Bole International Hotel | ቦሌ ኢንተርናሽናል ሆቴል — Hotel in Addis Ababa

Wasn't too many years ago when the expatriate business traveller to Africa in general, and Addis in particular had very few choices, a couple of fairly expensive branded international hotels, the one or two national hotels most of whom have seen their better days but weren't cheap, and a bunch of seedly local places or guest houses where one really didn't want to leave their valuables during the day. Not so any longer, at least not in Addis where many one and two star family oriented hotels have popped up over the past five to seven years...and Bole International is among them. These hotels target the expatriate Ethiopian bringing his/her family home from the USA, Europe etc, the African diplomatic business, transit passengers, and the occassional budget conscious business traveller like myself. I didn't stumbled on this hotel, my USA Ethiopian travel agent put me in it. For $52 a night, I had a large, decent, clean, functioning room with cable and internet, stable electricity, a decent bar and cafe, a mediocre restuarant, in a clean, secure three story building. But the real draw of Bole, in my opinion, is its location. It's right in the heart of the new hip section of Addis, full of cafes, pastry shops, boutiques and whatnot. This is not your father's Addis Ababa. This is the new yuppie generation Addis. Down the street is a great German pastry shop; the other direction are several very nice Starbuck type coffee shops, snack shops, and few decent bars, cultural night clubs with the full Ethiopian show, and health spas for men and women alike. I've stayed in the Sheraton and Hilton and elsewhere, and they are nice places, espceially the Sheraton. But to get out to see Addis, expect to take a taxi. Not here. Walk out the door and turn left or right and enjoy. Now let me not overhype this place. It may be a bit too basic for the new tourist unfamiliar with 3rd world digs; and it won't get you image enhancements from your new business partners. In Europe, it would be one or two star hotel. But in AFrica, its a definite three star place. I'll stay there again and I would take my family --- yeah they would like the Sheraton more but at these prices, it...

Wasn't too many years ago when the expatriate business traveller to Africa in general, and Addis in particular had very few choices, a couple of fairly expensive branded international hotels, the one or two national hotels most of whom have seen their better days but weren't cheap, and a bunch of seedly local places or guest houses where one really didn't want to leave their valuables during the day. Not so any longer, at least not in Addis where many one and two star family oriented hotels have popped up over the past five to seven years...and Bole International is among them. These hotels target the expatriate Ethiopian bringing his/her family home from the USA, Europe etc, the African diplomatic business, transit passengers, and the occassional budget conscious business traveller like myself. I didn't stumbled on this hotel, my USA Ethiopian travel agent put me in it. For $52 a night, I had a large, decent, clean, functioning room with cable and internet, stable electricity, a decent bar and cafe, a mediocre restuarant, in a clean, secure three story building. But the real draw of Bole, in my opinion, is its location. It's right in the heart of the new hip section of Addis, full of cafes, pastry shops, boutiques and whatnot. This is not your father's Addis Ababa. This is the new yuppie generation Addis. Down the street is a great German pastry shop; the other direction are several very nice Starbuck type coffee shops, snack shops, and few decent bars, cultural night clubs with the full Ethiopian show, and health spas for men and women alike. I've stayed in the Sheraton and Hilton and elsewhere, and they are nice places, espceially the Sheraton. But to get out to see Addis, expect to take a taxi. Not here. Walk out the door and turn left or right and enjoy. Now let me not overhype this place. It may be a bit too basic for the new tourist unfamiliar with 3rd world digs; and it won't get you image enhancements from your new business partners. In Europe, it would be one or two star hotel. But in AFrica, its a definite three star place. I'll stay there again and I would take my family --- yeah they would like the Sheraton more but at these prices, it...

I stayed in the C Block and my room was a clean, quiet, spacious and comfortable base during my stay. The hotel's a five minute drive from the airport and a 15 minute drive from the city centre and there are some nice restaurants within walking distance. The hotel's very average and while there's nothing particularly wrong with it I think that it's overpriced. My main criticism is the wifi. I travelled on business and could get very limited, if any, signal in my room on the 5th floor and wifi access in the lobby was unreliable. Other criticisms include the totally indifferent staff, frequently slippery floors with no caution signs (including on staircases), and limited selection of food at breakfast. A little disappointing...