Getfam Hotel — Hotel in Addis Ababa

Extremely Disappointed with Service and Management

I had a deeply disappointing experience at Get Fam Hotel during my friend's wedding, and I feel compelled to share how poorly the management and front desk staff treated the bride, groom, and their wedding party.

On the night of the wedding, the hotel’s event coordinators proved to be completely unprepared and unprofessional. As the bride and groom, along with half of their squad, were making their entrance into the hall, the power went out. The DJ couldn’t even play their entrance music, completely throwing off the mood of the event. To make matters worse, the lights remained off during the officiation, making it impossible for guests to hear the church father since the microphones weren’t working. The reason? The hotel event coordinators provided the DJ with an incompatible adapter, which caused a power outage in the event hall. This issue took 30-45 minutes to resolve—after the ceremony had already started, ruining the experience.

To compensate for their failure to manage the event properly, the hotel promised the bride and groom a free room on their Melse day. However, when the bride arrived at the hotel after getting her hair and makeup done, ready to prepare for the Melse and take photos, the front desk staff treated her and her bridesmaids horribly. Not only did they fail to honor their promise, but they also suddenly demanded $300 USD for the room they had provided on the wedding night—despite the fact that this room was already included in the wedding package. Shockingly, the online price of that same room was much lower, meaning the hotel was trying to overcharge them.

When we asked to speak with the manager and the event organizer who made the promise, the front desk staff refused to call them and spoke to us in an unprofessional and rude manner. The entire experience was frustrating and disheartening.

I would not recommend Get Fam Hotel to anyone planning a wedding or event. The management, front desk workers, and event coordinators need serious training on professionalism, customer service, and basic event planning. Instead of "Get Fam," this hotel should be called "Get Scam." Avoid this place if you want your special day to...

When we checked into the hotel, we immediately noticed issues. The toilet jet was defective, and the amenities provided were for one person, even though we had booked for two. The bedsheet was old, with small cotton pills all over, making it unsuitable for guests. Later, when we returned to sleep, we were disturbed by a persistent low-bass noise. Upon inquiry, the staff informed us that it was coming from the ventilator of a nearby building. They offered to move us to a room on the bustling side near the main road. Though we were trying to avoid the car noise, we accepted. The condition of the new room, however, shocked us more—there were at least two noticeable yellow stains on the bedsheet. We had to wait for a replacement, which meant we slept quite late.

The breakfast was another disappointment, especially considering they charged more than $10 for it. There was no fish available, only tiny slices of beef with rice. The coffee was another letdown, as they didn’t have a specialized machine for cappuccino or other variations. It’s hard to believe this is a 5-star hotel (though listed as 4-star on Google, other platforms list it as 5-star, and the staff confirmed it was upgraded to 5-star after renovation).

One star goes to the manager in the kitchen who made an effort and provided us with fried fish upon request. However, if you’re interested in the swimming pool, beware—it’s closed on Mondays, which is quite unusual for a hotel. The indoor pool has two sections, one around 0.76 meters deep and another at 1.6 meters, and while it was warm, it wasn’t enough to compensate for the overall experience.

Lastly, the most frustrating part of our stay was when we inquired about extending our reservation. Upon check-in, we were told that the rate would remain the same for an extended night. When we were ready to pay for the second night, however, the front desk asked for a higher rate. The staff was quite arrogant, claiming it was the “cheapest price.” It was truly disappointing to experience such low service and to feel like we were being...

I'm amazed at the Getfam Hotel's reviews. My experience was unfortunately very different. By way of ‘disclaimer’, having traveled through 24 African countries, I am aware of the 'inconsistencies' that can present when traveling through the continent. Additionally, this was not my first visit to Ethiopia. What I experienced at Getfam was more than inconsistencies.

I stayed at Getfam for four weeks while volunteering with an NGO. During my stay, my room needed to be changed four times. On two occasions there was no wi-fi (On the first occasion, I waited two nights for the promised fix.), on two occasions the toilet seat was loose, one room had no hot water, and in one room, flooding occurred in the bathroom, most of the room, and the exterior hallway.

The staff were almost always exceptionally friendly. That said, they were almost always decidedly inefficient. A simple request such as organizing a taxi was incredibly complicated ("Sir, you need to get the app."), with one taxi request taking over 20 minutes. Ultimately, I chose to hail taxis from the front of the hotel. Staff in the bar or dinner area would talk with each other while I waited to order another drink, pay a bill, etc. On occasion (e.g. last night), bar staff needed to get credit card POS machines from reception or the next floor. Almost always, simple requests or processes took an inordinate amount of time to action. On one occasion, when I pointed out the bar's need for greater efficiency and organization, the barman giggled??? Finally, there were numerous food and drink options that were not available during the entirety of my stay.

There were numerous other instances of Getfam staff's inefficiencies.

From a positive perspective, the room cleaning staff were excellent. The laundry was always done extremely quickly. The breakfast staff were extremely attentive, and items from the buffet were replenished upon request.

As a result of the inefficiencies, the staff were almost always apologetic: "I'm sorry." Regarding this review, I'm...