great! It’s also very close to the golf club and shopping malls.

I've stayed at this lodge many times over the years, both with my late wife and now my daughter. It's the best place to stay in Lilongwe in my opinion. Different grades of rooms make it suitable for the budget traveller up to the top end executives and conference attendees. My favourite is the Silver category- of which there are 4 - that provide a simple en-suite room with a fan. Having booked Silver rooms in the past, Gold or Exec. Rooms are substituted without argument on occasions. I've stayed in the Bronze, Silver and Gold rooms and all are good value for the prices. I like the Korean flavour about the place and some Korean food on the restaurant menu. A good buffet breakfast is provided. There is a bar and lounge and a big Satellite TV screen where one can watch the football or overseas news. There is also a small swimming pool and a pleasant seating area around it. The Lodge is very safe and secure and the gate keeper ensures this. It's also not far to walk to the old town with it's supermarkets and shops.||There is now excellent WiFi provisions in all the main areas of the Lodge and one can make card payments without any hassle. The new Manager (Elias) and staff are friendly and helpful and have a good understanding of English.

We arrived after an airport mishap where our friend didn't show to pick us up. Late night booking, did not eat dinner, only breakfast. The compound is secure and generally has one vendor in it selling artwork. Clean, a bit under lit, has the basic amenities - toilet, shower, bed. A bit tight space wise but the compound made up for that with a large lounge, large restaurant, and plenty of seating areas in the hallways or in the gardens. Breakfast had many options and staff were willing to cook with a small cooking station. We ate well. We didn't try the pool, but it was well maintained with change rooms and areas to lounge in. There is no real view other than their own gardens, which are quite nice. The TV was a small CRT on a shelf, but the lounge had 4 of them, I think, they weren't my priority. Price was high, would have expected a more luxury stay and instead found it a bit above average.

Had no idea what to expect when I was told I would be staying at this lodge. What a wonderful place to spend my 3 weeks. In Area 3 with easy access to the town centre and markets and with the golf club a 10 min walk away - this lodge is an oasis in the middle of the city. ||Breakfast comes free with the VIP3 room that I stayed in which was like a mini apartment with my own kitchenette for me to have my own tea and light food if I preferred. The poolside was my favourite place after a long day and I have to say the staff was the best part as they were always willing to chat and make you feel comfortable. The food was always spot on and tasty and I swam off a few lbs in the pool long enough for a few laps. ||Piece de resistance was the craft vendor who greeted me every morning and evening from whom I bought the majority of my souvenirs. I would stay there again.

The location in area three of Lilongwe is great as it's walkable distance to some restaurants, shopping and public transit (mini-bus). The staff was very courteous and responsive, and the service in the restaurant was nice. The pool area and bar are clean and comfortable. The complimentary breakfast was excellent with a lot of variety of food options, served from 6:30 - 9:30 a.m. The weakest link and this is much of Malawi as far as I can tell, is slow to non-existent internet service. Also, laundry is very expensive. If you are into running, this is a fantastic location with lots of fairly traffic-free roads and scenic views. Also the on-site cats are friendly :-)

We stayed here in the ‘bronze room’ for 1 night. One night too many... ||||THE ROOM||The room was very small and dark. It reminded us a bit of the ‘chokey’ of Matilda. There were holes in the ceiling and door and a stain in the shape of a handprint on the wall. One pillow was like a stone. However, the beddings were clean and the bednets didn’t have holes. ||||STAFF||When we arrived, the woman at the reception was not particularly friendly or helpful. She didn’t want to walk us to the room. The waiters seemed in a hurry even though there were not many people in the restaurant. ||||SCENERY AND FACILITIES||The scenery was nice with a lot of trees and green. The swimming pool was big and clean. The reception is open 24/7.||||FOOD||The Korean food was very disappointing: completely tasteless and unflavoured. The pizza we’ve had was fine. The quality of the food did not match the pice at all. The included breakfast was okay. ||||We came back two weeks later and stayed in the silver room. This was much better with a private bathroom and more space.||||So if you don’t stay in the bronze room nor eat the Korean food, you’ll be fine.