Pope Paul VI Memorial Hotel Ltd — Hotel in Kampala

Having been a backpacker and stayed in hostels and guest houses all over the world, even I was disappointed in this place. It's called a hotel but a hotel it is not. The room was minimally clean, with smeared mosquito guts on the bedroom wall. The bed was completely sunken in in the middle, and the mosquito net was full of holes. We had no fan or AC in the room (when a place is called a hotel, I at least expect a fan). The tub had a shower hose that barely reached above my 5'7" head so my 5'11" fiance had to squat to fit underneath it. Overall the bathroom was pretty icky. The building just felt dumpy and depressing and did not make you want to spend any time in your room. My father, who is neither a budget traveler nor a backpacker, was not happy with the accommodations at all so we left and switched to another hotel. We did not chose this place, someone else in our group did, so we had no idea what to expect. If you are looking for cheap, basic, no frills and don't mind dingy and dumpy, then you will be ok here. Otherwise, you can do much much better for similar price at a B&B or guesthouse. The main lobby and restaurant/terrace area was decent but is not indicative of the quality of the accommodations. Also, the front desk staff are not very friendly and look like they'd rather be anywhere else. Considering it's a business spot and a hotel, they didn't even know where the closest international bank was (right behind the hotel). They were pretty clueless about most things we...

My charity was looking for a conference venue in Kampala and nearly did not book Pope Paul because of negative reviews about the accommodation. We were glad that we did, though. The setting is very pleasant, with a lovely terrace for outdoor seating. The conference facilities (projector, audio, microphones, the room itself, seating etc) were very good. The food supplied to our participants (in a separate dining room) was okay but not spectacular; a typical conference buffet. However, meals taken separately in the restaurant seemed to be really nice (I tried only one, fish fingers and chips, which was excellent). Service was very slow, though!|||| The wireless access was hopeless at the weekend but much better, though intermittent at times, during the week (perhaps they switch the server off at weekends?) My room (no 91) was absolutely fine and I had plenty of hot water. It came with a mosquito net for comfortable sleeping; I was bitten by mosquitoes during my time at Pope Paul but not excessively. A couple of colleagues complained of lumpy mattresses, and I believe the rooms vary enormously in quality. (No one cleaned our rooms during our 4-night stay, possibly because we didn't hand in our keys?).||||Pope Paul is the first hotel/hostel I've encountered in Africa that interviewed me for 10 minutes about my stay as I checked out; they are very aware of the negative Tripadvisor reviews and I think they are trying to improve things. We would definitely stay...

I stayed for a week here. This is actually, two main buildings: the one on the left as you enter is the actual sleeping area; the one on the right is the lobby, restaurant and conference centre. ||||The good parts: Food is fine, even the breakfast (included). Rooms have mosquito nets already around each bed. The outdoor area is rather lush, with tall trees, interesting birds and nicely away from the road. Knowing that the place was walled, and the gate with one or two guards present at all times, was great.. Staff is friendly. There is plenty of parking. The area is fine, and the boda-bodas (motorcycles) will find you as soon as you leave the gate, if you need transportation.||||The negatives: Warning: do not believe that they have wifi -- if they do, it is pitiful. I ended up buying my own data card. Rooms will not be cleaned, garbage bins will not be emptied for the duration of your stay. Service is slooooooow. Many rooms are being revamped, so there is lots of noise during the day. And the noise from the restaurant area -- loud, pounding music -- goes waaaay into the early hours. Finally, too expensive for what it offers. I was surprised...