Butterfly Space | Hostel

Malawi

Details

Verified:
4 months ago
Altitude:
465.0 masl
Phone:
0999156335
Contributor:
henri.deveene

Amenities

Electricity:
Yes
Wifi:
No
Kitchen:
No
Parking:
Restricted Parking
Restaurant:
Yes
Showers:
Hot
Water:
Yes
Toilets:
Running Water
Big Rig Friendly:
Yes
Tent Friendly:
Yes
Pet Friendly:
Yes

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Description

Beautiful not-for-profit lakeside Eco Lodge with camping $5, dorms $10 & chalets from $12. Bar has a deck on lake with a pool table & hammocks, really good cocktails & good vibes! Kitchen serves pizza, international & local food, homemade juices, cakes and smoothies. Stunning views all over with permaculture gardens, chalets feel secluded, all with their own style. Good 4g signal accessible in most areas of the lodge- perfect for digital nomads.

They have a community gym which guests can use, and private beach with hidden seating areas, and give free snorkel hire.

The accommodation is really quirky and has comfy beds, soap, towels, mosquito nets, solar heated water, communal outdoor wood-fire shower with views, eco friendly compost loos, activities- Monkey Business do kayak and canoe hire, fishing trips and hikes etc. The restaurant has really good international and local food. Good veggie/ vegan options.

They also host volunteers who help with their community projects. All the profits from the lodge is reinvested into the community and there are projects on site that you can visit- including a youth club and a resource and IT centre for the community to use. They also run schools, permaculture clubs (in 28 schools), Vocational training centers for people with disabilities, a music recording studio and other stuff! It's a really interesting place to visit!

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Latest Check-Ins

Loved this place! People who are sceptical about the eco & community work of Butterfly did not look into their programmes and the work they do. Their permaculture projects are amazing, they built their own schools and what we liked is that you can play a game of pool with the locals.

Camping in a small tent is possible; hits and chalets reasonably priced and there is a place for rooftops/campervans but you will need to consider the many steps.

Great for sundowners. Beach is rocky.

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"Eco Lodge, Not for Profit" easy to throw around these terms these days. Install a composting toilet and a few poorly constructed huts and you're in business! Yes it's in a beautiful location and the staff for the most part are friendly and helpful but it's overpriced for what it is. Camping shouldn't even be considered an option here as the spots are woeful. If you are just looking to chill and drink beers with other tourists then this is the ideal place.

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Didn’t like the vibe. It’s a little out of the way and the parking is right on top where we would have had to leave our motorbike and then walk quite a bit with all the camping gear. We explained in a friendly manner that it wasn’t convenient for us as we like to park the bike next to our tent so we have access to our stuff. They made us feel bad that we didn’t trust them parking our bike at the top. Then complained that we were checking Google maps to find alternatives accommodation when they wanted to guide us to the place next door. This place seems to attract travellers who like to get high but if you are not interested in that it may seem a little run down. We got a room with private bathroom at Kapanje for the same price than camping. We heard a lot of great stuff about this place but it’s not for everyone!

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We booked the Beach House because we wanted to splurge for a couple of nights and we love supporting social enterprises. Unfortunately, we found Butterfly Space to be quite run down and not up to the standards we were expecting. The pictures are clearly quite old and no longer representative of the state of the rooms. A lot of maintenance and cleaning is needed around the property. The Beach House wasn't very clean and smelt quite mildewy. We politely left and moved next door to Mayoka. From all accounts, people do love the vibe of Butterfly Space and they're doing some good things for the community. Hopefully they can bring the Lodge up to scratch again!

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Good vibe and nice/rustic structure (prices of rooms are in the nice website). Shared toilet and shower are nice, with hot shower. There are free snorkeling and stand-up paddle, and offer massage. Helpful staff. Restaurant has delicious plates. The only problem: there’s no Wi-Fi.

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Reasonable. Nice waterside bar. Tasty food. Camping doesn’t look appealing

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Stayed one night at butterfly and one night at mayoka next door. Butterfly has a younger crowd. Basic but vibrant. Had a great night at the bar playing pool and meeting new people. Mayoka is more upscale. We did not get hot water at butterfly in the beach house. It was a eco toilet, no soap, 1 towel for two people. Negotiate accomodation price. There is a 1% tourist tax over and above. No clue what that is for.

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Campervans, skip this place. There is only one place to pop your rooftop tent. It is in full view of 3 local houses with big families and music playing. These houses are only 5 metres away. You are parked in the playground of the children, that has trash and smells of trash. We didn’t feel good and left.

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We stayed for 2 nights.
The ambiance at the restaurant and the bar is quite good. nice view on the lake and very good food at the restaurant. Nice cocktails too
On the other side the campsite itself is not great. Shaded, no view, under trees, not super clean.
There is no water point on the campsite, no electricity and light, which is annoying for cooking and cleaning dishes. No fire pit, no braii, this is more an empty space where you go with your roof top tent.
Outside Shower is good with hot water. The eco toilets are nicely built but the smell that is coming out is really disgusting (especially when you have to clean dishes there as this is the only water point).
If you have Ground tents, then you have better view but same comments re water, toilets etc. Wanted to leave the first morning but finally stayed 2 nights as the restaurant and bar are quite cool.
Price 5$ pp for camping.
Cannot comment for the dorms or chalet.
Go if you dont plan to cook and you use restaurant

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This place is quite magical. Very rustic though! . I stayed in the tree house which is right by the beach. Holly was really lovely and helpful. The bar is great and so is the food but it takes a long time. Decent coffee. The place has a really good vibe.

