Ayaba Hotel

We were moved to a cleaner room after complaining to a senior staff member. The first room hadn't been cleaned: it smelled of mold, and I started sneezing as soon as I entered because of my allergy. Dust was everywhere when we opened the balcony door, even on the wooden bed frame. Hotel staff first insisted they'd cleaned it. We were staying at Ayaba Hotel last year for St Bede's College's 60th anniversary. The management has done a poor job over the years, and Ayaba looks run down now, though it used to be Bamenda's pride. State-managed businesses in Cameroon often end up this way under the incompetent regime.

The service was good. I saw them cleaning the swimming pool every day I was there, and it was the cleanest one I'd seen.

The hotel has potential, but it needs serious refurbishment, from the building to the room and bathroom amenities. Warm water comes and goes, and the shower heads don't run very well. There was just one outlet in my room, far from the bed, and it was hanging out of the wall. Breakfast was enjoyable on two days, but the lunch I had one day wasn't very good. It needs updating with modern amenities.

The food is very good, and there's citronnelle. There's plenty of parking, too. But not all room locks work, and the only electrical outlet is in the toilet. TV channels are very limited in number and picture quality. In some rooms, the paint is fading and dust falls onto the floor.