Hotel Ella Tambolaka

The bungalows have more promise than the rooms in the main building, which smelled of mould and were poorly cleaned. But they’re a 30-minute hike or a 10-minute drive from reception and breakfast, and you’re stuck if you want to leave. They tried to charge us 100k for a lift to a nearby restaurant. We waited half an hour for a beer to be carried over while sunset passed, with terrible, extremely loud karaoke playing. The bar or restaurant by the bungalows wasn’t working. With renovation and staff trained to clean properly, the bungalows could be lovely. The whole place could do so much better if management cared or knew what they were doing. Three stars is generous, maybe it’s a three-star place or lower.

Breakfast was really bad. We had to move out of the basic room because they wouldn’t provide blankets, which is unusual, and the room was dirty with unclean linen. The upgraded room wasn’t much better.

The staff were friendly, and the price was low for the service. There’s an infinity pool and free horse riding for photos, plus a free buffet breakfast for your driver. The grounds are huge, with open space where they raise horses, goats and cows. Getting from the main building to the villa and pool takes a fair walk. The buildings are old and not well maintained. I wasn’t in a villa, and one wall of my room looked mouldy or dirty.

The room is big, and there’s plenty of parking. For the price, it’s a nice hotel, with a TV, kettle and wifi, though the wifi is slow and there’s no hot shower. You can order food from the restaurant. We waited almost an hour for it, but it tasted good.