December 17, 2025 — 5:00am
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It’s almost midnight when I arrive at Hotel Rwanda, and someone is sleeping in my bed. It’s been a long day: I rose before dawn 1700 kilometres away in the Republic of the Congo and watched the sun cast its futile beams upon the impenetrable rainforest.
Photo: Jamie Brown
During the day, I’d taken a 2½-hour flight south to the country’s capital city, Brazzaville, and frantically searched for the perfect swatch of brightly patterned Ankara fabric in Poto-Poto Market. The roads were about to close, so the president could reach the airport unimpeded; he was on his way to Kigali for a summit for African heads of state. I was flying to Kigali too; my driver whisked me to the airport ahead of the presidential motorcade. By the time we took off it was dark, and I was ready for bed.
“You will be sharing with Miss Julia,” says the receptionist when I arrive at Kigali’s Hotel des Mille Collines. “She is already checked in.”
I blink. Earlier in the day I received a cryptic text message hinting at such a possibility, but I’d dismissed it as ludicrous. Julia is an Australian travel consultant who will be joining me on the next leg of my journey. Apparently we met fleetingly many years ago, but my brain has wiped the memory.
“Kigali is fully booked for the heads of state,” the receptionist continues, “so we must make a plan with our guests.”
Behind me, late-night arrivals throng the lobby. Though otherwise unremarkable, Hotel des Mille Collines has an extraordinary history: during the Rwandan genocide in 1994, then-manager Paul Rusesabagina sheltered 1268 refugees in the hotel’s rooms. The property was immortalised as Hotel Rwanda in the eponymous, Oscar-nominated film. In the aftermath, accounts rebutting Rusesabagina’s heroic version of events emerged; he was later imprisoned, then released.
The Hotel Mille des Collines in Kigali, Rwanda.Alamy
I’d spent a night in Hotel Rwanda en route to Brazzaville, and had lain awake wondering about the souls who’d once occupied my bed. Now I’ll be lying in the dark beside a virtual stranger. Tomorrow, we’ll depart for a thrilling gorilla trek in Volcanoes National Park, but tonight my excitement is tempered. Sipping my welcome drink, I feel weary and sweaty and grumpy and fraught at the prospect of barging into an occupied hotel room at midnight.
The receptionist senses my discomfort.
“She is expecting you,” he reassures me.
“May I use the phone to warn her I’m on my way up?” I ask.
Julia’s voice is muffled; I’ve roused her from deep sleep.
“Feel free to take a shower,” she murmurs. “You won’t disturb me.”
Showering is the least I can do, for neighbourly reasons: I last bathed 20 hours ago in the sweltering Congo. By the time I reach our room, Julia is asleep. I open the door gingerly and tiptoe inside. My bedside lamp is on; light pools around the bottle of water she’s placed on my nightstand. I’m relieved to see we aren’t, in fact, sharing a bed: a tiny, shrouded shape lies inert on a single bed near the window. This time I’m so fatigued I don’t lie awake wondering about the souls who’ve occupied this room, nor the stranger who slumbers beside me. In the morning we awake and make our formal introductions.
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“How do you do?” I yawn.
In the lush garden below, guests do laps in a startlingly blue pool. Breakfast sizzles on hotplates beneath the boma and waiters greet us with broad smiles. Julia and I sip coffee and chat like old friends.
Peace has returned to Kigali: beyond the banana trees, hills ripple, cars idle, residents weed the street verges and African heads of state prepare for their summit. The disruption caused by this political event is incomparable with the factional uprising that prompted people to take refuge here in 1994.
But like those weary souls, we have found a safe haven – and forged new bonds – in the fabled Hotel Rwanda.
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Catherine Marshall has worked as a journalist for more than three decades and has received awards for her travel writing and reportage in Australia and abroad. She specialises in emerging destinations, conservation and immersive travel.Connect via Twitter.Traveller GuidesFrom our partners