Olympe du Bemaraha

We were given a bungalow (no 18) at the very bottom of the steps, so it was a trek up and downhill to go to the pool, bar or restaurant. That said it was clean and comfortable with a nice view from the verandah. However the shutters did not fasten properly and kept bangin in the wind. The pool area was nice situated right next to the bar/restaurant, but did get busy in the afternoon. Staff were friendly and several spoke reasonable English so we didn't have any communication problems. The choice from the bar needs attention, no gin - orange - lemonade etc - they were offering what we would describe as old fashioned spirits which we all drank in the late 70's such as Cinzano! Despite the cocktail list they couldn't prepare them as they didn't have the ingredients!. When I asked the manager if he had gin his response was "what is gin", yet he said he'd spent a fair bit of time in Europe!! Food was acceptable, bit of an issue with managing to get a table to eat outside as big groups just filling them but not eating. Couldn't get online for the 3 days we were there, despite them displaying 3 router passwords in the bar area which was the only place you could supposedly get it. No electric in the day or after 10.00pm. Situated out of town, you need a driver.

Staff was lovely but facilities are poor. The room had a bad smell, there were no bath towels, only two floor towels, there was one tiny bar of soap, no bedside lamps, and the room was just overall a bit sad. I wouldn't have minded if the price was in line with the facilities. It was quite high for what you get and breakfast wasn't even included. I have stayed in every kind of accommodation all over the world and have rarely been this disappointed. I was hoping that the food would make up for it but it was subpar as well.

Nothing was amiss with Olympe du Bemaraha: rooms were fine, clean, bathroom was OK, too. Restaurant was also OK, nothing special, but food was very adequate. Very useful was presence of two craft shops: after the flight from Antananarivo to Morandava where Tsaradia airlines managed to leave behind the luggage of half of the passengers and we arrived with what we had in our scanty hand luggage, it was a relief to be able to buy at least a teashirt. Hotel garden is really nice.

We stayed two nights in Olympe Du Bemaraha hotel in July. The hotel is mid-range in Madagascar standard, we arrived late and learned we got the last room in the hotel, but the toilet does not work. We had to  change to another room and therefore went for dinner really late. I felt already bad 3h later around midnight and had a really stomach problem the entire night, as I was the only one who ate the duck at the dinner, we concluded it must be the duck. Next day, I did not eat but only drank water or other beverages. My husband was the next one got sick from the dinner, this time, most likely the zebu. On the way leaving the hotel, we met other families, whose 3 kids were also sick from the dinner. We asked our guide, it was most likely due to COVID, that many experienced people working there left, and we can see that current crew was not experienced and are facing challenges when the hotel is full.

After reading reviews of this hotel, I was very nervous booking it. But, due to the covid situation, it was the only hotel I could find which is open (turns out there was one other, but most are closed for the season). I booked via direct email with the hotel. I took a leap of faith- and was pleasantly surprised. Upon arrival, they had the rooms ready for us, along with some juice, which was really sweet. It's currently very empty- we were one of two or three groups staying there during our three-night stay. We received rooms towards the top of the hill, and all three were together. We had reserved a family room, which, from pictures, was a double bed and a bunk bed in a slightly separate area. However, it turned out to be 4 twin beds crammed together. Nevertheless, we spent most of the time at the lodge so it didn't really matter. The bungalows are sweet little cabins with porches with cozy chairs outside. There were mosquito nets on all beds and the bathroom was a good size. Very quaint and a cool vibe. They don't have electricity during the day, and there were occasionally power outages in the early mornings. Bring a flashlight in case and charge up at night. Water varied between cold and hot- it's run by solar, so if you can shower around 4 pm, you'll be golden. All that said, for their rural location, it was very comfortable. The food was good and the menu changed every day. They always had a vegetarian option. However, the food was very expensive for Malagasy pricing. 35000 Ar for a packed lunch, with dinner around 30000 Ar & breakfast at 25000 Ar. But, the rooms are a reasonable price. I don't know if the manager who so many people mentioned having negative experiences with is gone for the year due to covid, gone for good, or we just never met him. We only interacted with Malagasy staff, but their English was very good and they were incredibly sweet and helpful. Wifi in the lodge is pretty good- though it did cut here and there. Pool was fun and clean-though very cold haha. Overall, we were very happy with our stay and felt very safe and well taken care of. We loved the rustic charm.

Albergo scorretto, servizio pessimo. Abbiamo prenotato li, abbiamo già pagato la caparra per una camera comfort, sorpresa al arrivo . Ci hanno fatto una camera sporca, senza acqua ... Era dopo avere chiamato il responsabile a Morondava che ci hanno spostato alla camera prenotata. Ne parlando con altri viaggiatori, ci sono alcuni che hanno fatto la stessa cosa .