While neither a palace, nor perhaps suitable for VIPs, the VIP Palace is nonetheless a fine place to stay in Goma. I spent a lot of time at the "top" three places, this one, the Ihusi down the road and the Stella on the other side of town. Overall I think this was my favorite.

The Stella had the nicest looking common areas, great dining space overlooking the lake, great coffee and ok looking rooms (I didn't stay overnight here), but it's not only far from town, it's on the other side of Goma's terrible traffic pinch point by the main hospital, so you'd have to budget extra time if you need to be in the center or at MONUC HQ, airport, Kibati, points north. The UN mission chief stays here, presumably because the grounds are so nice and the service is good, but he must not mind terribly sitting in fume-filled traffic every time he needs to go to work. I would.

The Ihusi is certainly posh, and some rooms, like the one I had on the top floor of the tallest... more