When it comes to places to stay Mount Hagen has a fair bit, what with the festival and all, with this including where we stay, Kuri Lodge.
Mass though does not always means quality and that is certainly the case in Mount Hagen, with there being good, bad and very ugly. Where though does Kuri Lodge fit into all this?
The Mount Hagen Hotel scene?
Despite the huge event that is Mount Hagen Festival being held here there are few top hotels within Mount Hagen meaning that much like North Korea it is boom or bust.
At the top end of things you have The Highlander, which is a Coral Sea Resorts meaning that it has the same menu as all the other branches. The menu is good though and they have a fairly decent Wilhelm Trout if that is your thing, as well as decent steak.
After this though there is basically nothing high end, save the resorts out in the countryside. After this you have the cheaper lodges, of which Kuri Lodge falls into. After that you have the kind of transient places that locals go for. These are not only not that safe, but are not really for the western palate.
The Kuri Lodge
OK, so it is far from fancy, but now having stayed here 3 years in a row I have come to know and love the place. The rooms here are on two floors and all come in a similar fashion with two beds, one big one small, TV, bathroom and intermittent hot water. Wifi is available to a degree, but via the reception area only. In all honesty though if you really need Internet in PNG then just buy a bloody sim card and be done with it.
I once was gifted a bag randomly by the staff who left it in my room, although this has not happened since. The staff here are good and it is a very homely environment.
The hotel do not offer food, but there is a restaurant of sorts in the grounds.
Chetty’s Restaurant at Kuri Lodge
So, while the hotel do not offer food there is Chetty’s which used to be an Indian Restaurant and is now an Indian and Chinese restaurant, those two famous allies. The Indian and indeed Chinese food here is bang average and I personally never have my guests eat here, even breakfast. For breakfast we tend to go Kofi Kai and dinner, well anywhere else.
They do though have a few western dishes on the menu and well you really can never go wrong with chips. The also serve soft drinks and beer for a reasonable price, but again not the greatest range so we tend to go outside.
The other safe food option here is next door at Big Rooster, a KFC clone that is huge in PNG. PNG is one of the few countries without a KFC or McDonalds. I have yet to try Big Rooster in PNG, but may well fix this in the next few days.
Bar 27 Kuri Lodge
There is a legendary bar around Kuri Lodge known as Bar 27, to get in you will need to have someone in the know.
They are though on TripAdvisor……
Conclusion on the Kuri Lodge
The rooms are clean, the price is great and it has an excellent location. It is also marks the difference between a 3k and an 8k tour to Papua New Guinea. If you need more luxury then well go and pay for it!
I will be back here though next year like clockwork for both the Mount Hagen Show, the Goroka Show and who knows? My plan is certainly to add more PNG Tours heading into the future.
Overall though a firm thumbs up for the Kuri Lodge Mount Hagen.
You can see our Mount Hagen tour here, as well as our Goroka Show one here.