We were welcomed by the sight of big, bright green potted plants in the Infinity Hotel outside terrace that on close scrutiny turned out to be plastic.

We checked in on a Wednesday evening to a rather full house – a group of delegates to the just-concluded AfDB annual meetings in Kigali had been booked here, and obviously, security was tight.

The overall feeling was that the delegates had a good dinner –that is if heavy tipping of the chef can be regarded a sign of customer satisfaction anyway. Chef Emmy Mukasa, all the way from Uganda must have laughed all the way to the bank that night if the number of tips he received are anything to go by. 

Emmy is in charge not only of the hotel’s Rwandan, East African and Continental menu, he also oversees the hotel’s young kitchen staff. Our only wish is that one day his kitchen can get relocated to a place that is more accessible to diners, seeing as his kitchen is rather hidden away.

All the same, it was nice seeing a chef at a hotel that is rather off the city’s radar –Kimironko, past the prison facility to be exact, get  nods of acknowledgement from the high and mighty.  

I settled for a plate of goat brochette (two sticks that I must add had little meat on them), and chips, at Rwf 3,000, quite understandable for the 3-Star town hotel that Infinity is. The chips and brochette arrived piping hot like I wanted, almost too hot, which I took as a plus. The only downside to it is that I had to wait more than 30 minutes for the order to arrive, and even then, at the intervention of the manager.

Being that they hosted delegates for a week, it was important to check their rooms out. They have 34 rooms in total, spread over the hotel’s three floors, and ranging in category from the single standard, double, queen double, and king double suites.

The king and queen double rooms are the real deal, as their plus-size leather beds come fitted with a surround sound system that is powerful enough to host a full-blown room party.

Should you wish to catch a drink, the Executive Lounge and Bar just past the reception is a good stop. The bar is fitted with disco lights and has a mini-dancing arena and VIP seating section, and tends to get heated up over the weekends.

Their music format tends to lean towards contemporary East African and Congolese tunes, which should attest to their clientele.