Last Updated:

Vakona Forest Lodge review

I stayed at both Andasibe Hotel and Vakona and can recommend both happily, but Vakona was my favourite, even though the rooms at Andasibe Hotel were much smarter. Why did I like Vakona more? I think it was the setting of the hotel, being more in the forest, the lakeside setting and ambience of the main octagonal building cantilevered over lake with a roaring central fireplace.

The main building had a lot of charm with sitting areas, a billiard table, restaurant serving good food and of course a lovely terrace overlooking the serene lake. The grounds are extensive with a lovely walking trail in the valley below the main approach road, canoes on the river, its own private lemur reserve (with very tame lemurs!) and also a separate nature reserve which is worth a visit, especially if you are a family, as we were.

The only thing to note is that rooms were pretty basic and not that attractive, mostly up plenty of steps so a nice workout if you forget something and need to go back! They have everything you need (and even offer hot water bottles in winter which was a nice touch) but they are small and rather characterless. But I felt that overall the lodge more than made up for this.

Share this article