Beck L.
Google
My friend and I, both international visitors, stayed at Laini Home for the final two nights of our trip to Rwanda. Super lovely, friendly staff welcomed us upon arrival and showed us around the absolutely stunning property in what appeared to be a wonderfully vibrant neighborhood in Kigali.
The home itself had wonderful wooden finishes, and fun ornamental decorations everywhere … and the smell of lemongrass as we entered was just wonderful! Excellent location too, with plenty of cafés and restaurants within easy walking distance.
We loved having two bathrooms, though it is only the ensuite to the main bedroom that has a shower, which unfortunately didn’t work very well for us: we were individual travelers (not a couple) and I had to kept traipsing through the main bedroom (where my friend was staying) to use the bathroom. Unfortunately, we also couldn’t get any hot water in the second bathroom or kitchen, though there was plenty (in fact too much!) in the shower (en-suite).
Despite the beauty and coziness of the home, there were definitely a few other design issues of note. For example, the stairs up to the second bedroom are very steep and narrow, which may not suit those with mobility issues. Note also that the upstairs loft is just a large mattress on the floor, so if you have issues getting up and down off the floor, this might not be a good option for sleeping. There is also no privacy, as the loft overlooks directly into the main bedroom. There was also no air circulation, fan or air conditioning in the top loft room, which made it quite stuffy.
We also found the power outlets — although there were many! — to be located in inconvenient places, which made it challenging to be charging devices and be on them at the same time.
It would have also been great if we were provided two sets of keys, as it didn’t work for individual travelers like us, who were going out / staying on property at different times: either somebody gets locked in or somebody gets locked out.
We also found there were quite a few loud noises at night — there’s a bar/club nearby and the main road just down the hill — it was quite noisy all night long……
Despite these few concerns, we did enjoy our stay — the space in general is open, bright and welcoming and the beds were comfortable :)
