Blue Nile Hotel

The only drawback was the city-center noise at night. It can be avoided by booking a room at the back rather than facing the street. I visited Bahir Dar in March 2017 and stayed at two hotels, Azewa hotel and Blue Nile Hotel. Both were great, but Blue Nile had something special. It's within walking distance of the lake. The building looks contemporary from outside, while the inside is classic. Rooms, washrooms, the dining room, and the areas by reception were all clean. The food was awesome, employees were polite, helpful, and friendly, hot water was available 24/7, and the Wi-Fi reception was great. I paid 400 Birr, about 17 USD, for a single bedroom. I definitely recommend it to anyone spending time in Bahir Dar.

I had to wait an hour to check in while engineering brought a safety deposit box to my room. The standard room was very small, and the bathroom towels were torn. After dropping off my luggage, I went on a tour and came back four hours later with a bottle of wine. Security stopped me at the front door and demanded a 400 birr corkage fee to take it to my room. Earlier, the shuttle had been more than 30 minutes late, leaving me as the last passenger waiting on the sidewalk. When the driver finally arrived, he had a buddy in the front seat and offered no apology. I wouldn't recommend this hotel.

We stopped for one night on a family trip toward Addis Ababa, mainly because the hotel was near the airport and we had an early flight. The staff were kind, and security was good. Breakfast had free options and the continental spread was just right. The place was clean and friendly, though the bathroom was very small. Our TV had problems, and the bed sleeve was wet.

The building is old and there’s no elevator, but the room was good and the bathroom worked properly. Hot showers matter a lot to me, and those were fine too. Most of the traditional nightclubs, or Azmari bet, are within walking distance.