Hotel Delina — Hotel in Tigray

I stayed at the Hotel Delina in Axum, Ethiopia from June 6 until June 11. This hotel is in remarkably good shape considering the poverty and other problems plaguing Ethiopia. ||||1. Each day, the national electrical grid was down. Some days, the grid was down greater than 12 hours. Even when the electrical grid is up, their system is not grounded. If your electronics required a grounded plug, well, be careful and plan accordingly. My laptop's power supply stopped working before the third night as a result of the "non-grounded power outlets."||2. The water heaters are the type which only heat the water as the water flows through them, thus you will only have hot water when the national electric grid is working. The hotel's generator is barely big enough to power the lights. Half of my showers were cold.||3. When the power fails, the WiFi goes down too. As far as I could tell, every hotel in Axum has this problem.||4. The front door to every room is made of decorated glass and reinforced with steel bars. The rooms are built tough, so you really don't have to worry about anyone breaking in.||5. There is a lockable wooden nigh-stand available in every room. If you want to use the locks, be sure to look for the keys before agreeing to the room. While the hotel staff will exchange one night-stand for another, it is a great hassle to communicate any problems or issues to them unless Effram is with you or on the phone.||6. There is a man who calls himself "Effram." He seems to be the acting "Hotel Manager." He speaks excellent English, is able to set up and provide tours around Axum and he is well connected and well known throughout Axum. While you will be able to find other tour guides who will sell similar tours for less money, you won't find a more trustworthy tour guide than Effram. Effram will fully explain why and how he sets the price for each of the tours he offers. He will also discuss the amount of "profit" he is taking from the tour that he is trying to sell. Effram makes his living off of selling tours, so don't be surprised when he draws a line and refuses to drop his price any further. He is good at what he does and he will take good care of you. ||Effram's honesty is worth his price.||7. I recommend Effram over all of the other tour guides I met and did business with. Specifically; I worked with two other tour guides while I was in Axum. One talked me into buying things I didn't need at inflated prices (3x the normal rate) and the other led me into an area where I was pick-pocketed. Be careful if you choose to do business with any random tour guide. Don't let down your guard just because they have "tour guide association cards."||8. Hotel Delina is within walking distance of almost every site in the city of Axum, though if you are not used to walking (like me) you will be at risk of getting blisters. The "blue taxis" are quite cheap and easy to flag down, so you may as well make use of them.||9. There is a small "bar" in the hotel. I only purchased bottles of water, however, there were several other drinks available.||10. During the night (when there is electrical power available) a series of very bright lights will be lit near the "roof" of Hotel Delina. This seems to be a navigational aid for the guests (or at least for the guests who know about it). It is easy to get lost in Axum, especially at night. ||11. There was one night where I was out after the sun set, and I lost my way. I wandered around the back streets of Axum for a couple of hours before I chanced across someone who was willing to escort me back to Hotel Delina. I tipped the man when we were at the front door to the hotel.||The streets were dark and it would have been easy for anyone to rob me, yet nobody tried. I may have just been lucky.||You should make a point to return to the hotel while the sun is still up.||12. It is possible to have the hotel staff clean your laundry, however, it is easiest to ask them by first asking Effram to tell them what you need. I was quite satisfied with the cleanliness of my laundry and the speed at which it was done. You may want to know that your laundry will be air-dried on clotheslines on the roof of the hotel.||As with all hotels, the laundry service is an extra charge. ||13. At night, the hallway lights can be obnoxiously bright. I found it convenient to step out of my room and flip the switches. Twice a member of the hotel staff saw me do it. They did not complain, rather, thereafter, there were a couple of times where they would turn the...

My experience was similar to other reviewers and to those of other guests I spoke with at the hotel. Almost immediately after making the booking, I was contacted by someone who sais he was from the hotel and wanted to know when I would be arriving so he could pick me up from the airport. He then spent the ride from the airport and much of the next hour (as I was trying to settle in) pressuring me to hire him to do numerous tourist activities over the next few days (at a premium about 3x the market rate). When I finally convinced him that I wasn't interested, he told me he didn't work for the hotel and I needed to pay him for the ride from the airport. For those who aren't on a tight budget, are new to traveling in Africa, and/or don't want to try and figure out how to take in all that the area has to offer, he may in fact be exactly what you are looking for. (I can't speak to the quality of his "tours" as I didn't hire him). For those who are independent travelers or have local contacts (I had a local friend I was meeting the next day), it felt like an unwanted "bait and switch" which left a sour taste in my mouth. It is not clear what sort of arrangement he has with the hotel so that he is immediately given clients' cell phone numbers, but everything about it felt sketchy. As for the hotel, if it was run as a standard, above-the-board hotel I would have given it 4 stars. It is clean, comfortable, quite new, felt safe, and is conveniently located. Unfortunately, it was never clear who was in charge, as there was no check-in desk or manager present. I have no problem with hotels that recommend the services of others or help arrange activities, but my experience with this establishment was something else entirely, and seemed to be a standard practice. Axum is a fascinating place to visit, but for lodging, look elsewhere or at least...

Don't expect too much, but for Ethiopian standards it's a decent hotel.||||The rooms are clean, the bed comfortable and the hotel is located in a smaller/less frequented street, but still close to the main street with all the restaurants and in walking distance to the stele park. What is a little bit irritating is that the rooms have a door and window with iron bars and frosted glass.||||I can confirm the experience that others made with the "hotel manager" (he called himself Yohan/John) who is contacting guests after they made their booking (in our case via Whatsapp, he must have had the phone number from booking.com) and is trying to sell tours. We told him that we might be interested, but want to arrive first in Axum. He was very friendly and helpful (called while we were on the way from Gondar to Axum) and picked us up from the bus station for free. ||The next morning we met with him and he explained about tours he can offer (Tigray churches, Danakil depression, sightseeing tour in Axum) which were - according to other offers we have received - quite overpriced. I think he noticed quite quickly that we know exactly what we want and what is offered elsewhere and it therefore was a short discussion and he did not bother us further.||||If you book directly you can get the room for $20 (or cheaper).||The young man at the "reception" was very friendly and always...