Ararat Hotel

Worst food, Nothing around, Dusty neighborhood. On positive side the staff in the hotel from reception to kitchen everyone was helpful. only choose this hotel because it was African union 50th anniversary in Addis Ababa and all good hotels were fully booked.

I preface this review by saying this is the first hotel in Africa I have stayed in therefore my expectations may be rather unfairly high! But I felt that sadly the Ararat seems overpriced for the capacity of its staff and (less so) for its facilities. Despite the booking website assuring us that there was only 2 rooms left, the hotel was empty of other guests when we arrived. The new wing (in progress) looks very smart but we stayed in 2 rooms in the old building, which though rather tired looking, did have pleasant verandahs. The main problem is the staffing quality. Usually the sole guests at breakfast, there was no buffet offered (this was clearly offered on their website and on booking sites) and the meagre menu offerings were simply rather inadequate and took an age to arrive. Juice, more coffee etc was always charged extra, and on the worst morning our breakfast took one hour to arrive! Staff were always friendly and pleasant, but this sadly does not compensate for the service problems. Their English was very unconfident too. On the plus sided, the wifi in rooms usually worked (though not in most of the public spaces), there is some good and well-priced food on the menu, and the garden and terraces are really nice.

The hotel offered very good value for money, although it is not as physically close to central Addis Ababa as other hotels. Asmara Rd., the local road connecting the hotel to the centre of Addis, was under construction, so travel times were very long -- this should change by the end of 2012, when the construction is complete. Most staff were very courteous and helpful, The restaurant was handy, although the menu was not as diverse as it could have been. Also, the breakfasts were a bit limited in range and not as plentiful as they might have been. Having said this, the meals were very inexpensive (dinner for less than $US10.) and the food was well presented. The restaurant had a very high level of cleanliness. Be sure to get a room in the newer building across from the original structure (still in use). The room was nice, and included eight channels of television, including BBC World and Al Jazeera in English. The room was quite adequate, although part of the bathroom floor did get wet after a shower and there were no special mats provided. Internet availablility was excellent (especially for those without a computer), but I'm not sure if the rooms had wi-fi or not.

I enjoyed my one night stay at The Ararat Hotel. The staff were very friendly and helpful. The hotel is in two half's, the old and new, with the new being more modern and acceptable to modem standards. It was clean and the free internet facility was great after being in remote Africa. I did have to pursue the issue regarding inclusive breakfast, but this was sorted without question by the staff. The one downer of the hotel is its out of town location which unfortunately is amongst the construction of a new major road network. But don't let this put you off. It's not a bandit sort of environment, just a building site close by. The hotel also provides a complimentary service to and from the airport which is well worth avoiding the hassle of, the airport taxi senorio.

no bathrobe or slippers, no hangers in the wardrobe, just one small towel, no hot water upon arrival, window was open so the room was very cold, no city map, room is vey very small, view to the backyard, far away from the city center, heavily overpriced

We booked the hotel because the map showed it was in the center of addis. I was really disappointed when the shuttle headed 6km from city center. The TV didn't work in the first room we tried and the second room the phone didn't work. The toilet seats were broken. The WIFI didn't work and the "business center" had inconsistent internet. There didn't appear to be any other restaurant options in the area. All that aside the bed was comfortable, it was clean, the hotel restaurant had excellent food which wasn't overpriced and the shuttle into city center only costed 10 USD. I wouldn't stay here for the location but I would consider staying for the price and the shish kabab.

I enjoyed my stay at the Ararat Hotel. The staff are friendly and try their best to assist their guests. Rooms are clean and tidy. I will go back again on my next visit to Addis Ababa.

Eftersom det är mina första resan till etiopia ser jag att det ska blir massa resor i framtiden. Al respekt fint träff. Alltså 100% perfekt.

Aan de rand van de stad gelegen redelijk ver van het centrum, busstop voor het hotel, nieuwbouw hotel, mooie rustige tuin, traditioneel restaurant aanwezig naast een "normaal" restaurant, shuttlebus naar vliegveld, attent en vriendelijk personeel,

Sauberkeit ist in Ordnung. Es gibt einen alten und einen neuen Hoteltrakt. Für die ortverhältnisse ist das Hotel in Ordnung. Jedoch gibt es keine öffentliche Verbindung ins Zentrum.

The staff is very nice, but we had to ask for everything: towels, toilet paper, electricity and roomservice (cleaning). We will not return.

hotellet manglet flere av fasillitetene, hotell staben fortalte oss selv at de ikke var vandt med internationale gjester, vi måtte vente over 2 timer på roomservice bestilling av to flasker vann. vi kunne ikke med bringe mat på hotelrommet tiltross for at hotellet stengte mat servering kl 2200. manager snakket ikke engelsk, vi måtte selv bære bagasje mellom flere etagsjer da vi annkom grunnet vi måte bytte mellom flere rom siden hotellet ikke var ferdig bygget.. det var ikke nok varmtvann til å engang fukte en vaskeklut på rommet.. vi fikk ikke medbringe gjester heller ikke mine barn til hotellrommet dette til tross for at resepsjonistene ved flere anøedninger hadde privat besøk på jobb.. resepsjonisene løy oss flere ganger direkte i ansiktet, i tillegg dukket de ikke opp på fly plassen for å hente oss når vi annkom, slik det sto i bestillingen at de skulle gjøre (flytransport inkludert) vi forsøkte til og med å ringe dem flere ganger fra flyplassen.. dagen vi skulle sjekke ut skulle utsjekking være kl 1200 ifølge nettsidene.. vi ble kastet ut kl 0930..