Hotel Hibiscus

They let me check in early in the morning when I arrived. The hotel was clean and my room was spacious. It may look small from the front, but there's a restaurant and bar behind it. I had roasted chicken on a skewer with fries and green tea. The total was 39,000 BIF, which was affordable.

After a long drive from Kigali, I just wanted to splash cold water on my face and relax in my room. At arrival, the front desk guy seemed confused and kept calling someone to check my reservation. It took far too long, so I eventually put my bags down at the bar. Once the room was ready, he repeatedly said, “pay now,” and asked for $60. I paid and relaxed a bit, then had dinner at the restaurant. On my way back, the same guy insisted he needed a copy of my passport right then. I said tomorrow, but he said no, now. I went to my room to get it and asked him to return it when he was done. I went back later to collect it, and then he said I actually owed $65. As a tired traveler, I wanted some peace, not several layers of incompetence from a hotel. The room also smelled a bit and was in a noisy area. There are much better hotels in Bujumbura for the price. The hotel should sort out the flaws in its system and stop making so many demands of customers.

The terrace was perfect for relaxing, and the staff were generous with help on random things like laundry or getting a sim card. The wifi worked, breakfast was ample, and the AC was great. Highly recommended.

For the price, it’s a nice hotel. The rooms were really big, clean, and comfortable, and I’d definitely recommend staying here. Cash can be hard to get in Burundi, so you can book and prepay on hotels dot com.