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A pretty Eco Lodge with 6 bed dorms and lakeside chalets. They have a shaded camp site next to the lake, lots of permaculture gardens, restaurant and bar with pool table, cocktails, and a really nice vibe.

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Stayed here for a night but wish we could have stayed longer. We able to camp in our roof top tent in the car park with no problem. Bar and decking area so beautiful with easy access to the lake. Walked into town and had amazing food at Kaya Papaya.

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Double bed chalet for $20 usd or 16,500 mkw with mosquito net. Eco lodge with compost toilets. Awful smell in the chalet of the toilet and the chicken coup which is under the chalet. Hot water not working in the shower. First night I left it slide, told the staff the next day and they said it was because it was raining the solar wouldn't heat the water. I explained it's not solar because theres no water coming from the hot tap at all. The staff pretty much just kept blaming the solar so they don't have to fix the issue. We had a cold shower again the second night. Maintenance not being done on the grounds, the balcony of the chalet is rotted and close to falling apart. The decking on the water is rotted and needs to be fixed. There are guys trying to sell you art from the entrance and they follow you into the grounds. They swarm the minute they see you by your car. They also walk around the grounds and try to sell even though they arent meant to. The staff do nothing to prevent this happening and only intervene if you look annoyed.
There was a guy who had things stolen during our stay. I've seen a few reports of items being stolen.
The restaurant is separate to the lodge but their food is amazing. The staff of the restaurant are very friendly and their cooking skills are great.
The view of the lake from the bottom deck/bar is beautiful, and drinks are reasonably priced.
My experience is I would not come back here, however I would recommend you come and see for yourself.

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Really sweet little place with the most wonderful management team! Made us feel so at home for our stay. The camping is actually really great and you can get right down to the waters edge under some beautiful trees. We loved our time at butterfly and would lovely
H LG
to return. Place has a great vibe fhyn

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really nice spot with beautiful bar overlooking the lake. owners and staff were very friendly and welcoming when my partner was sick. we actually moved across from Mayoka Village because we felt Butterfly had a nicer atmosphere and they really seemed to be committed to giving back to the community. great kitchen as well with communal meal times that helped with getting to know the other guests!

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Very nice place with friendly staff and owners. Good food, good vibe.
You can camp with your rooftop tents at the parking close to the loo (no smell though).
We did a night dive, with pick up at their beach. Higly recommend to do! $50 incl gear.

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kind of nice place.
there are only two proper camp grounds very close to the very busy gym and bar.
the very beautiful garden has unfortunately too much rubbish in the edges.
the restaurant is very good.
great hot water shower and compost toilet - both with a nice view.

if Rasta Kelvin is really 'upgrading' his place 'one love' just a few hundret mtrs before, this might be the more unique and calm camping spot..

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We camped (campervan) in the parking lot (no view). Initially we were asked for $4usd per person ($8) but after being a bit cheeky and enquiring about a "rainy season discount" (it was a VERY wet Feb!) the boss agreed to $4 total.

The composting loo with a view is cool and outdoor shower nice (the steps are lethal in the dark!) - however make sure they show you both showers as intially we were only shown the cold one!

Nice spot on the lake, an easy walk into town, cool bar staff but agree with the below comments that it is a little tough around the edges and would benefit from a tiny bit of TLC - definitely worth $4 per night but not sure on $8 even if the sun is shining! (Through there is little choice for those with cars in the town).

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3000k for camping per person per night.

Rooftoptent can only stay at the parking area.. Private beach (rocks, no sand). Eco toilets.. shower didn’t work as they didn’t pump up water when we were there.. backpackers place

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Tragedy - it is the only word that comes to my mind aftet one night stay. Place seem to have its best days behind. Outdoor area not clean. We stayed in dorms, no electricity, beds not cleaned for long time, dust all over the place, drunk locals at the bar. Parking space available (with watch man) but far from the camp and not gated. Come here only for goos food or if you are looking for cheap place. Much better and civilized place is next door at Moyaka Village.

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Dorms 5000pppn, rooms from 12000, camping 3000. place is quite run down, dorms were under construction so no electricity, holes in mosquito nets and no discount. A lot of ants everywhere! and in the evening there was a galaxy of mosquitos and flies everywhere that we could not even walk without them getting into our eyes. Place next door seemed better and cleaner but more expensive.

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Still as described before. Dorms, camping with tent, bar. Nothing special.

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Camping with tent only - 3000MK/pp
Dorm - 4000MK/pp (no mix dorm)
Basic chalet - 12,000MK/night
There’s a cottage also.

Nice deck with a bar, available to order Dinner also.

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didn't stay here, but popped by. The deck and hammocks are nice, and they have a pool table. However some people told me that they had quite a few things stolen out of the dorms so be careful.

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Camping only in tents possible. Had to sleep on parking lot. Nice bar and deck on lake. Compost toilets. MKW 2000 pppn, WiFi 1000 a day.

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A great place at Lake Malawi's shore. Camping is cheap at 1500 MKW. The view is good and there are many activities to do on the lake.

It has a good bar and restaurant.
There are possibilities for volunteers.

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