Spent a night. Service was impeccable and their food delicious. Both local and French cuisine available. Sampled their home brewed wine (made using local fruits) and simply loved it.
Overall slightly more pricey than other such facilities in Chilumba, but you don't get such an ambience for cheap. Highly recommend.
Françoise and Patrick have successfully completed their challenge: to create a beautiful and natural place from scratch that fits perfectly into the environment and the local communities in Malawi 🙂
Everything is thought of and decorated with a lot of taste. The rooms are clean and built with natural and locally-sourced materials, the bathrooms (huge) have hot water and everything is powered by solar energy.
There are places to fit every budget: a campsite, a dorm, double-rooms and wooden chalets.
The food is simply delicious (French and Belgian cuisines). Françoise and Patrick are GREAT cooks! Most of the ingredients on your plate come from their garden/farm (that you can visit for free) and they make almost everything themselves: jams, cheese, wine, ice cream, smoked fish, etc.
The property is vast and very green. The beaches are big, clean and the water is very clear. You can snorkel around. They also offer a range of other activities that you can take part in (boat trips, safaris, cooking classes, etc).
Françoise and Patrick’s NGO, Malawi Kukula, helps the communities and the local kids grow (by sponsoring them, helping them with their school homework or teaching them new skills).
La Rondavelle also trains local workers to hospitality jobs.
Steve (receptionist/service), Autrey (manager) and the rest of the team will take great care of you 😊
I can only recommend - you won’t regret it!
We were looking for a place to stay after arriving with the Ilala Ferry at Chilumba late in the evening and found everything we needed after a long journey and more! After a free transfer from the ferry landing we enjoyed the enormous and hot showers and got treated to a fantastic meal under the Mango trees even though it was already close to midnight. The location on the peninsula is beautiful, even before the free room upgrade we received the rates were very reasonable and after a lovely breakfast we were sorry to leave so soon, definitely a place worth staying at for longer!
What Francoise and Patrick have done with this place is amazing and so inspiring. It is not just the accommodation houses and the restaurant, but the whole project behind La Rondavelle. They have their own garden and small farm and training center for the people from the area. They introduced us to so many activities that can be done around to support the local community. Great hosts, and their croquettes and fruit wines are 👌🏼
We visited La Rondavelle during our Trip in January 2022 through Southern Africa. The food was amazing and we loved the concept of this great place. For Overlanders it is a must to stop there. Like an oasis of hospitality.
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Dinner
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5
Friends of us (a couple with 3 children) spent a night at La Rondavelle. They told us it was great, that hosts make you feel welcome and they prepared a delicious dinner for them (all from their garden). It was a great experience and recommend it.
We were travelling on our motorycles and found this lovely place on the shore of the lake ! The perfect spot to have a break, for a lunch, a night, or several days. "C'est le paradis!"
You'll have the chance to meet a passionnate couple from Belgium (home made french fries :) who built a fantastic lodge/camp/farm and give all their energy despite the long covid-19 crisis.
The garden is unbelievable, from vegetable to fruit, it's all organic. So fresh food, a warm welcome and a lovely private sandy beach. Thank you !!! And good luck !
Sophie & François
