Mbeliling Mountain Ecolodge

Very nice stay, staff is so helpful and friendly! Beautiful scenery, going to sleep hearing the forest being so alive! Waking up to birdsongs and butterflies! Food at the restaurant was very good! Wish we could stay for a longer time! Looking forward to come back:)

Each individual or group has their own roomy cottage with a deck and great view. The grounds are beautiful and we heard and saw numerous birds. There were two different types of owls calling at night and a Munia building a nest right outside the dining area. The staff was very kind and worked really hard to make our trip as enjoyable as possible. They served us vegetarian food at our request, and it was excellent. As the name implies, the lodge is in the mountains and some of the paths, including the ones to the cottages, are steep. If you or someone in your party has difficulty with steep steps, you may want to contact the staff in advance of visiting to make appropriate accommodations.

This ecolodge is exquisite! The location is built on the side of a mountain surrounded by rain forest. Birds are plentiful, and we even had a family of long tail macaques (monkeys) visit the trees alongside the path to the rooms. There is a nature trail around the property where you can go birding. The employees are so warm and hospitable. They customize everything for your needs. For example, I had a few extra hours before I had to leave for the airport on my last day, and Aldi arranged for a short hike to see waterfalls. I did not ask, he just offered. The rooms are very large with a view of the sunset every night from the balcony, hot shower, and a sitting bed to watch the tree tops and sunset from inside the room as well. The food was exemplary! Seriously, the chef needs to open a restaurant in the US. All fresh ingredients, with flavorful spices and generous portions. Great location to visit Rica Island and see Komodo Dragons and snorking.

We spent 4 nights at Mbeliling Ecolodge and generally enjoyed our time while exploring the island. After traveling all day, we arrived at dark, very tired and in a torrential down pour. Luckily, we were greeted by the lodge manager, Aldi, who assisted us to our rooms. We are in our mid 70's, pretty fit and active, but were still surprised at the very steep and deep, slippery (and somewhat dangerous) stairs we had to negotiate to get to our rooms. The rain created a 2-3 inch deep stream coming fast down the stairs, soaking our hiking shoes and pants. We did inquire about being driven up to our room on the service room that brings up luggage, but we were told no. This torrential rain, of course, was a part of nature, and after this rough start, our time here improved. The A-frame cabin was simple, clean, and comfortable. Drinking water was provided daily, which eliminated plastic bottle use. The restaurant and deck were comfortable with beautiful views. The grounds were maintained and landscaped with lovely flowers and plants. The meals were delicious and made with fresh and local ingredients. All of the staff were very friendly, kind and helpful. And a big shout out to Aldi, the new manager and the highly experienced and courteous driver Edy. Aldi helped us in so many ways, and we greatly appreciated his assistance and enjoyed interacting with him. It rained for most of 2 days, but we still managed to get out as much as possible. We visited Edy's village, went to a home of a weaver, and walked around the area. On another day, we hiked to the waterfalls. On our last day, we went to Komodo NP for a day tour. We are glad we were able to visit this island, explore its natural beauty, and meet the lovely folks living here.

We had a lovely room up on the hill, the staff helped with our bags. Interesting bird sounds but it was hard to see the birds. Beautiful view from the room. The gecko was happy to give us a chorus every so often during the night. The Mbeliling driver accompanied us on the walk to the waterfall and even had bird calls on his phone to encourage the birds. The whole 4 day programme was organised by the staff and was a perfect end to our three-week vacation.

Beautiful property. Sad that it didn’t seem to have much business, which in turn meant the rooms did have insects (which is natural without much footfall). They really do need to figure out the steep hill to the rooms - they were slippery and dangerous when wet. Rooms don’t have ac, which is fine, but they definitely need fans (which they didn’t have). The staff were lovely and the food was fabulous. Really want to love it but we struggled a bit!