Olympe du Bemaraha

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.

You will have a tough time if you don’t speak French. Despite there being several English speaking guests present during my stay, hardly any staff spoke English. At least 3 times per day I overheard guests asking, “Is there anyone who speaks English who can assist me?” And my three night stay was one miscommunication after another whether it was the English speaking” staff member incorrectly translating menu options or incorrectly explaining the cost of something. I was always handed a cocktail menu only to always be told - no cocktails available. Most times I wanted to pay for something the cashier was not available, and I was told to return later. Two or three trips to pay for a beverage or meal, and they had change when I paid. So then I had to make one or two extra trips to get my change. It is a 100 meter walk uphill to the reception area. So it was not a pleasant experience having to walk the hill 3 to 4 times a day in 100 degree weather just to pay for a meal and receive change for my payment. The rooms are basic. No AC. My room had no waste basket. My room was not cleaned during my 3 night stay. The rooms get extremely hot. There is a fan, but it’s not no available to use at night due to solar-powered outlets that do not function after 11pm.

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 dropping 2 clients at Olympe du Bemaraha and spending myself 2 night at the hotel, i can rank this Hotel as the best one in the Bemaraha, while you are visiting the National park of Tsingy. The food is quite delicious, 10 out 10 specifically the desert. The accomodation itself are the luxuous one you can find in this isolated village, my client complain about not having hot watter on the evening wich is quite understandable as the electricity is powered by solar panal, so hot watter is just accessible for few hours , before sun goes down. Services with smile, very testy ''rhum arrange'' and no unexpected visitor at night (i am refering to some nocturnal species that can infiltrate at night) I have visited and accomodate mostly in diverse Hotel in Bemaraha, but Olympe is my favorite one. Highly recommend without any doubt.

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.

We were hoping the bad reviews were from a long time ago. But sadly this place is quite bad. 1. No hot water for our 2 day stay. 2. Reception staff member wasn’t helpful with all the problems and just straight up lied to my face multiple times - we booked a king room and they took us to a triple room and then had to change to the room we booked. We also had no power and no hot water after our hike and he didn’t seem to care. 3. Bed is ok. Pillows are terrible. 4. Lots of noise from roosters and dogs in the morning. 5. Wifi didn’t work during our stay 6. Vegan and gluten free dinner was boiled carrots and beans with plain rice and a pumpkin sauce for 24,000 per plate. It wasn’t nice at all. 7. The pool looked pretty green. Not sure if it’s cleaned properly. There aren’t many options in Tsingy but I would probably try somewhere else.