Hotel De Mag

This might work for a quick stop, but I wouldn’t choose it for a longer stay. The food filled us up but left no lasting impression, and as someone used to well-spiced food in Tanzania, I was really disappointed. The rooms were a good size, though a lot of things seemed run down. The sheets and bedcover were dirty and made me itchy. The hotel is in a residential area, so it’s mostly quiet. The card door system seemed to have been disabled, which made the door hard to open; I think normal key locks would be easier for guests. On higher floors, water pressure suffered when the hotel was busy, and the water sometimes disappeared during a shower. The old, poorly maintained elevator often stalled on the top floor or stopped working altogether.

The swimming pool is cool and the hotel itself is good, but customer service needs work, from reception through to the restaurant staff. They could be more cheerful and follow up on requests.

A truly bad experience, even for one night. The AC didn’t work, the bedsheets and pillow covers were dirty, and the floor was covered in water, perhaps from rain. The bathroom floor was very dirty too. The faucet was loose and broken, the toilet’s water cleaning pipe was broken, and the showerhead only dripped, with very little to no water coming out. When I complained and asked for a different room, management ignored me. Sorry to write this, but it was a genuinely bad experience in Dar, and I’d never come back. (Edited) This is the worst hotel management I’ve ever dealt with, truly ignorant. I travel to Dar often, but this was my first visit here, and there won’t be another.

The breakfast was nice, and the rooms were not bad. I had a standard room, which was a bit small but worked for me. The staff are hospitable overall, though one person was unprofessional. The manager, a really cool guy, was able to sort out the altercation with him.