Ibis Dakar

I spent two nights at this centrally located hotel in Dakar. The staff are very friendly and helpful especially as I had to catch a taxi to the airport at 4 am. The pool is great and the atmosphere during the African Cup of Nations was exciting. The breakfast buffet is nice and varied with lots of good food. I liked being in a safe, enclosed area and would definitely recommend the IBIS hotel for a stay.

A few days prior to my stay, I sent an email enquiring about airport transfers as my flight would arrive in the middle of the night. No reply. On my day of arrival, after having organized the transfer myself, I called the hotel to let them know I will be coming very late, and they did pick up the phone and spoke English. (And they finally replied to my email after I had checked in and stayed one night, only to let me know they do not organize transfers and referred me to Hertz...) The receptionists speak English and seem reasonably friendly. Check-in was quick, check-out not so. The room was very bare bones, cramped and ascetic, with a rather strong, musty smell hanging around. The floor was made of hard plastic and was filthy, don't wear white socks! There was no luggage rack, probably because there simply is no room for one. There was, however, a desk and chair, a safe and a bed that's great for one person but would be incredibly narrow for two. The pillows were worn out and lumpy. For a hotel built in 2011, I would expect power outlets by the bed, but that was not the case here. No fridge. A/C worked well enough for December, but won't probably be too helpful in summer. Wifi was free and unlimited, but spotty and slow. Don't plan on teleconferencing here. A 0.5 L water bottle was provided and replenished daily. The bathroom came with no bars of soap or shampoo. There was a wall-mounted liquid soap container on the wall, similar to the ones you can find in public toilets. It said, "hair, body and face wash". I guess you could wash your dog, clothes and car with it, too. There was a bath mat and two bath towels, no hand towels provided. Water in the handheld shower was warm and pressure was okay. The carpets in the hallways were in desparate need of deep cleaning. Buffet breakfast was served in the lobby from 6:30 to 10 and cost a reasonable 8000 CFA. It was your usual affair: nothing to get excited about, but it will give you a good start of the day. Some hot and cold items, juices, yoghurt. The fresh fruit was nice and the croissants excellent. The same compound has a Novotel hotel right next door, and their informal restaurant on the ground floor serves lunch and dinner. There is a buffet (dinner 17 000 CFA) as well as à la carte, including the famous chicken yassa. The pool is shared by the Novotel and the Ibis. While their homepage claims it is heated, this was not the case, and in December, nights are cool so the water was a bit cold, but bearable. It was open from 9 am to 7 pm. The pool attendant was a grumpy old man who wanted your room number but didn't understand English, not even numbers. Pool towels were left to dry in the sun and then reused without washing, which is absolutely disgusting. I suspected it at first and then got proof by seeing the attendant simply place used towels to dry on furniture on the pool deck, folding them nicely afterwards. And then checked my towel to see that it was both filthy and smelly. Wow. Th

My wife and I stayed 5 nights, arriving before 11PM by Yellow Taxi(E40) from DDS Airport. The online check in desk was quick with a pleasant English speaking receptionist taking a credit card deposit to include room and potential charges at the bar/restaurant. We took our bags up the one working elevator to Room #510, all typical Ibis except a bit larger in the bathroom, shower stall and the bedroom(comfortable queen). The TV had a guide with BBC & France 2 in English and included Canal+Sports. Nice closet area with free water added each day, good central AC and numerous outlets. A large insulated window could be opened on request and had a wonderful seaview to Goree Island. The rooms were serviced daily. The 6:30AM breakfast was a downsized version of neighbor Novotel serviced by an attentive staff with an assortment of coffees, juice, breads, cheese/meats, scrambled and hard boiled eggs, yogurt, coco puffs/corn flakes & many fresh fruits. The common area included a large pool that was a joy to use(except on Sunday when an outside group of 50 kids overwhelmed) and the restaurant patio with pleasant music(except on Friday when exceeded normal sound limits until midnight). Taxis were always waiting outside the Novotel/ibis complex. The large ****** supermarket and the classic Marche Kermel are about 350m up the street.

I enjoyed my stay at the IBIS. The live music on Friday evening was great.I had the pleasure to be served by Awa during my stay at the bar. Awa worked at the bar as was always polite,happy and professional. I very enjoyable stay. I would recommend this hotel to those travelling in Dakar