Grand Hôtel Urban

The location is good and the place is clean, but the prices feel too high for the service. The restaurant costs a lot more than other good places in town, though the food is nice, always fresh, and served quickly. You have to pay for the whole stay at check-in, and parking is very limited.

The restaurant was excellent, and everything I ate there for breakfast, lunch, and dinner was very good and reasonably priced. The hotel is centrally located, with large comfortable rooms, great beds, a good shower, and a well thought out layout. I’d stay again in a heartbeat.

The views were magnificent, and the staff smiled, but this was a disappointing last night after a long trip around Madagascar. The hotel feels overpriced for what you get, from the rooms to everything else. They wanted 120,000 Ar for an airport transfer. I pointed out that a regular taxi costs 80,000 and the city center hotel I stayed at a few weeks earlier charged 65,000. The receptionist just shrugged and said it was hotel policy. It felt like a blatant rip-off. There’s another hotel 50 meters up the road that’s three times as good for a third of the price. Check-in was disorganized, in a cramped, crowded mini-lobby squeezed between the entrance and restaurant. My room was clean but tiny, with a mini-desk and no chair. There was major painting work going on, including right in front of my balcony, and it brought some smell and noise. Sometimes that can’t be avoided, but they should have told me when confirming the booking. Breakfast was chaotic too. I’d booked B&B, and the coffee, eggs, and yoghurt came quickly. I waited about an hour for the rest, bread, jam, cheese, and fruit, then gave up and skipped it. WiFi was unreliable, and painfully slow when it worked.

The roof bar has stunning views, and the restaurant, with its Indian influence, is a step above most hotel restaurants in Madagascar. It’s a colonial feeling hotel, well located and reasonably priced.