Nega Bonger Hotel — Hotel in Addis Ababa

My family almost stayed here a few months ago, but comments from friends about bad customer service discouraged us. We decided to give it a try this time and stayed three nights. My kids said on more than one occasion: “They have good customer service here.” I agreed. The things I had heard about from my friends never happened to us. The food was good for the most part although the chicken wings were way too breaded and the fajitas didn’t taste Mexican at all (I think they used BBQ sauce). I especially liked the ravioli. ||I used the sauna and gym one day. The gym had all I needed, but the layout didn’t allow much space to use the dumbbells. My fam also used the pool. The hot tub was lukewarm the first time we used it, and the Pool was colder than lukewarm. The next say, the hot tub was warmer but it still wasn’t hot. It was also full of kids. The larger pool was a bit warmer that day too, but still not as warm as expected.||So, why a 4 instead of a 5? There were a few issues that, if corrected, would lead me to give the hotel a 5. They didn’t spoil the experience, but they were irritating. First, the water flow in the bathtub was SO SLOW, you’d have to wait an hour (at least!) for the tub to fill up. Also, the shower never got hot during our entire stay. Second, placement of the TV doesn’t allow you to lay in bed and watch. Third, the hotel smells like a fast food restaurant as if food is being fried all day long. Fourth, the safes in BOTH rooms stopped working. We were on our way to dinner one night, and we had to wait over 20 min just so someone could open the safe for me to get my wallet and cash. ||Let me end on a positive note. My fam and I had an enjoyable experience overall. We’d definitely consider going back. This place has tremendous potential, but a few...

Oct 8 In the end, the weekend was salvaged. The managers were great. They came to the room and listened. When the second cleaning attempt failed, they gave me another room. The restaurant has great food and a variety of options. The spinach-ricotta ravioli with meat sauce was well done. Breakfast buffets are also well done.

Oct 6 Nega Bonger was one of my favorite hideaways. In the past, the rooms had always been clean. Today, I'm disappointed! The night manager quickly ushered in a beleaguered cleaning lady to do emergency cleaning... The room is filthy!!! The floor has bits of kolo, hair, and tissue paper mear the door. The bathroom has a dull sheen, stains on the sink, and balled up hairs in the shower stall. The bed sits crooked in the center, and the once "white" comforter was worn, frayed, and had a very soiled look!! I didn't dare look under the bed!! The closet and side tables have a solid layer of dust, which is at least weeks and weeks old! The walls, which once had a shiny spark, are now dull with age, stained all around, are smudged with finger smears of ... I don't know what!!! The carpet is musty! It has whitish stains in a few places and has a muted dusty smell that even the heavily scented carpet deodorizer couldn't overcome. The curtains are beyond filthy! They have deep stains from floor to ceiling, are dull with age and misuse ... and someone may have wiped their nose with the curtains!! The once pristine balcony is dusty from misuse, and the poor, poor potted tree plant is half dead, its pot cracked, and the soil dry. Such sad neglect!! What happened to my once favorite...

I highly recommend NB hotel to pretty much anyone: foreigners, locals, singles, couples, family with kids, gym-sauna-swiming-skate loving ppl). I stayed there for over 3 weeks and I actually miss everything about that place: service, team friendliness, free delicious breakfast, open cafeteria at the backyard to relax, read or work on your laptop with a fast wifi while enjoying the greenness and the swimming pool in your sight.

Regarding the hotel rooms, NB hotel is one of the neatest hotel I have ever seen in Addis. You won't find a spot on the (white) covers, sheets and towels. They smell good too; that was very important to me. Also, you could only notice and appreciate the effort made to customize Ethiopian elements on parts of the bed, ceiling, wall paintings, hangers, etc.

The neighbourhood looks a bit chaotic with street markets and no one could expect a calm, relaxing, safe and beautiful place right at the corner. I say, go visit the place first and decide for yourself. I heard tourists go for hotels near the airport (aka Bole area) when I asked why the hotel was a bit underrated. The fact is: the hotel is not at all far from there -- it also offers a free shuttle from/to the airport upon arrival and departure. During my stay, I usually used RIDE or Feres (Amharic word for horse), the currently popular Uber-like safe transport services to go around anywhere...