Lodge Du Chateau - Gonder - Ethiopia — Hotel in Amhara Region

Even though the staff (not the owner) of the hotel was nice and welcoming. The cleaning ladies, gatekeepers, receptionist, made their best to make our stay great, they were helpful and took care of us. The garden inside and outside the place was pretty, the view from the terrace was nice, the breakfast was fine too. It is in front of the castle and not far from the center of the town...|It was only place in Ethiopia, we were regretting that we had stayed at.|I'm person who is really easy-going and even rough and simple conditions are fine for me, I had been a sort of vagabond traveller in the past. I am aware where I am travelling.|| This time I really felt that somebody had ripped me off and I got into tourist trap. We had chosen the place because the rating and opinions were really great. But when we got there we were really disappointed it is not so superb, excellent as the other people suggested. The place completely didn't meet our expectations. The price (65 USD per night) was way too much! Especially in Ethiopia. It was the most expensive place we stayed in that country and in the same time it had the worst facilities from the places we visited. To compare: in other places we paid 25-30% of that price and we felt like royals in the palaces (10/10). The bathroom of our room in the Lodge du Chateau- was old, dark, small, smelling badly, and needed renovation. When we used the sink - the pipes were leaking, the toilet also didn't work properly - we had to repair the flushing system ourselves so we could use it in the night. The bed was old and hard, blankets were super old and heavy, sheets were really old too. The room we stayed was not quiet (we got the one next to the street, even if the other rooms were available), when there were prayers in the church in the night, we couldn't sleep as the walls were thin. ||But probably the worst was that during all of our stay we had a strong feeling that something is wrong. I felt that the place was sort of "island for white tourists" in the town. We also kind of regret that we trusted the opinions and we chose that place to stay instead for finding one which is closer to the local community, and is hosting not only "white rich tourists" but also local people. |I had also impression that the staff of the place was really afraid of the owner of the place, that he was not so friendly and nice guy as he seemed to be or were presented in the comments of tourist who visited his place|As we talked with people outside the gates of Lodge Du Chateau, members of the community of Gondar, I realized that it was not only our feeling. |We exchanged some messages with Simon, but didn't meet him in Gondar. When he learnt that we were not planning to go to tours he was proposing as they were too expensive, he sort of lost an interest in us. After the experience we had at this place I realized that he was rather interested in our money, not us. His messages, which we got from him before coming to Ethiopia after making a booking, were not helping us to feel safe there, but raised that feeling of fear and stress. |Now after some time, I realize that he was his way to do marketing of his services. Reading in between lines: "You should go with me to a tour, so you can feel safe with me and my staff". ||Just in a moment when we arrived to Ethiopia and talked with some good friends who we met there, we realized that the things for example about transportation between cities, which he told us were not true. ||And yes, we told the staff about the loud rooms, broken toilet, blankets and so on... I always say about my needs immediately - I worked as a staff in the hotel once upon a time and I know that communication is key to success, I know how to be a good guest. | I also know that it is not fault of the staff when something doesn't work, but it is owner duty to maintain the place. ||I am writing this honest opinion so others would not feel disappointed as we were and...

EXTREMELY CONCERNING. WE WERE PHYSICALLY ATTACKED BY THE MANAGER AT THIS HOTEL. The most bizarre experience in my many travels around the world. Upon arriving at the airport in Gondar (where this hotel is located), we hired a taxi that was asking for 60 birrs in total (the local currency) to take my friend and I to the hotel. As we were putting our luggage in this taxi, another taxi driver approached us and asked if we were staying at the Lodge du Chateau hotel, offering a free shuttle to the hotel. Once we got to the hotel, they were not able to locate our reservation, and instead, they offered to make a new booking at a much higher price than what their website advertises. We informed the manager that it was over our budget, and that we were going to have to find another place where to stay. Immediately, his demeanor changed abruptly. He said in a very loud voice and with an angry face “you owe 250 birrs per person for the ride here from the airport”. Although this ride was offered to us as “free”, and although it was not our fault that they could not locate our reservation, and although they were not abiding to the prices on their website, we offered to pay the 60 birrs we were originally going to pay for the taxi ride. We tried to explain to the manager that he was over-charging for the ride. This exchange quickly escalated when the manager grabbed my female friend by her arms, and then pushed her against a gate. Confused, out of words for what was happening, I intervened, and told him not to touch her, at which point he pushed me on my chest. I avoided starting a physical fight, and asked him to stop. He then locked us inside the hotel! Literally, locked us inside the hotel! I demanded him to call the police. Imagine how confusing and alarming this was for us in a foreign country, where we are not familiar with the laws. I had to push him away from the gate, and managed to unlock the gate, while still fighting him away from us. While this is all happening, he was screaming at us, and screaming at his staff that was trying to make him calm down. We threw money inside his office at the end, doing what we thought was the right thing to do, which is, to pay the fair fees. As we tried to escape the hotel, he again pushed my friend from her back. Until this day, we are in shock for what happened. I am reading other reviews on this website, and find these comments among others: “How this can of behavior still exist on 21th century! and “we demanded to speak to the manager and, when he finally arrived, he too had no explanation and became quite aggressive. Worried about our safety we decided to leave Lodge du Chateau as quickly as possible”. These reviews from other guests tells me this is not the first time this individual acts in such an irrational manner. Local authorities need to look into this establishment, as it is not safe for travelers to deal with this person who might not be...

My review is based on my recent experience during the last Timkat holiday, which is a known busy time and the best time to visit Gondar. Unfortunately i did not have a pleasant stay at the place because when I called the manager, 4 days in advance, he told me clearly that while the hotel was already almost fully booked for the night i needed, he also said "dont worry, Madam, you still come here and we will find a place for you" he also added that some people normally don't come, sometime due to change of mind if security issues arise, etc. etc. I want to add that he was really convincing on this, with a warm tone of voice and good English. But because I still did not trust him entireley (i am an experienced traveller and I know ethiopians....) i insisted in asking him if that's confirmed and so that I should NOT book another hotel for that night and that i was going to be ok. He repeated that "we are going to find something for you, do not worry, do not worry". I also called him back several times during the previous days to check and to remind him about my arrival time and date. In trusting him, i also took courage from some of the reviews here that said that he is very helpful. So I decided to trust his many reiterations of the above agreement and kept my 'booking' with him. Now, the flight was very late and I got to Gondar at 9pm. During the transit in Addis and Axum, I had informed him that the flight was delayed of 1.5 hour (nothing i had control over). As soon I arrived in Gondar, of course I called him to inform him i had arrived and I said that i was going to take a taxi to go to the hotel. Unfortunately now the tone of his voice as soon as I was in Gondar, had changed and he simply said that the hotel was full - that he had no place for me and that i was basically on my own. You can immagine what it meant for a solo female traveller at 10pm in a remote region of Ethiopia to look for alternative accomodation when everything was full and being alone, after he had said many times that whatever the case, he was going to help me. Of course, he couldn't gain anything from me now - as his bookings all showed up, so he simply left me in the street. Enough said, i think. I am sharing this to balance some of the other reviews, as to avoid that other people will trust his words as I did and find themselves in a very difficult and potentially even...