The Bradt Guide forewarned of Gondar's lack of good-value hotels, but as I was only planning on one night in town, I decided to splurge (by my standards) and take something from the "moderate" category. Circle Hotel wouldn't have been worth 92 birr in other towns.

Shiny bedspread, carpets, and bedbugs...but a lovely view!

Breakfast at the hotel.

As the name implies, the hotel is cylindrical with stairs spiraling upwards. I was placed on the 5th floor, a dizzying climb. The room itself is quite large and the hot water is as promised. According to my guidebook, it's possible to check out several rooms before deciding, but not expecting so many stairs, I hadn't asked the clerk in advance to bring up multiple keys. It was difficult to tell on sight if there was anything wrong with the room, and I was pleased enough about the water. However, the bed itself was not particularly comfortable, and it's the only hotel I can pinpoint for possibly having bedbugs, as I started noticing bites on my legs early the following evening.

The TV only offered one English channel, which played some of the worst movies I've ever seen, including a horrendous South African movie called "Mama Jack." When I travel alone, I prefer falling asleep to television when available, so I also noticed that this channel featured endless football overnight.

The restaurant was also only so-so, with incredibly slow service (even when, at breakfast, I was the only customer), and made rather greasy eggs. At 26 birr including a large bottle of water, it was a bit pricey for eggs but not unreasonable for a hotel restaurant; my own fault for staying in the hotel rather than looking for food elsewhere, but I hadn't wanted to chance running into the guide Peter downstairs.

As in many hotels, the staff prefers that guests leave keys at the desk. Be sure to double-check the key number on return! I had an unfortunate case of assuming they handed me the key I asked for, climbing the five flights and realizing it was for the wrong room. The desk is not consistently staffed, especially at night, although the staff takes a casual view toward guests coming behind the counter to take their own keys off the rack.

Circle Hotel is more conveniently located than the best-reputed hotels like the Fogera or the Goha. However, if a few more dollars and a little distance to the sites do not matter, a bit of a splurge in Gondar means a more atmospheric dining experience...probably fewer fleas.

<   previous      •      next   >