Romalo: Tucked away in Kimihurura

We had been told that Romalo Guest House is to be found down the cobbled stone road past Lemigo Hotel’s lower entrance. Though that proved to be true, it is quite a distance before you eventually arrive at its gates. We counted about four of the guest house’s blue signposts before we could make the final turn. Goes without saying, therefore, that it is an almost no-go area for those, like me, without private means of transport. But who says that being slightly off-road is bad for this line of business? Romalo is what you will call a mid-low range guest facility nested in the more residential-oriented part of Kimihurura. Its core services are the guest facility, a 100-seater conference facility, and the outside catering unit. Otherwise, there is a little more to the place, away from the accommodation and catering. It is an a la carte of different things coming together – it almost perfectly suits the description of a Bed & Breakfast, Boarding house, garden, leisure centre, guest house, hotel, club, park, pub, or restaurant.In a nutshell, Romalo Guest House is large, clean, tiled, and ever ready for you, with king size beds in its 10 rooms. Standing at the entrance and looking in, to your right is the elegant and imposing single storey structure, while to your left is a section of the extensive gardens, well planted with trees and sprinkled with comfortable garden furniture. At the foot of the gate, where one usually sees the gateman’s shade, is the mini garden bar, which we would easily have missed had it not been well labeled “BAR”. Walking into the building, one is ushered into the reception area, which also doubles as a lounge, at a far corner of which is a dining table that seats about 10, that is suitable for small meetings. A look around the walls reveals an interesting mix of wood carvings and oil paintings from around Rwanda. However, there are two portraits that will immediately grab your attention once in the reception area, and they are portraits of President Paul Kagame; not the stately ones you find in other public places like banks and offices, but pictures of him in full military combat, in a real setting.