Epic Sana Hotel (Luanda) — Restaurant in Luanda

I have stayed at Epic Sana many time since my first visit back in 2013 and all of those visits have been with great amenities provided by the hotel. However, my last two visits in 2019 I see a decrease in basic room features. The room had coffee/tea cups and tea bags, but no coffee machine or a water boiler pot (see Picture 1). Also the room DOES NOT have a box of nose tissues, you have to use toilet paper, or bring your own. There are NO face washcloths, just a larger hand towel and bath towel. I felt a bit disappointed that a hotel showing 5 stars beneath its logo (and for this price) does not automatically provide or include these room features without going back down to the Lobby Desk. As for room maintenance here are my three main dislikes. No. 1 - The sink did not have a drain poppet (see Picture-1) so anything and everything dropped into the sink will go into the drain pipe and you get to look at static drain water while you brush your teeth. No. 2 - I think the closet doors are in need of cleaning because they were very dirty around the handles and dried drink spill running down the door (see Picture-2). No. 3 – I think the shower is in need of a renovation because the drain rim was either rusty or all the enamel was chipped (see Picture-3). I do have to return to Luanda later this year and yes, I will have to book into Epic Sana again….I really hope that I get a much...

Warning: the hotel uses a deceptive and inflated conversion rate for rooms. I booked online, with the listed invoice as $807.47 for 3 nights. During checkin i was charged 811,802.29 kwanza. Official exchange rate shouldve been ~915 to $1, but my credit card was charged $890.18. Do the math.

The manager originally tried to blame the discrepancy on currency fluctuations between the time of booking and checkin. After showing that i booked 2hrs before checkin, the next excuse was that the govt allegedly has a different exchange rate thats specific to hotels. This is also a lie, as i just left Protea hotel the previous day. Additionally, i was charged 53500 for their sunday brunch, which showed on my credit card as $58.67. My meal in their other restaurant also reflected an exchange rate of ~912 to $1 (27000 bill charged as $29.61)

Ive seen this trick many times - the inflated exchange rate is meant to convince customers to pay in USD instead of local currency. Watch your invoice carefully and do not trust these people.

Other than that, my stay was decent, and brunch...

Had the pleasure to stay here for four days while exploring Angola. Must say it's a nice hotel. Looks fancy and the staff generally is friendly. The price they charge doesn't anywhere near justify it though. I've visited hundreds of hotels across the globe already. Charging 400 or more euros per night is too much here.

Rooms are decent. No price list to be found anywhere on the minibar. When asked about the price at the reception, they can't tell you.

Gym at -2 is big but really needs maintenance. Most lockers don't work anymore. Most toilet door locks are broken. There was no toilet paper. There was no soap to wash hands. The steam bath room is nowhere near steamy and smells bad. Also requires swimwear.

There's free luggage storage.

The swimming pool looks more fancy on the photos than in reality. As it's part of the restaurant it's not very inviting to go for a swim.

Breakfast is good. Nice selection of items to eat with good quality.

All in all its okay but by far too expensive for what...