Tana Hotel in Bahir Dar

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comments 5

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  Kelly-Elizabeth Thayer

  :: 18 March 2019 09:09:08

  DO NOT STAY AT BLUE NILE RESORT, TANA HOTEL!!! I stayed there for 3 nights in August 2018 and it was a miserable experience. Several weeks prior to arrival I had booked my room online through Jumia (online third party); by the time I arrived at the hotel my money had already been deducted from my account and I thought I was set to go. (I had used Jumia several times before without any problems.) When I arrived at the hotel, the hotel manager seemed concerned when I said that I had already paid online through Jumia and I showed him the confirmation. The next morning I was told by the hotel manager that the hotel does not honor payments made directly to Jumia as the hotel management is afraid Jumia will not send them the money. He then asked that I pay them directly in cash, as the hotel manager said that this was, “My (the customer’s) problem and not a problem with the hotel.” To me, if the hotel does not trust the third party reservation service they themselves have advertised on, that is the problem of the hotel, not the customer! As the money had already been taken out of my account, I refused to pay again and instead gave them a number for Jumia customer service. When I returned that evening from my daily activities the hotel manager informed me again that I would have to pay and that he had not had much luck talking to Jumia. I then called and talked to the Jumia representative myself. She informed me that the hotel manager was not reasonable, that Jumia would pay the hotel, and that I did not have to pay again. I told the hotel manager that I would refuse to pay again when I had already paid for my room. Each day we went through this, the hotel manager telling me I would have to pay and me refusing and talking to Jumia on the phone, who confirmed I did not have to pay. What the Jumia representative also told me was that the payment had not yet been transferred because when I checked in it was a weekend and then a holiday which delayed the process, but that the payment was already in the system and on its way to Blue Nile Resort, Tana Hotel. I will take a moment here to confirm what a few other reviews already mentioned…..the room itself was sub-par, certainly not worth the rate I paid per night. Anyone wanting a decent and mold-free room would be disappointed. On the positive side, the garden was lovely, the food was decent, and I enjoyed walking the path to town along the lake. When it was time to check out, the issue had still not been resolved (the hotel manager said I needed to pay because he simply did not trust Jumia to transfer the hotel the cash). I tried catching a taxi to the airport but the hotel staff did not let any taxi take me, and the hotel manager and his security staff chased me down the driveway when I tried walking away. I did find it funny that five large Ethiopian men felt the need to surround me, a 5’4” female, to block my way from leaving the hotel premises, while threatening to call the police on me. I was literally being held hostage, after having pre-paid for my hotel room weeks in advance with an email confirmation and a Jumia representative telling the hotel management that they would be receiving the money, and I had a plane to catch! I finally spoke to the kind people at Jumia to tell them that I was literally being held hostage. They were appalled and said they would block the payment to the hotel and refund me so I could pay the hotel manager directly and be allowed to leave to catch my plane. I ended up paying the hotel directly so I could leave and catch my plane. Jumia refunded me a few days later, no problem. I would NEVER RECOMMEND anyone stay at the Blue Nile Resort, Tana Hotel. They were rude and made my stay very stressful. I came to Bahir Dar to relax and find some peace. Instead I found nothing at the Blue Nile Resort, Tana Hotel but stress, anxiety, and constant badgering to pay a bill I had already paid.

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  Miranda Lonsdale

  :: 16 March 2019 09:42:54

  Good value for money, lovely site by the lake, good food and helpful staff. Too far out to walk into town but bajaj available. Ambience slightly spoiled by noisy loud-speakered local churches. I would come again.

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  abeyou wale

  :: 10 March 2019 06:02:14

  Great sunset view and has acess to the lake shore walkway.

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  Virginie Vacher

  :: 06 March 2019 10:49:53

  Wonderful location by the lake, great garden, great birding, no that expensive.

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  Fred Saghir

  :: 24 January 2019 17:44:17

  Very bad food and small portions for high prices. They dont even try...