Oceanic Bay Hotel and Resort — Hotel in Pwani Region

This review will do 2 very important things: 1) add credibility to "the worst hotel in the world" review on this page, from June 2023... and 2) dispute and clarify the managing director's response to that review (which is filled with lies and misrepresentations). ||||I was a part of that same group who all had an absolutely terrible experience at this property. Never have I experienced such unprofessional, unacceptable and awful customer service... and I have traveled all over the world, spent significant time in more than 30 countries, and even worked in the hotel business myself for more than 15 years.||||First I want to echo a few points made in "the worst hotel in the world review:"||||- Upon arrival and check-in, we did indeed inform the staff and management that we would be having dinner, and we even specified the time our group would dine. When we arrived to the restaurant and ordered, we then waited over 2 hours for our food. Yes that's true and accurate. We waited more than 2 HOURS FOR OUR FOOD. And when the food finally arrived, 3 of the 11 dishes were wrong, and the rest were terrible/inedible.||- Then upon checkout the next morning, we did politely ask for a discount on the dinner bill (or at least some gesture of hospitality and accountability), given the very poor service and quality of the food... but the manager was not present (at 9am) and the staff were clearly not educated in customer service. When the manager did finally arrive (late), he was rude, mean and insulting to our group and our tour operator... insisting this whole situation was our fault. Our fault?! After many minutes of discussion, we did ultimately agree to pay for the entire food bill, but only because the management and staff closed the gate and would not allow us to leave. And yes they did threaten to call the police on us.||- When we did agree to pay for the entire dinner bill, the credit card machine "wasn't working," so they could not even take our payment... and insisted we go to a nearby ATM to get cash. When we refused, communicating that this situation had already made us late for our ferry, the manager insisted on sending a staff member all the way to Dar es Salaam with us (this staff member had never been to the city and was not given the option of going or not going) to make sure we paid before leaving the city. And as many of us know, the "credit card machine isn't working" excuse is often given to encourage guests to pay in cash.||||Now let me respond the managing director's comments:||||- "This was not a failure of service but a response to an unexpected demand." This is a lie. As I stated above, when we arrived we let the manager know we would be dining at the restaurant and even what time we would be there.||||- "Regarding your dissatisfaction with the final bill, we found it perplexing given that your group consumed all the meals without any leftovers." This is also a lie. The 3 meals that were wrong were not consumed at all, 2 other dishes that were completely inedible were left entirely uneaten, and the remainder of the meals were not finished. ||||- "The resolution of sending a staff member with you to an ATM was suggested by your party, not us." False and another lie. As I stated above, this was something forced on us and the staff member by the manager. And we were the ones who paid for the staff member's bus ride back to the hotel.||||- "It's regrettable that it felt to you like a confrontation; it was certainly not the intention." This is a misrepresentation. The manager was not only hostile and rude to all of us, but threatened our group and our tour operator (who we've worked with for 7 years). The manager is clearly not educated in hospitality or hotel management, and this response by the managing director only reinforces the overall approach this company takes to their guests, which fails in very way to even attempt hospitality or take responsibility.||||And finally, a few more thoughts:||||- The property is unclean, old, and falling apart. There is clearly no attempt being made to maintain the rooms and facilities.||- The staff is not friendly.||- We did not feel safe at this property.||- The food is terrible.||- Customer service is non-existent.||||What's very important to note about this review is this: we have been coming to Tanzania for more than 7 years, and we have spent time in all kinds of hotels, lodges and camps, in many villages and towns in the country. We have stayed in every level of accommodation, from village guest houses, to safari camps to upscale hotels... and are comfortable at all levels, as long as we feel safe and looked after. This "hotel and resort" is so bad that it does a disservice not only to the hotel industry, but to Bagamoyo as well. I have had bad experiences before, but have never been compelled to take the time to write a bad review on this site... until now. And my only reason for doing so now is to warn other travelers, so that no one else has to suffer or waste their time and money. ||||P.S. Just take a look at the rest of the reviews on this page: an overwhelming number fall into the "terrible" category. Enough said. Don't stay here.||||P.P.S. A note to the managing director: you have 46 reviews on this page, and a majority of these reviews fall into the "terrible" category. It's obviously not possible that all of these reviewers are wrong. It is in fact true that your company needs a new approach to hotel management and hospitality. Regardless of what you write in response these bad reviews publicly, you know the reality privately, which is that all of these reviews accurately represent these guests' experiences at...

This was the absolute worst hotel I have ever stayed at. To start, once I was checked into my room, they moved me to a different room after 20 minutes. Our group made a reservation with them for dinner, yet when we got there they were not at all prepared or set up. It took 2.5 hours for us to receive our food after ordering, and over half of it was incorrect and all of it was disgusting, some were simply inedible. We attempted to check out the following morning, and we explained how terrible the dining experience was, they still forced us to pay in full. We tried to explain how this was unfair, but we were very close to missing our flight, so we just wanted to go. They then told us that our credit card wouldn’t go through, even tho it was saying “machine error”. They then explained how none of them knew how to work the machine. We asked to speak to the manager to sort it out, but there was no manager on duty. Finally after 30 minutes, some manager dude pulls up on a motorcycle and starts screaming at us. We try to pay and leave, and they block us in with the gate and stand in front of our vehicle. They then threatened to call the police. We finally got out but were forced to take one of the employees with us??? Literally so awful. Never...

My stay at Oceanic Bay Hotel and Resort was nothing short of a nightmare. The bathrooms were disgustingly filthy, and the toilets didn't even flush properly, creating a completely unsanitary environment. The agony continued with interminable waiting times at the restaurant, coupled with abysmal customer service. Adding insult to injury, the night-time dining experience became a battle with mosquitoes, turning what should have been a relaxing meal into a constant swatting session.

The sleeping conditions were equally deplorable, with dirty, old, and torn bedsheets providing no comfort whatsoever. Safety concerns arose with an unsafe staircase, casting a shadow of doubt on the overall structural integrity of the facility. To top it off, a two-hour wait for food resulted in a meal that was not only delayed but also disappointingly undercooked, leaving me with an unpleasant culinary experience.

While the swimming pool offered a glimmer of hope, it was marred by poor maintenance. The water was visibly dirty, and the surroundings suggested a lack of regular cleaning. In essence, Oceanic Bay Hotel and Resort proved to be a regrettable choice, overshadowed by its numerous shortcomings that tainted what should have been a...