Kumbali Country Lodge

We stayed here three times during August, using it as our home base for travelling in Malawi and Zambia. It's a luxurious lodge, with wonderful spaces. The food is excellent and the rooms spacious and well equipped. There are unusual features to visit on site; the Farmer's Daughter restaurant is just a few minutes walk away for an outing; and it's close enough to Lilongwe to head off (by car) into the city. And the city is vibrant, colourful and alive (the old part). The new capital part contains government buildings and memorials that are well worth visiting for the history of the country.

I stayed at Kumbali at the end of my trip and found it a delightful place to unwind after long road trips, and varied accommodation. It's a green oasis, with beautiful grounds. Rooms are large and well equipped with spacious terraces overlooking the gardens. There are many lovely birds to be seen, and the management plan to bring in a range of animals such as antelope later this year. Food at Kumbali is excellent, and staff are pleasant and helpful.

I stayed two nights at the Kumbali country lodge while waiting for family to arrive in Malawi. The location is excellent with a very peaceful and relaxing environment. Lots of small wildlife available for viewing. Excellent bar and restaurant. I enjoyed sitting at the bar and talking with Hamson. All of the staff were great.

I can’t say enough about this superb hotel. Located out of town in a completely tranquil location, providing a perfect night’s sleep. Food in the restaurant was consistently delicious over our four night stay, with local produce from the farm presented inventively., and a fully stocked bar! But the real asset is the staff - all of whom could not do enough for us. Thank you so much.

If you are reading this review, from my extensive experience, this is by far the best place to stay in Lilongwe. If you are coming to Lilongwe, you need to stay here. The best kitchen in all of Lilongwe and probably in all of Malawi is 5 minutes walk from Kumbali -- "The Farmers Daughter" The food was exceptional - everything about the place is beautiful, very modern and comfortable. If you stay at Kumbali, make sure you go to this cafe style of restaurant right next door to the Lodge. "The Farmers Daughter." It is AWESOME. Kumbali lodge is very special and comfortable -- all the employees who work here are great. Especially the team working in the cafe/restaurant - christopher, Hamson, Mike, Dorothy, Hasan, Elizabeth... and the manager Geraldine is awesome. I hope i have not left any one out. Brilliant team who have their hearts completely in their jobs. The kitchen team - excellent. Do not waste time reading any of the negative comments that have been left (my experience was near perfection, you are coming to Africa - you can't expect it to be like Paris, and it seems many of the negative comments are issues related to just being in Africa, not the resort or the staff) I stayed here for 24 days -- and the team went out of their way to ensure my stay was perfect. I highly highly recommend the Kumbali Lodge. Ideally, I will see them again in 2 weeks.

Let's start with the positive: staff was friendly and rooms were spacious and clean. However the lodge is in need of some TLC. The pool was dirty, my mom stayed inside for the duration of our stay because the 3 quite big dogs of the owner were wandering around and she is terrified (they are actually quite friendly, although one was nipping at our ankles) and the food was so-so.