My husband, teens and I spent two nights here. I have to say I was impressed. It was better than I expected. The lobby and restaurant area overlook the crater with a deck almost the length of the lodge offering a large seating area at the end. Grab a drink and get out there before sunset, your laundry can wait til after dark!
We had three rooms between us. The rooms, though small, were nice. Who would even look at the dark tropical wood used for the furniture with an absolutely amazing view like that. The rooms themselves were clean, but the bathrooms, especially the floors and corners, all needed a good scrubbing. The beds were very comfortable. Nice fluffy duvets on the beds, I can't imagine being cold, but then we are from Canada! Screens on the windows didn't fit tight, so moths got in around them while the lights were on and the windows open. No bed nets, but we never saw a mosquito.
The staff was very friendly and helpful. Drink service was a bit slow. I had to ask a couple of times. We went to the bar once.
The food we experienced at the buffet was very good. Get to the buffet early, though. That is my best advice.There were appetizers and breads and lots of choices for hot dishes. There was excellent roast beef one night and turkey the other. The food was all quite good. Three or four choices of desert.
The breakfast buffet was also good. Two kinds of juice and hot milk for the coffee or hot chocolate was always available. We ate breakfast out on the deck both days. We were lucky enough that the skies were clear for our stay and we could enjoy the view mornings and evenings.
The evening entertainment was great. Both nights a group of singers performed. They were quite good. It was nice to hear some Swahili songs.

There are a few other lodges in the same area that have the same view...you don't need to stay here. The lodge itself is old and a bit dated, but I could live with that. The rooms are small and cramped, but I could live with that too. What really bothered me was the following:

1. A GIANT cockroach in the bathroom in the morning. Three weeks on safari and we never once saw a bug until this place.

2. The complete indifference or rudeness of the staff. An example: we asked for a 6am wakeup call. The rooms don't have a phone or clock in them, so you need to rely on them to be somewhat punctual or you will keep your driver waiting. Our wakeup call finally came in at 6:20. I pointed out to the lady on the phone that she was 20 minutes late and her response was "Yup" and then she hung up on me! No apology, no excuse, she just hung up! Terrible customer service.

The food was unremarkable, but edible. The beds were small and hard as rocks. We had a terrible nights sleep only to wake up late and find a cockroach the size of a Shih-Tzu in the bathroom. We couldn't get out of there fast enough.

You will note I'm not the only one saying this. Management of this place needs to smarten up...people do read these comments and make their accomodation choices based on them. One bad experience you can excuse, but when all the comments say the same thing, it will affect their business.

The lodge is perfectly located on the rim of the crater, with STUNNING view of the surroundings and the crater. Our room was basic, but with nice view. The service however was poor, our room was not as clean as one would expect form such a hotel. The table service in the restaurant was rather poor, asking for beer 3 times and getting an empty glass for the second and a beer for the third try:) Overall, however it was resting the stay there and acceptable (but not compared to its price.)

The lodge is perfectly located, view is amazing. Simply rooms, shower didn´t work well and it was very cold in the room at night. Also food wasn´t so good.