Hotel Diplomate — Hotel in Kampala

I had the unfortunate experience of staying at Hotel Diplomate whilst in Uganda this month for the opening of an art exhibition that i am a part of along with all other fellow artists. ||||The hotel is old and is complete disrepair, the bathroom had several leaks from the sink and toilet while i was there and reporting this resulted in no action. They did not change the sheets once in 5 days and the place is so old and broken down it was difficult to tell if they had cleaned or not! The tissue the provided (which you had to ask for when it ran out) was the cheapest quality on the market and the towels provided looked like they were bout int he 90's had been washed a million times and never replaced. It was just awful! |||| I was booked in for B&B however this hotel does not actually offer a proper or international standard breakfast. The put peculator coffee on a plate and expect you to somehow get coffee from it WITHOUT a percolator in the breakfast area (dare I not call it a restaurant). The cook would fry eggs and they would be put on a table in a row uncovered and whenever you arrived at the breakfast place that's is when you would have to select one of these plates of cold uncovered egg to eat. The only other food available for breakfast was white bread (there was sometimes butter and jam but not all the time), bananas and watermelon.||||The worst part of the experience for me was the staff - The did not give clear communication they are not response nor are they friendly or accommodating. They gave no local information or advice on where to go or what to see, they did not seem to want to be at work most of the time and they would not advise you in advance of any additional costs for example, the first morning i was there i wanted to get an iron to iron my clothes and i was told that the hotel would iron clothes for me which I thought was a ray of sunshine in their otherwise terrible service only to find on check out i was presented with a laundry bill! Unbelievable but 100% true and totally frustrating.||||I recommend that you completely avoid this hotel if you do not want your Kampala experience...

The views from the Diplomate are spectacular, clearly one of the best views in town overlooking the city, which, especially after sunset is quite fantastic. However, you are best advised to pack a picnic basket with your own favourites bites and drops, to match your culinary experience to the view. The service is slow, somewhat dim-whitted, with good and drink being less than any standard and barely above truly local. Be prepared to Re - phrase your requirements or orders and any questions you have at least half a dozen times to ensure you are half understood. If you must stay there do not take the special deal on the annex rooms, which are more akin to 1980 back packer style with walls undeserving to be called so. Paper thin, they allow you to hear next room's occupant turning his duvet at night, which to sime might be an interesting bonus, yet to most just an extreme, sleep disturbing annoyance. Getting onto the hotel grounds make sure your vehicle is powerful enough and sports 4WD to master the steep slope and offload your mountain trekking gear, which will be handy for the sharp inclining and descending stairs of unnatural step and riser hight from he car park to reception and be sure to ask for a map through the labyrinth to and from your room. Or overall, just don't bother as apart from the undeserving view the Diplomate sports, there is nothing at all to justify all the effort and...

There is no doubt that the Hotel Diplomate has one of the most spectacular views over Kampala and to see the fireworks that welcomed in the new year, 2019, we could not have been in a better place. The good news is that a group of young entrepreneurs have started up a bar in collaboration with the hotel and so the viewing terrace of the hotel is really a happening place! They had literally just opened in time for the New Year and the paint in places was still drying, but I loved their attitude to keeping customers at the centre and I wish them all the best for their venture. Customer service is something which is sorely lacking in the hotel. When I went to check on arrangements for the new year, we sat at a table expecting to take a drink, but nobody came. This has always been the problem with Hotel Diplomate - great view, great potential, but terrible follow through - hopefully the arrival of the terrace bar lads will eventually spread through the whole place! I will definitely be back at the bar to watch the sunset...