Allamanda Hotel

The room was excellent during my four-night stay. For a sea view, I'd ask for a top-floor room when booking. The best views are from rooms 20, 21, 23 and 24. I appreciated seeing the staff clean the sand under the restaurant. The restaurant itself is lovely, and most of the food is very good, though portions like the zebu steak are small, the sauce poivre vert was too scant, and prices are a little high. Service was mostly bad. They forgot my order twice out of five times. At 9:50 pm, I asked if the bar was still open for another glass of wine and was told no. Then I saw the staff serve another round of drinks to a table of four nearby, which honestly annoyed me. Getting a meal delivered the 50-60 m to my room costs 20% extra. The more expensive dishes would cost a lot to eat in your private room on the lovely balcony. I gave the service two stars. After I complained, it got much worse, and staff seemed to take revenge. They served me meat I couldn't eat, then laughed at me twice when I returned it. Photo attached.

The bay views were excellent, and during summer the hotel's short pier and restaurant veranda are apparently good spots to watch whales early in the morning. We didn't see any during our stay, but we were about a month past peak whale season, so that wasn't a surprise. The room was clean, tidy and spacious, with a good bed. It was a comfortable place to sleep before day trips, and for that it did the job. The small pool looked a bit grubby, so we didn't use it. The on-site restaurant served pleasant food, though it felt as middle-of-the-road as the hotel itself. Our company booked this hotel for this part of our Northern Madagascar trip. We were told it was one of the best in all of Diego. Maybe it is, but the stay was uninspiring, and that may say something about the other options around here. It could have been in almost any European holiday destination, but wouldn't have been the best there. It was among the least inspiring places we stayed on the trip. I'd still recommend it because the local accommodation selection is subpar and this is one of the better choices.

We went in person to ask about a room while a large group of vazaha was leaving. The woman we spoke to looked us up and down judgmentally and condescendingly told us there was no availability for two weeks. We were sure there were rooms free, so after leaving we called. On the phone, they said yes, they had rooms. If you aren't “vazaha,” I wouldn't bother with this hotel if you want to avoid discrimination. They seemed judgmental and dishonest, unwilling to let us stay because we weren't vazaha. Racist hotel. Run.

The bay view was lovely, especially at sunset. The staff were hospitable, and the receptionists were nice. They helped us with everything as soon as we arrived, including when I got sick just before we reached the hotel. A doctor on call treated my stomach infection over three days.