Element Dar es Salaam — Hotel in Dar es-Salaam

Frankly I don’t even know where to begin to describe my utterly disappointing experience at Element. In terms of the facilities, my room — a Premiere King Apartment with Ocean View — was marred by problems. Most importantly, the lock on the main door does not work, meaning that even after I lock it, it can still be opened from the outside. This is a significant risk on the safety of whoever’s staying inside. Secondly, the toilet was broken. Once you press down the flush button and release it, the water just keeps coming, and it never stops. 3 hours or 5 hours, or even the entire night, it just keeps coming. The telephone also did not work in even calling the front desk.

It would be an understatement to say that the service I received at the restaurant was one of the worst I’ve ever experienced. Literally spent 20 minutes just for the waiter to clean the table and to take away the dirty ashtray. The portly lady waitress (whose name was Fatma) ignored my clear verbal and visual attempts to get her attention — three times. The service was incredibly slow. And much of the staff seemed entirely oblivious to my attempts to try to get their attention and to my questions. I am not even asking for friendly service — it was certainly not — but just to get food on my table was the challenge of a lifetime. It baffles me how a hotel that charges $200 a night — which is at the highest end in Dar es Salaam — considers this level of service acceptable. More disappointment followed suit after the food arrived. The medium sirloin steak I ordered was entirely COLD and RAW in the center. There’s a difference between medium steaks and improperly cooked steaks. And the sirloin I was served was with a center that’s even colder than blue. It was honestly a food safety concern. Upon explaining the problem to the waiter, I realized that he did not have the command over the English language to understand my concern. In the end, I settled for a reheated well done piece of meat. The quality of the steak itself was also far below par. Earlier in my stay in Dar, I had the pleasure to stay at the Hyatt Regency, which is at a similar price point, but with truly exceptional service all around. The quality of the food there was also much better by an alarming margin. The difference was honestly night and day.

My horrible experience with the hotel continued even after my stay. Upon realizing I only received 138 points from my three-night-stay, I contacted the front desk, as when I checked in, I informed them that the booking I made was a package where each stay rewards an additional 1000 points. The staff at the front desk demanded PHOTO EVIDENCE, even though it was clearly stated in my booking in the Marriott app. Even without this package, I struggle to comprehend how a $650 plus stay only amounted to 138 points.

I can resolutely say that I will never visit Element Dar es Salaam again. I will also caution others visiting Dar to avoid this hotel at all costs. This horrible experience has significantly lowered my level of confidence in the Element brand, and honestly to a certain degree, the entire Marriott group at large, for allowing one of their properties to operate in this manner. I’m a frequent traveler and a very infrequent reviewer, but this unfortunate experience prompted me to subject myself to writing this lengthy review, so as to share my experience to my...

4 stars for facilities, 2 stars for service. Rooms are nice and the self-service washing machine (free, btw) was an unexpected surprise.

After my 1st night i noticed the cleaners took the wash cloth i used but didnt replace it. Not an issue, as the room comes with 2 sets and i stayed alone. But, around 6pm i hear the door open and i went to see if someone had the wrong room. Turns out, the housecleaner entered my room without knocking, hoping to replace the cloth without me noticing. That is the ultimate no-no for a hotel: staff cant randomly enter your room unannounced. I made sure to use the internal lock for the remainder of my stay and turned down housekeeping services.

The restaurant menu had a special where you can pick 3 appetizers for 30K. Great, i will try 3 different items, for every meal of my stay. The first time, the waitress had to ask management if the 3 items i chose were included in the special - AFTER assuring me that i can choose ANY 3 for 30K. Fine. But, on my next visit, i ordered a different 3 items and the same waitress (fatma) comes with a bill for 37K. She claims the kitchen manager doesnt allow the 3 for 30K special, and conveniently waits until after i get the bill to reveal this info. I was not in the mood to argue and instead sacrificed the extra 7k but chose to eat outside the hotel for the remaining 3 days. Normally, i never critique english skill in a non-anglo country, but for a high priced western hotel brand, i expected better english from the restaurant staff - especially since staff at the 2 marriott protea hotels in dar have excellent english. The other waitress (not fatma) did not understand me.

The computer room has equipment from 2013, and the printer jammed all 3 times that i tried to print some documents.

I checked out 5hrs before my flight to allow time to discuss these issues (plus other minor ones) with management. But, the lobby was completely empty at the time (1am). I just placed my keycard on the desk and left. The hotel is not bad, and i may stay again - it just seems like there isnt much effort with service. My recommendations for management would be to invest in quality employees. The protea hotel in oysterbay has much better staff and service - maybe do an...

A Top Choice in Dar es Salaam – Exceptional Staff and Service.

Every time we visit Dar es Salaam, we choose the Element Hotel as our safe haven. The level of service here is exceptional, and the staff truly makes all the difference. Khadija at the front desk is simply the best—always professional, warm, and eager to help. Gertrude and Ramadhan also provide phenomenal service, and on our last visit, we were equally impressed by Naomi.

Before heading to Arusha, Khadija kindly placed us in Room 204, a lovely executive suite with a beautiful view of the pool. We greatly appreciated her thoughtful hospitality. The breakfast at Element Hotel is always fabulous—delicious, varied, and a great start to the day.

The housekeeping team is mostly wonderful, with Zuena standing out for her professionalism and attention to detail. However, we did have an issue with Irene. Despite our request not to clean the room (as we only used the bed at night) and placing a "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door, we were surprised to find her in our room after returning from breakfast. This was disappointing, and we didn’t understand why our request was ignored.

That being said, the overall experience at Element Hotel is consistently top-notch. For anyone visiting Dar es Salaam, we highly recommend staying here. If you’re lucky enough to be assisted by Khadija, Ramadhan, or Gertrude, you won’t be disappointed. They truly go above and beyond to ensure every guest has a...