Ghion Hotel | Stadium — Hotel in Addis Ababa

When I first arrived I didn't understand the poor reviews. I honestly thought this hotel maybe just attracts high maintenance people. The compound is beautiful and has a spa, gym, pool, mutliple restaurants, etc. However, many rooms lack working hot water and outlets. Staff is rude and cleaning staff literally robs rooms. You have to check all of your valuables at the front desk every time you leave, and if you check too many things some of the front desk staff will give you a hard time. The restaurant staff is rude and inefficient (45 minutes to wait for your check when you're literally the only person in the restaurant kind of inefficient). I'm not one to swear off an entire establishment based on one hair in my food, but after 4 times in a row with a bug or long human hair in my food, I don't love it. Everything comes with hidden extra costs. The pool, the gym, the occasional events they have on the compound. The mosquitos at night get pretty terrible and there are no bug nets or mosquito screens. There is a curtain type thing, which in multiple rooms has a gaping hole it in. This might be a nice place to stay for a couple of nights with its prime location (right by Meskel square, a popular tourist destination due to museums and a few decent restaurants) but I wouldn't recommend any type of extended stay. I live in a much less developed country and if this hotel were cheaper, I would give it a solid 5 stars. You can just do much, MUCH better at this price...

A very disapointing experience. I spent one night at Ghion and will not set foot in it again.

The low priced rooms were smelly, we asked for a level higher. That was the moment the manager decided we didn't deserve any service anymore. First they refused to be paid in local currency (you'll get your bill in ETB, though). But I had run out of Euro's and my card failed, for odd reasons. I had plenty of Birrs, but no, "No exceptions made, this is State policy and this is a government owned hotel." It was late already, I was (even sick) and tired, but no solution was searched for. My colleague had to pay for my room, with his credit card. The manager showed us the rooms on an higher floor, opened some four with his master key then said "this one" and was about to leave. I asked for a card key and he said "I'll bring it to you." After 15 minutes nothing had happened and I found out that the phone would not connect me with the reception. I needed water too (none in the room) so I went down again. I found the manager hanging at the desk and I asked for the key and water. The key had still to be processed, the receptionist had not even got the order and as for the water: "You'll find roomservice, somewhere near your floor". The young receptionist is not to blame, she was willing and helpful and all smiles and caring. But that doesn't save the management. I felt absolutely unwelcome and that is not the...

The Ghion hotel-do not eat here. We have India trained stomachs and, much to our chagrin for our last day in Ethiopia, we both got disgustingly ill the next day. We should have listened to our gut on the signs: completely empty restaurant, dingy tablecloths, dispassionate staff (some, not all). Maybe it’s normal to have stray cats run through restaurants in addis but we hadn’t seen any anywhere else. The bread roll at the start of the meal was stale and hard. We ordered the veggie burger and it came with a surprisingly large amount of food: two patties, some fries, carrots, and greens. The patty was well formed but somewhat bland and, worse, cold, and did not seem fresh. The fries seemed cold in the inside and oily on the outside. The greens were luke warm and unseasoned. Boiled carrots were fine. Hard to know which part of the meal made us ill as it all seemed suspiciously unfresh. The only reason we ate there is because it seemed like the only quick option before we went to the African jazz village. But in retrospect, the better option would have been to not eat at all. Lot of potential in this place due to location and history but I would not go back unless ownership/ management changes, or Gordon Ramsey visits. we regretted dining here both in the short(eating it) and long term(dealing with the...