| Product: |
Hilton Addis Ababa Hotel (Ethiopia) |
| Date: |
21.03.08 (89 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Clean, comfortable, attractive, well located, well equipped
Disadvantages: Meeting rooms need some work, a bit pricy
On the off chance that any of you might get to Ethiopia and on the even more off chance that you'll want a fancy hotel while in Addis Ababa, I thought I should tell you about my experience at the Hilton there.
The first thing you'll notice about the Addis Hilton is the security. When you first approach the hotel, before your vehicle can get to the parking area you'll be checked by a guard at the gate. There is also security when you enter the hotel with a guard, metal detector and an x-ray machine for your luggage. While this may seem a bit excessive to some of you, I personally felt very good about all this. Of course, since I live in Israel this type of security is an every day thing for me, making me feel right at home. Don't get me wrong, the security here isn't due to political unrest within Ethiopia, but rather is due to this quiet, growing country being neighbours with such volatile ones. Taking a "better safe than sorry" attitude seems only sensible and for me, reassuring. Of course, that it happens to be right across the street from the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs could also have some bearing on the security levels as well!
That aside, the Addis Hilton is located very near to the centre of town, and therefore very convenient for visiting the sites. While I was there with a group which took care of all my destinations, I did feel just how well located it was - especially when we had our free shopping time. Within a few minutes of leaving the hotel, we were in the heart of the tourist catering district, and even when we travelled from or to the airport it only took about 15-20 minutes - 30 during rush hour. So as far as location is concerned, there couldn't be a better spot for a hotel.
Even with it being right smack dab in the city and not that far from the airport, the Addis Hilton is also built on a slight rise, as well as being set behind the main road. This is what keeps the street sounds away at night, and the whole week I was there I didn't hear even one aeroplane over head - so apparently it isn't in any of the flight patterns either. Being on that hill also allows for good views from almost all the rooms, and while my room faced the back of the hotel, I think I got the better view since from my balcony I could see the tennis courts, swimming pool and garden restaurant - which I think might be nicer than seeing the entrance, main road and Foreign Ministry, that the other rooms would have. What's more, if I put my head just a little bit around the corner of the balcony, I could see the mountains as well.
The lobby has both an old-world feel to it as well as a modern one. With dark wood panelling mixed with Scandinavian type unfussy furniture and almost space-aged lighting fixtures that sounds like it would be a strange hodge-podge but in reality works well, in an eclectic sort of way. This also made the feeling as you walked into the hotel very friendly, for some reason. Sort of like it had been decorated by real people and not some fancy super interior designers that makes things either overly stark and inhospitable or overly ornate and flowery. I'd say they struck a good balance with the lobby's decor, which I found to be the case throughout the hotel. This feeling continued with the bright Kaffa House Restaurant (which was also our breakfast room), to the pub-like feeling in the Lobby Bar as well as the homey, back-yard garden feel of the outdoor Gazebo Bar & Restaurant.
As I'm already talking about the restaurants, I can say that the food at the Addis Hilton was totally top notch. The buffet breakfast had a huge choice with anything from eggs and bacon to yoghurts and cereals or granola. While it isn't advisable to eat fresh vegetables in Ethiopia or uncooked fruits that have edible peels (like apples), there was certainly more than enough to start you on your day. We also had a lunch at the Gazebo Bar & Restaurant which is also buffet style, but here they cook specialty items for you, as well. For instance, they had a Chinese style duck dish that they made fresh on the spot, as well as a carving station with roasted meats. In short, all the meals I had at the Addis Hilton were delicious, not to mention their coffee was the best I'd ever had at any hotel (but that's the least you would expect from somewhere in Ethiopia). In fact, even the coffee they served us in the meeting rooms was lovely, as was the simple instant coffee they had left us in our rooms.
