The Art Hotel

The room was spacious and clean, with a useful desk and working AC. The two women at Reception were polite and helpful when I arrived early and later needed to leave my luggage after checkout. But for a one-night transitional stay over Christmas, the price didn’t feel justified. At the entrance, there was nobody to help with my luggage, which I didn’t expect at this price. The bathroom let the room down badly: the finish was sloppy, there were visible construction flaws and mould 🤮, and even at the highest setting the shower only got lukewarm. The minibar was locked, so I had to call room service to get access. That felt restrictive and out of place for a premium hotel. The room itself was comfortable, but the upkeep, amenities, and service missed basic expectations. What I saw online, much of it influencer-led, gave me a different impression from what I found when I arrived. The photos and comments set a standard that my stay didn’t match. At over ₦500,000 a night, I expected finish, comfort, and hospitality on a par with an international four-star hotel. That wasn’t delivered.

The staff were very friendly, but the hotel itself was poor. I paid $650 for two rooms for one night, and they looked nothing like the pictures. There was mould in the bathrooms, WiFi didn’t reach the rooms, and the TV channels looked illegally dubbed from somewhere else. I wouldn’t pay over $100 to stay here, let alone more than $300. I chose it over the well-known hotels because the photos looked nice. Never again, and I wouldn’t recommend it. Try it at your own risk, lol.

The lobby and shared areas were lovely, and check-in was quick and easy. My room faced the front, though, and buses and morning traffic started up at 4:45am. I was annoyed enough to leave at 7am and probably won’t return. Room service took nearly two hours and only arrived after 11pm, even though I called twice to ask about my order. That was utter nonsense. Management also needs to give porters door stops so they can keep guest room doors open while entering. I asked whether the porter had one and declined his offer to show me the amenities. He understood graciously and didn’t come in. It’s a safety concern.

The only decent part was the staff service. They were accommodating, polite, friendly, and helpful enough. The rest of my five-night stay was awful. I paid just over $1,000 and wouldn’t recommend this place or stay again. At check-in, I couldn’t get to my room because it was on an upper floor and the lift wasn’t working. After a long trip, I waited about 20 minutes before I could relax. There’s only one lift, and it’s often busy, slow, or out of order. The first room was disgusting, so I asked to move after only a few moments. The pillows had makeup stains, the duvet had other strange marks, the bathroom mat had black streaks and hairs, and there was mould on fixtures such as the toilet roll holder. It hadn’t been cleaned properly. Management offered to clean it, but I refused and asked for another room. The second room was better, but what I’d seen left me unable to fully relax or trust the cleanliness for all five days. The towels and bedding looked very worn and were barely white. I wasn’t comfortable using them. Breakfast was limited and repetitive. It was cold, dry, and poor quality every day. The only small change was pork sausages one day, which were cold, and chicken sausages the next, also cold. The omelette chef kept disappearing, so guests had to wait while colleagues called out and looked for him. This happened daily, and he’d show up about ten minutes later. The hotel also looks different from the online images. The reception is small and cramped, not nearly as spacious as it appears online. The place is poorly maintained and unfinished, especially the shower, whose fittings were badly done. Its showerhead sprayed water in every direction, and the whole area was dirty. Everything seemed to be deteriorating without care or maintenance. The pillows were weak and overused, and so much needed replacing. On checkout, with an early flight, my car was waiting from 6:15am. I came out with two heavy suitcases and found the lift broken again. Reception sent the maintenance man, but he couldn’t get it working. We had to take the stairs down from the sixth floor with the luggage. He carried the suitcases, but I still ended up dishevelled, sweating, rushed, and late for the airport. The hotel made my whole Lagos stay very uncomfortable. I was deeply unhappy with how unclean it was.