Red Chilli Hideaway

Beautiful location, very quiet, no traffic in the surrounding. Good simply kitchen, Friday pizza day, good service. Swimmingpool is great. My room had a fridge and bathroom with a great shower. Cleaningservice of the room when you ask it. No free drink at arrival.

Red Chilli seems mainly to be used by overland tour companies as a Kampala stopoff. It's located very far away from the centre of Kampala so - with Kampalan traffic - is not a good base to see the city from. Rather it's more a place to do a stopover to break a longer journey or as I was meeting up with a tour company. Dorm rooms were pretty basic with toilets a bit of a walk away, but does the job.

I don't keep coming here by accident. I stayed at Red Chilli for the fifth time in the first week of September 2023 and it was like putting on a pair of old, comfortable shoes that you haven't worn for a long time. A slight, initial "strangeness", followed by "Ahhhh, lovely!" I've covered the major points in previous reviews, but here's thoughts arising from my most recent stay. The staff were, as always, super-friendly and helpful. I checked in and gave my details to the kind and patient young woman on the front desk. Afterwards, as I walked around afterwards, everyone in a Red Chilli t-shirt greeted me by name: "Hi Tim!", or "Do you need anything Tim?". How do they do this? It's a million miles away from the scripted, insincere US "have a nice day!", they really mean it. I stayed in a double en-suite with a patio - I think I stayed in the same one, or its neighbour before - and it was spacious, comfortable and quiet. The bed had a kind of four-poster frame supporting the mozzie nets, which gave good coverage and which were free from gaps and rips. The latter doesn't always happen in budget accommodation in the area. There was large ceiling fan - very welcome - and a fridge which is great for chilling water or beer or storing meds. The restaurant continues to provide tasty and filling meals at a very reasonable cost, and the bar has local beers at very competitive prices, and which are kept very cold. Very nice at the end of a long, hot day! It's a bit of a shame that the wood-fired pizza oven is only in use on a Friday, but maybe that makes the pizzas a special treat. The one I had could have fed two, but it was so good that I couldn't stop myself and I ate the lot. On this occasion I was staying there for a bit of a sombre and unusual reason, so I can't speak to any of the tours or excursions. But, as a base to venture further from, to mingle with fellow travellers, to relax, to rest your head, to eat and drink, I can't fault it. Unless something really drastic changes with RC, in about a year's time, I'll be writing another review: "My SIXTH stay with Red Chilli, and as I keep saying, it won't be my last..."