Lake Kivu Serena Hotel

The Lake Kivu Serena Hotel runs three separate dining and drinking venues on its lakefront property in Gisenyi, each sitting at a different point between the building and the water.

Kiyaga Restaurant is the main kitchen, a full-service dining room with the lake directly in view. The menu draws on Rwandan, wider African, and international cooking, and the kitchen works with local ingredients. Breakfast is included for hotel guests and runs as a hot buffet. Lunch and dinner follow the same room, the same view.

Lake View Bar operates on the terrace beside the pool. The drinks list covers cocktails, beer, and wine; the food runs to sandwiches, burgers, pizza, and salads — the kind of order you place without getting out of your chair. It is the practical middle option between a full restaurant meal and the beach.

Ziwani Café sits on the hotel's private beach, which is the furthest point from the building and the closest to the water. The format here is beachside BBQs and sundowner drinks rather than a full menu. Each evening, the café holds a happy hour with live local music and Intore dancers — a traditional Rwandan performance style — which runs as a standing daily event rather than a scheduled special.

All three venues are accessible to hotel guests; the beach and pool facilities they adjoin are reserved for guests of the property.