HOTEL REVIEW: Cotton Country Inn, Kadoma

Kadoma is a place that feels like it got stuck in a romantic part of the history of this country.

It still has that small town cuteness and a hint of innocence about it.

In the middle of the town is a little hotel, the Cotton Country Inn which seems to be turning itself into a focus for the resurrection of what does look like used to be a bustling town.

We arrived on a bus and we had a driver waiting for us. This transfer is taken care of at the hotel’s expense.

Kadoma bbq and craft fair at Cotton Country Inn

When we arrived it was about breakfast time and there as a craft fair coming together. The couple now running the hotel Carl and Nelsy Ncube spared no effort in getting us comfortable, attending to guests as well as the bustling fair outside.

Chefie their very friendly dog milled about and played with guests. While we find her cute and all, we can see a situation where some guests might get a little annoyed.

Then came the breakfast. We ordered the Wake Me Up which is served while sizzling hot. Sausage, bacon, egg and tomato, with toast and a hot beverage of your choice.

While we sat and waited for lunch (Internet time although it dropped from time to time) we decided to give the cocktails a go.

Cotton Country Inn serves refreshing cocktails at $3

There are six cocktails which they say are custom-made so they can actually be made in your home. As part of the craft fair, there was a demonstration of the ways that screwdrivers, whisky sours or not so pina coladas could be made. Of course this was very popular with the ladies. We tasted all of them and we have to say the screwdriver gets you there. Sure the Mojito is a seller and the ladies love the Mona Lisa Smile but we loved the screwdriver.

First blemish of course was there were no coasters. Not a train smash but we like coasters especially where glass is concerned. We’re weird like that.

While lunch was busy the thing that impressed us much like the breakfast was how quickly we were served after ordering, We’re used to the long wait, but within five minutes of ordering we were already eating.

Cotton Country Inn serves delicious burgers at $5

We had a go at the pork for lunch plus the roll/burger with cheese and mint in it. That was divine.

Prayersoul happened to be in town and provided some late afternoon entertainment. All the while we went in on those cocktails. At $3 a go it is a no-brainer.

Options for night entertainment are pretty hectic. It seems most of them are low-end market types. We did get to watch the finals of Kadoma’s Got Talent. After that we were left with pretty much the bar at Campbell Theatre as the only option where it did as said earlier on feel like a time warp situation.

There is a night club across the road called Mzansi. Sadly the noise from there would make it a bit of a rough night if you are a light sleeper.

Mind you, Alick Macheso and Sulumani Chimbetu were in town too so we could have explored that option were it not for the cocktail situation which was selling only the sleep dream.

At $50 per night sharing it is a good value for money. If you want to throw in breakfast for you and a partner then make that $60. Want dinner as well, then $70 gets you sorted.

They have ten rooms available on of which can accommodate more than 2 people. All in all they can handle 24 weary souls per night.

It is a work in progress given that the hotel recently re-opened but you can see that it is headed firmly in the right direction. Especially on the customer service front. The ladies at reception, waiting tables and doing the cocktails were on point.

We were there for one night but we could easily spend a weekend there. It makes it a great getaway for when you just want to be rid of the hustle and bustle of Harare which about an hour away.