Asheton Hotel

I live in Addis and have been visiting Lalibela for many years - Lalibela is the first place I take my Ethiopia visitors. As such I have visited most of the <$50 hotels in Lalibela at one point or another. Many are lovely, but Asheton is unbelievable. Some of the rooms need a little maintenance - a loose door knob or a cover on the shower heaters. But all of the rooms have hot water, the rooms surround a silent thicket of plants including local spices (eg, tenadem), and there's a sweet little courtyard for breakfast, (which is very generous, and included on some booking platforms). I would stay here if it were three times the price, and my visitors last weekend insisted on paying for their free breakfast, because they felt guilty that such a lovely place and such a huge breakfast (anything on the menu for free) was so cheap. The hotel is one minute from the central square, but down a quiet road so silent at night. I didn't meet a member of staff I didn't find pretty adorable, including when we got them up at 5am to wander to the church, and they insisted on walking us.