AVANI Lesotho Hotel & Casino

The pool itself was clean and nice, though the sun loungers around it looked worn out. Rooms could use some freshening up, while the bathrooms were neat and had tubs and hot water. The restaurant felt a bit cramped. Food and drinks cost a lot, but the food was very average, and the dinner buffet didn’t offer much choice for the price.

The staff were friendly and the room was decent, but we only found out that outside food wasn’t allowed after we’d already bought some. There were no signs that we saw explaining the rule. Having rules is fair enough, but guests need to know about them beforehand. We were stopped on our way up to the room and told we couldn’t take the food in. In the end, we had to eat under the trees and got bitten by mosquitoes and insects. That’s really poor service.

**Edit:** Management, thanks for replying. I know you offer gym memberships, but my visit wasn’t during peak gym hours, and the people I’m talking about weren’t members. They were staff. I recognized some as waiting staff, and they were changing into or out of their uniforms. A four- or five-star hotel facility shouldn’t be treated as a staff facility. Guests and people paying for an expensive membership expect something else. It smelled bad, was dirty and overcrowded, and staff were shouting and shrieking. That’s unacceptable. Please take responsibility and fix it instead of making excuses. **Original review:** I tried to use the sauna during my stay, but it’s in the ladies’ changing room, which was overcrowded, noisy, smelly and filthy. It turned out staff were using the small space, which has only two showers and two short benches. Management either allows this or doesn’t know it’s happening. With a pandemic around, I can’t see how people could follow protocols or even basic hygiene in those conditions. If a guest with covid used the facility, it could spread quickly through the local community when staff went home. And if a staff member had covid or something similar, it could spread through guest rooms and then to guests’ home countries when they returned. This facility used to be run more professionally. Charging four-star prices for such shoddy service is wholly unacceptable. New management needs to be reviewed before they run the hotel into the ground.

The views from the hotel over Maseru and the mountains are beautiful, and the location is great. The rooms feel spacious and are nicely proportioned, with a clean, accessible shower, bath and toilet. Breakfast was a highlight, with a hot station, fresh fruit, yoghurt and bread. The room service and Nala restaurant menus are a bit limited, though. All in all, I had a wonderful stay.