This of course, brings us to the rooms themselves. The first thing I always check is the coffee/tea facilities and while the amount of coffee and tea they gave was a bit on the sparse side, it was at least tasty and the kettle big enough for 2-3 cups at a time. While I never use it, there is a mini-bar that seemed well stocked - which only means there's no room to put your own bottles of water inside, but since the weather is never all that hot in Ethiopia, this didn't seem a problem. I was put in a king regular guest room, which I found to be amazingly spacious for a simple room. The very large bed didn't dominate the room at all, and there was even room for a table and two chairs as well as the desk and chest of drawers. I already mentioned the balcony which had another two chairs on it, to allow you to enjoy the view, but while there was no table out there, they certainly had room for a small one. The bed was very comfortable and everything in the room was clean and orderly. The television had enough stations in English for me to find something to chill out to (like Hallmark and BBC Prime) as well as keep me up to date (such as CNN and BBC World). There was plenty of room in the wardrobe for all my clothes, and enough hangars as well. They even had an ironing board in there, complete with an iron that you could use to touch up your clothes with. What's more, the bathroom was spotless and modern, and being in a Hilton, had those lovely La Source products by Crabtree & Evelyn for me to use. Here again the decor was neither overly sombre nor overly harsh and in general the whole atmosphere of the room was one of the most comfortable I've experienced.
Of course, being a Hilton this hotel had lots of great facilities as well. As I said above there's an outdoor swimming pool and tennis courts, but there's also a jogging/walking path built around the hotel that's been planted with lovely shady trees. If that's not enough exercise for you, they have a really nice fitness centre with more than enough types and numbers of machines for anyone interested. I used that fitness room three times while I was there and can tell you that the staff are friendly and helpful, and even though the place is obviously well taken advantage of by the guests, was still immaculate. My only niggle was that they didn't have their own towels there, but those were just around the corner with the towels for the pool. While I was there the sauna was being repaired but I heard they have a Jacuzzi as well as a place where you can get a massage. All of those are located in an area behind and below the entrance where there's also a little shopping mall with about half a dozen different shops including the usual tourist type local artist work. Of course, if you're just looking to buy some groceries like mineral water (no, you shouldn't drink the water in Ethiopia), there is a little mini-mart just around the corner but within the Hilton compound.
Now, since I was there on business, I did have some experience with their meeting rooms. While the refreshments they gave us were really nice, I did find that the rooms were a bit run-down and we had a problem with not all the electrical plugs working properly which caused my laptop to run out of juice right in the middle of my taking notes. There was also no wireless in those rooms, nor is there wireless in the guest rooms - although there is wired connections, but that costs the earth. They say there is wireless in the public areas, but we never could hook up and this was unfortunate. So while this is considered a business hotel, I'd say they need to update their business facilities a bit.
Of course, no Hilton hotels could ever be considered cheap, and this one is no exception. Mind you, their prices aren't through the roof and you can get a king or twin guest room starting from just under £70 per night depending on the season and if you want to include any meals. But even the fanciest rooms cost in the area of £200 or more per night, which seems pretty reasonable to me, especially considering that the Sheraton just down the block can run you easily between double, if not many more times that top price!
All told, the Addis Ababa Hilton is a really nice hotel. Clean, comfortable, attractive, well located, and with about all the amenities and facilities you could ask for, not to mention the good food (and even better coffee). While not perfect and not cheap, it does seem mostly worth the money, and I think even the slightly better off tourist would enjoy this hotel, while it might fall a bit short for those hard-core business or luxury seeking guests. I'll recommend it and give it four stars out of five, because while you could certainly do worse while visiting Ethiopia, if you want to do much better you'll need lots more dosh and find probably only one other hotel that can top it.
Thanks for reading!
Davida Chazan © March, 2008
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Technical Stuff:
The official web page for this hotel can be found at http://tinyurl.com/2m4sh6 and there you can find all the pictures and information about this hotel and its pricing and availability you could ever want.
Hilton Addis Ababa hotel's contact information is:
Menelik II Avenue, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 1164
Tel: 251-(0)11-5170000 Fax: 251-(0)11-5510064
E-mail: hilton.addis@ethionet.et
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Summary: The Addis Ababa Hilton - A lovely place to stay!
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