Hotel du Phare

The pizza is oven-baked and tastes good, and there’s a variety to enjoy with draft beer at the rooftop bar. Watching the Mamelles lighthouse’s rotating light is lovely from up there. It used to be a perfect spot for the night view of the African Renaissance monument, built in 2010. Recent buildings around the hotel have blocked that view, though.

The one thing I’ll praise is the Wi-Fi. It seems to be the fastest in all of West Africa, so thanks for that. Beyond that, what did I just pay for? The neighborhood is nice and wealthy, and there’s a good pizza oven, but that’s about it. The rooms are very basic, the bathroom hot water doesn’t work, and breakfast is pitiful and overpriced. Two thousand CFA for bread and butter? The rooftop terrace is overrated too. The view is mediocre, it gets crowded and very noisy at night, and in the morning it’s covered in the previous evening’s garbage. The online pictures look nice, but the hotel feels like an afterthought, just something added to the space beneath the rooftop bar. Why does a budget hotel cost so much? If they lowered the price to match the service and accommodation, I wouldn’t be disappointed.

The shared bathroom was clean and worked fine for us. The rooms are basic but clean, and the hotel is affordable, with a nice rooftop bar. It’s about 400-500 meters along a dirt road behind the mini-car stop at round point Mamelles. They recommend calling ahead, though walk-ins seemed fine unless you need a specific room. I’d stay here again.

The rooftop is a nice spot for a drink, and they have 'pression' beer. Food can take a while, around 1h, because they get a lot of delivery orders. Still a nice place, and sometimes they have movie night.