Hemingways Retreat Kigali is widely regarded as the city’s leading boutique hotel, a 20-room property of stone, teak and handcrafted Rwandan design set on a quiet street in the leafy Kiyovu neighbourhood, a short drive from the airport and the city’s markets, galleries and memorials.
The hotel was built by Josh and Alissa Ruxin, the American couple who moved to Rwanda in 2006 and opened Heaven Restaurant in 2008 as a hospitality training venue. They opened the property, then known as The Retreat, in 2018, bringing Kigali its first eco-conscious five-star boutique hotel. In 2025 the Hemingways Collection, a family-owned East African group with more than forty years in Kenya, acquired the business and rebranded it Hemingways Retreat Kigali, pledging to continue the Ruxins’ community work.
The result is a calm, contemporary base that suits travellers at either end of a Rwandan journey. Designed by Italian architects and finished by Rwandan artisans, the hotel pairs peaked ceilings and locally crafted teak furniture with private patios and gardens, so each of its rooms and suites feels generous and individual rather than uniform.
Stone, teak and Rwandan craft, twenty rooms and the quiet to actually use them.
That balance of comfort and character makes Hemingways Retreat a natural choice for a couple of nights in the capital, whether you are easing off a long-haul flight before a gorilla trek or unwinding once you return from the parks.
The hotel holds twenty rooms and suites across three categories, rising from Deluxe King Rooms to Superior King Suites and eight Luxury Pool Villas. The villas are the standout, each with around 120 square metres of indoor and outdoor living space, a private saltwater plunge pool, front and rear gardens, and both indoor and outdoor rain showers. Throughout, the design leans on sustainable teak, organic mattresses, British linens and peaked ceilings rather than generic hotel fit-out.
At the centre of the grounds sits a solar-heated saltwater swimming pool with a jacuzzi and garden views, part of a wider commitment to low-impact luxury that runs through the property. Dining is handled by two restaurants: Fusion, the farm-to-table fine-dining room the Ruxins added, and Heaven, serving modern African cooking, alongside a wine lounge and bar.
A solar-heated saltwater pool and farm-to-table dining, run on sunshine and Rwandan craft.
Wellness is built in, with a spa, an open-air gym in a garden setting, and yoga and meditation. A boutique stocks Rwandan fashion, art and handmade pieces, and a small conference centre handles private meetings and events. The feel is residential and unhurried rather than corporate.
The story behind the hotel matters to how it operates. Heaven Restaurant began in 2008 as a vocational training hub, and across their Rwandan ventures the Ruxins trained and employed thousands of local people in hospitality. Under the Hemingways Collection, that legacy of training and community partnership continues.
The location works hard for travellers. Kiyovu is central and green, roughly eight to ten kilometres and about twenty minutes from Kigali International Airport, putting the city’s memorials, markets and culture within easy reach. For most guests the hotel is a comfortable first or last stop on a trip built around Volcanoes National Park and Rwanda’s other reserves.
accommodation
The hotel has twenty rooms and suites in three tiers: Deluxe King Rooms, Superior King Suites and eight Luxury Pool Villas. The villas run to around 120 square metres with private saltwater plunge pools, gardens, and indoor and outdoor rain showers. Teak furniture, organic mattresses and British linens feature throughout.
activities
Central Kiyovu puts the Kigali Genocide Memorial, city tours, markets and galleries close at hand. On site there is a spa, open-air gym, yoga and meditation, plus weaving, dancing and cocktail-making. Most guests use the hotel as a first or last night around a Volcanoes National Park gorilla trek.
conservation
Kigali's first solar-powered eco-conscious boutique hotel, with rainwater harvesting, saltwater pools and plastic-free practices. The Ruxins' Heaven and Retreat ventures trained and employed over 3,000 Rwandans in hospitality, and the hotel partners with the Women's Bakery, Azizi Life and MindLeaps to support local women and youth.
Get in touch and let’s start the conversation. An initial consultation helps us understand what you’re looking for, whether that’s specific experiences, luxury touches, or marking a special occasion, and from there we’ll guide you through what’s possible so you can decide if we’re the right fit.
Hemingways Retreat sits in the leafy Kiyovu district of central Kigali. Kigali International Airport is around ten to twelve kilometres away, a drive of roughly twenty to twenty-five minutes in normal traffic, which makes the hotel an easy place to settle after a long flight or before an early departure. We arrange the transfer for you.
Hemingways sits in central Kigali at around 1,500 metres, and at that height the city's malaria risk is low, well below the warm eastern lowlands. Low does not mean none, and no part of Rwanda is officially free of it, so bite precautions after dark still make sense.
We do not make medical recommendations. That is a conversation between you and your own doctor or a travel clinic, who know your history and can weigh it properly. We are travel planners, not medical professionals, and we would rather say so than imply otherwise.
At its altitude Kigali stays comfortable throughout the year, so the choice is guided by rain and the city's events rather than heat. The most reliable weather falls in the long dry season from June to mid-September, July driest and August clearest, which also carries the busiest run of festivals and ceremonies. Mid-December to February is a drier second window.
April is the wettest month, with March, May, October and November the other wet stretches. If the parks are the heart of your trip, the dry months suit the trekking as well as the city.
Hemingways is a city hotel used to begin or end a Rwandan journey rather than to travel out from daily. Volcanoes National Park, where the gorilla treks start, is a road transfer of roughly two and a half to three hours, so it is reached as an onward stay, and a gorilla permit must be secured in advance.
We arrange the permits and the park lodges and build them around your nights in Kigali, so the city sits neatly at the front or back of the trip.
One or two nights suits most travellers. Hemingways is a natural place to ease off a long-haul flight before heading to the gorillas, or to settle for a night on the way home, so a single night at each end is common.
If you would like to explore Kiyovu, the memorials and the galleries, a second night gives you the room to do it. We will fit the number to your flights and the wider itinerary.
As a small hotel with only twenty rooms and suites, Hemingways suits couples and families alike, and its larger pool villas give a family more room and privacy. There is no activity here with an age limit; the restrictions come later, on the gorilla trek, which is for fifteens and over.
Tell us who is travelling and their ages and we will match you to the right room and plan the wider trip around any age limits in the parks.
rated five stars by our clients
our approach
Every journey starts with a conversation. We take the time to understand your vision before we start planning.
Whether by phone or in person, we work with you directly to shape something that is considered, personal, and expertly delivered.
