Located in the middle of Huye City, Hotel Mont Huye is a prime facility in close proximity to the commercial hub/CBD, all historic establishments in Huye like the Ethnographic Museum, the National University of Rwanda as well as other famous schools.
Started as Motel Mont Huye, the facility has come of age and today offers a rich experience with a superb cuisine, stocked bar where you enjoy your favorite drink at the lounge and the spacious rooms with cool and restful atmosphere.
Vicent Semuhungu, the founder and owner of the hotel explains that they provide an excellent experience to guests and this is because they have everything one needs while staying at the facility.
The father of five is a local businessman with over 50 years in carpentry which remained his primary career while investing in construction, real estate and hospitality.
Semuhungu started a carpentry business in 1978 after working for 10 years in Economa Generale as a carpenter where he had joined after graduating in 1967.
“When I started my own carpentry business, there were a few who provided services that I was offering and got lucky to get a lot of work supplying materials for a road construction company and some Catholic Church based institutions,” he observes.
When business grew, Semuhungu started venturing into other sectors starting with real estate where he built rentals in the town of Butare as it was called. But no business would ever deter Semuhungu from carpentry, and his main office is still located at the very workshop.
However, in the early 1990s came his biggest challenge when he was imprisoned as a political spy, life was never the same and the subsequent 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi greatly affected him because it robbed him of family menbers and property.
Coming back from Burundi where he had sought refugee, he found all machinery and materials in the workshop had been looted. With nothing, he sought for a loan from Bank of Kigali to restart his business.
Investing in real estate
After the genocide against the Tutsi, Semuhungu reorganized his businesses, bought modern machinery for the workshop and seized the available opportunities brought by peace and good leadership in Rwanda.
Business thrived, Semuhungu built a motel and a four storied commercial buildings in Huye City. Today, he owns two commercial buildings located in the city centre, one is opposite Huye City Modern Market, an investment where he also has shares.
Huye District officials attest that Semuhungu has been instrumental in the development of the district where he has massively invested and has created employment to many.
Etablissement Semuhungu Vincent operates and has interests in different sectors including hospitality, real estate, trade and construction. These play a significant role in development and employs hundreds from Huye.
The management of the company encourages workers to participate in all government programmes such as Mutuelle de SantÈ, Umuganda and others as well as supporting the most vulnerable people jump out of poor living standards by either providing casual jobs or give direct assistance.
Expanding Hotel Mont Huye
In 2006, when a prime property in the center of Huye city was auctioned it presented an opportunity for Semuhungu to expand his hospitality ventures by acquiring a bigger facility.
The 40-room hotel wants to expand, modernize, increase services and upgrade, by adding more facilities that are still lacking. The vision is to upgrade the hotelís star status and become a global destination.
