Obudu Mountain Review

Was so excited about this holiday, mainly because I had seen the photos on the various websites and read some good reviews. We booked the holiday pretty late in November so we didn’t get the family room that we required; instead we opted for 2 double rooms which were within minutes from each other. We really didn’t have a choice as all other rooms were fully booked.

Booking

Here’s how it works; You email your request via their website. If there’s availability, they phone and send an email with their bank details. Once the payment has cleared an email booking confirmation is sent. However in my opinion, it would be so much easier if you could make online payments just like most well established resorts.

Transport to the resort

We flew from Lagos to Calabar. The flight was 1 hour approximately and was relatively smooth, no major delays. We arrived by 11.00am and our driver Innocent was waiting for us at the airport. We arranged for car hire from one of their listed partners which costs 70k for 4 days for a Corolla Toyota, which just about fitted a family of five. It would have cost 200k for a Lexus jeep for the same period. The price included the driver staying with us throughout our stay and was available should we require him. You don’t really need a driver. The hotel bus service is very good.

We went straight to the car hire office to make payment before we headed out on our 5 hour journey to Obudu. I must say, the journey was very tiring especially when you’ve got 3 young kids. There was no traffic or police checks, it was just long. There used to be an airport in Obudu but it’s closed until further notice.

At Obudu Mountain resort

When we approached Obudu we already noticed the beauty of the place before heading up hill to the top of the Mountain, where the resort is located. On day 1, was blown away by the calmness especially coming from Lagos but was worried that a city girl like me would get easily bored but I wasn’t. On day 2, we went to the Holy Mountains and as the photos reveal, it was indeed a very serial atmosphere. We also decided to go on the Cable Car to get to the water park which is at the bottom of the mountain. Obudu resort boasts that it has the longest Cable car in the world. I can believe that. It was a very scary fun experience for me but decided after that, never to go again. One round trip was enough for my poor heart. The water park was really exciting too. However, we weren’t happy that we had to pay an entrance fee. Be warned, you do have to pay for most things outside of your accommodation at the resort. By day 3 (Christmas Eve), there were a few more sights to see, went to the natural swimming pool, the dairy farm and the canapé walk. There was also a BBQ in the afternoon and in the evening we went for the Gala dinner. As you can see from the photos, the evening entertainment was commendable and we had a great time. Day 4 (Christmas Day) the kids saw Santa, we had a lovely Xmas lunch and went horse riding. There was a bonfire display in the evening, dancers, comedians and lots more entertainers. I can testify that my husband finished off the tastiest meat ever at the Steak House. We left very early in the morning on Day 5 as we had a family event to attend in Calabar in the evening.

Summary

Some of the amenities especially at the gym were broken and not replaced. The distance from Calabar to the resort was far. But the staff were very helpful and very friendly. The place was very calm and serial place. If you are a busy executive, definitely a good place to escape. The kids got to play in the park, run around without breathing toxins and they loved the natural yogurt from the Farm, But if the resort wants to attract more families with young kids, then they definitely need to set up a kids club. There were children’s entertainers in the park but I’m sure the kids would have loved to get together with other kids, make new friends and go on adventures at the resort. The water park was excellent, especially the water slides.

All in all, a good holiday and beautiful place. 7/10