Chez Lando Hotel is one of three places where classical music maestro Tony Remedios plays in Kigali, and that should be a pointer to what sort of place it is. The other places where Remedios performs his blues and soul and country music renditions are the Kigali Serena and Chez Robert in Kiyovu. But there are other things going for them. The first is the location, right in the heart of Remera’s Central Business District. It is about seven minutes drive from the Kanombe Airport. For such a centrally located business, Chez Lando boasts perhaps the most ample premises among hospitality providers around Remera. They have 82 rooms and counting, while their main parking space accommodates about fifty cars. The rooms come in the form of Bungalows, which go for $100, and the standard rooms ($80). There is a cottage and garden-like feel about them as they are set among flower gardens. The in-house guest section has a separate parking space that can accommodate about 20 cars. There is a mini children’s play area adjoining the main terrace bar. This terrace bar is where almost all the action unfolds, with its dense concentration of lap-top wielding mzungus out to tap free wireless internet as they enjoy the best of gourmet Rwandan coffee. It is abuzz with mzungu tourists just jetted in, and the odd expatriate/volunteer in Kigali. From the huge parking lot looking in, the place bears a mission-like aspect about it, with its red brick walls and well-worn roof tiles. Beyond this terrace are the kitchens, barricaded behind towering walls such that one has no clue what goes on inside, save for the occasional rumble of kitchen ware. All one sees are wait staff dart in and out of the door with food. That is one good thing about Chez Lando’s waitresses. They actually walk, not simply drag their feet. They do local, French and Spanish food, although word on the grapevine has it that their Spanish chef is packing his bags back to Spain soon. We decided to try the whole fish, at Rwf9,000, and it was just the right quantity for two, considering that we supplemented it with chips. The beef and goat kebabs (Rwf1,500 each) are some of the best to be found in Kigali. However, local food remains the most popular attraction, and come Sunday mid-mornings, and the after-church crowds throng the restaurant for Sunday brunch.
