Palema Crown Hotel — Hotel in Gulu

The front desk, concierge, bar and chef Lee were all fantastic. They were friendly and welcoming. We inquired about a birthday cake for two of our friends and Chef Lee made it happen! The Ugandan birthday party was a hit! It was so pleasant to relax after a long day in the open air courtyard with a cold Nile Special. The staff was always helpful with our 50lb BAGS shufffling up and down the stairs- not fun. ||||The location was convenient to our daily destinations and places to go out to eat. Depending on your room location it could be noisy, street traffic and music. Internet service was intermittent, but would say overall it worked more than not and was related to the weather. ||||The room was okay. I was in a middle room on the 3rd floor. The space was fine and bathroom was adequate. Over five days I did not have hot water once. The water pressure was minimal to moderate. Enough to sponge bath. However, some of my travel companions did have hot water. I shared an AC remote with a travel friend the room next to mine. AC worked but when the power went out obviously it did not. The linens were clean. I think some of the issues were at the whim of the weather (rain). Overall...

I have been traveling to Gulu since the war and am totally amazed by the great strides being made there to advance the health, education and economy of the region. The Palema Crown should be playing a greater role as a catalyst for business travel and meetings in northern Uganda. In order for management to meet this challenge they will have to provide a better experience for guests. The major issues are: 1) hot water is seldom, if ever, available in the morning and when it is, the water pressure is a trickle. Their response is to provide jerry cans and a bucket. 2) located on the main Kampala-to-Jinja road, huge trucks run all night - and in the morning, an enterprising shopkeeper blares enormously loud music from just across the road. Its an experience. 3) Be aware wifi is available only in the lobby, you won't be getting caught up from your room. I could go on, but those are the "highlights" - bottomline, the Churchill Courts doesn't have...

My room had windows that were sealed shut and an air conditioner that did not function properly (could not cool lower than 30 degrees Celsius). On top of this, the hotel was not able to switch me to another room and could not provide me with a fan. The bathroom was promised to have hot water but there was only cold. After baking in the room overnight, breakfast was so swarmed with guests that there were no tables available. I took tea and toast standing by the reception, using their counter as a makeshift table. Never coming...