Eden Phoenix Hotel — Hotel in El Kerma

The Eden and Phoenix hotels are practically the same hotel: They are right next to each other, and have the same owner and manager. The hotels are near the airport.||There is a single pint-sized pool at the Phoenix that Eden guests also can use. ||A colleague and I stayed at the Eden for two nights. Because we were on a business trip Internet access was very important, and the hotel assured us they had wifi in the rooms. When we arrived we asked about Internet, and they confirmed they had wifi access in the rooms. When we got to the rooms and tried, there was no connection. Then we were told they had wifi, but only in the lobby. That also was not the case. Then we were told to go to the Phoenix, which we did not try. The Internet did come back the next day, and did work in the rooms.||The most appalling part of our stay was the air conditioning. We were staying on the top floor, and there was no air conditioning in the hallways. You swelter as you walk into the room. There was a thermostat in the room with temperature settings, but what you are not told is that all it does is turn the A/C on or off. There is an old style, individual A/C in every room, the type you need a remote to adjust. But there was no remote in the rooms. The temperature was set for 27 degrees. When we asked for one, they said they could not give us one, but would send someone to adjust the temperature. After umpteen phone calls someone did show up, and adjusted the temperature in both of our rooms. But, for some reason, that did not change anything. My A/C worked all night and I slept without even a sheet to cover. My colleagues kept stopping. They changed his room in the middle of the night -- but same story.||Also, the rooms are very small, and fitted with all Chinese furniture and fittings. We were on a floor that had been newly refurbished. A workman was putting the finishing touches in the hallway. Inside the room, the Chinese furniture was already falling apart; the shower pipe was half rusted already.||All in all, avoid this hotel. ||After two nights at the Eden I moved to the Hotel Colombe, a very basic hotel inside a middle-class neighborhood where rooms have been newly refurbished and quite nice. Internet is accessed by a cable in every room, the restaurant is over priced and not very good, and house rules forbid drinking alcohol in the rooms. The Colombe does not have a bar (and Phoenix does). But if all you want is a good, clean room and bathroom and cheerful and friendly staff, choose the Colombe. It is also about a 20 minute walk to the...

I stayed from March 16th till March 20th 2014 to attend the 2nd International Tourism Workshop in Oran as an expert to promote the destination.||The organizers booked us in Eden Phoenix.||Arrival was late night 11pm since we drove from Algiers.||We were immediately greeted by the bellman which made a very good first impression after a 4 hours drive...||Check In was quick and efficient.||||Positive:||1- Helpful staff||2- Good beds||3- Free Wifi||4- Excellent breakfast||5- Very good service||6- Excellent breakfast||||Negative:||1- Far from the Conference Centre (CCO)||2- No taxis, you have to wait a long time||3- No water hose in the toilets||4- Toilets are not separated with the bathroom||5- Excessive charges while using the credit card||6- Use of mobile phones by Reception staff||7- Lobby washrooms not kept very well||8- Alcohol very expensive in the lobby bar||9- Rooms overpriced for the comfort...||||Overall it was very...

IMPORTANT!||23 March 2017: Hotel is in the midst of being refurbished throughout its grounds including the main lobby. It looks to be an improvement.||This is NOT a 4 or 5 star hotel - at most about 3 stars.||PRO:||- within 5 min of airport||- spacious room||- sufficient electrical sockets and lighting in room||- good lunch in restaurant||- next door to good Italian restaurant (Trattoria)||CON:||- room decor outdated and worn; closet doors do not easily close; no hotpot (tea, coffee) or mini fridge; TV channels do not always work; card key often demagnetizes||- bathroom without bidet; hair dryer is weak; hot shower in evenings only||- extremely poor buffet breakfast||- no water in the swimming pool||- conference rooms are behind the hotel so you must go outside and walk 5 min to them||- wifi Internet is completely useless in room (too slow), slightly better in restaurant but still very slow; access expires...