Hotels in Douala: Top 15 Best Buy (English)

Read the French version of this post: Les Hôtels de Douala: Meilleurs Rapports Qualité-Prix

In terms of hotels, the price paid does not always equal the service received. We propose a ranking of the top 15 Hotels best buy in Douala.

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Which hotel provides you with the best value for your money in terms of accommodation facilities in Douala? At CTM we thought it is important for everyone to have a feedback on the quality of services provided to customers by the economic capital’s hotels,  given the many complains about the cost of accommodation in Cameroon General. In this article we provide some answers to this question. In doing so, we intend to play our role as guide customers hungry for information on offerings available locally.

For the first issue of our magazine, we tackled the task of classifying hotels in Douala. This ranking, far from being limited to the classification given by the Ministry of Tourism and infrastructure, favors the satisfaction expressed by the customer (mostly international travelers) after staying in the institutions concerned. This ranking takes into consideration two important factors: The cost of the accommodation and the quality of service received by the customers. Hotels and other accommodation facilities included in our classification are limited to those whose clients have shared their feedback after staying at these hotels.

Our ranking combines the standard of the hotel expressed in number of stars, the services offered, location and price. To this we add the number of reviews the hotel has received on tripadvisor.com, a site well-established reputation that collects a comprehensive rating of hotels provide by the customers themselves. To account for fake comments that may have been posted on trip advisors.com, we dropped all hotels with a low number of reviews. All these criteria are combined using a mathematical formula in order to generate a computer ranking of Douala’s hotels, regardless of their standings (number of stars) or belonging to an international chain or network.

Of all comments received, the consensus was that hotel accommodation in Cameroon is relatively expensive compared to the service provided to customers, both for hotels belonging to international chains and locally owned and managed structures. The quality of service is generally below the international standard. Finally, the offers are not uniform. The service received is non-standardized at the same hotels, meaning that two people booking the same room with the same options will receive two completely different treatments. In addition, the reception staff often lacks professionalism and skill in the performance of their duties. Our ranking of Douala hotels after our analysis is as follows:

1. Akwa Palace ☺☺☺☺

This is a luxury hotel located in the heart of the business district (Akwa). This hotel features all the comfort desired by the traveler, while being close to all the administrative, commercial and financial centers. The ability to take a room in the lower end (rather old) Akwa Palace (3 stars) makes this hotel more attractive than others in its class. The hotel could still lose its ranking if Le Méridien corrects some of the shortcomings that have caused it to be relegated to the third place.

2. Hôtel Bano Palace☺☺☺☺

This is a Budget hotel (3 stars) located in the heart of the Akwa district with an impressive assortment of services, warm hospitality and professional service with an attentive staff.

3. Le Méridien☺☺☺☺

Luxury hotel located in Bonanjo, the hotel is part of the Meridien chain. Definitely the best hotel in Douala today, though the service is somewhat close to that obtained in the best Meridians worldwide, the prices at Douala’s meridian are too high. Infrastructure is standard (comparable to other hotels in the chain), but with comparatively higher price and service is a step above local average, but lower than international standards, which fails to justify the high prices. All these shortcomings have cost this hotel its first place.

4. Hôtel Ibis☺☺☺☺

This is an “Accor” hotels with the standards equipment found in all Ibis hotels. The service is somewhat disappointing for a hotel of this caliber.

5. Hôtel Princes de Galles☺☺☺☺

Prince de Galles is a new hotel with modern exterior architecture with luxury and aspiration located on a street of the same name. Unfortunately, the interior rooms lack charm and the bathroom architectural design is not the most intuitive. If these small shortcomings are fixed, this hotel would gain a few places in the standings.

6. Hôtel Sawa☺☺☺☺

One of the oldest and most famous of the city of Douala, this hotel took a big hit with age. However, the hotel is currently being renovated. Service quality could be improved and prices scaled down. The hotel has the potential to reclaim its status as a luxury and glamour hotel in Douala, which may happen after it is completely refurbished. The environment is excellent.

7. Hôtel Résidence La Falaise☺☺☺☺

This is a budget style residence hotel with undeniable comfort. The cleanliness of the rooms is remarkable. The hotel recently underwent a renovation which brought a more modern touch to its style. Its geographical location at the heart of the business district (Akwa) and five minutes from the International Airport Douala gives it an advantage.

8. Hotel Laguna Palace☺☺☺

Located not far from the airport, the hotel is correct in terms of price and service. The rooms are clean and comfortable, nothing more.

9. Planet Hotel ☺☺☺

This hotel is for those with shallow pockets. This is a simple, clean and nice hotel only convenient for a short stay. The management still has to be cautious about cleanliness be hotel begins to take a hit.

10. Minotel Vallée des Princes ☺☺☺

This is a very good quality hotel located between Akwa and Deido, just by the railways station. The prices are very reasonable given the services offered, and a hint of luxury is visible in this property.

11. Aquarius Marina 2000 ☺☺☺

A tourist hotel par excellence, the Aquarius Marina complex is built on stilts and allows the customer to experience a near rural environment in an urban area. Rooms are clean and adequate.

12. Hôtel Serena Palace☺☺☺

This is a budget hotel with an aspiration to luxury and comfort betrayed by some negligence in terms of cleanliness. This hotel could be better ranked if staff showed a bit more professionalism, and the rooms were a tad cleaner (especially the showers). This hotel has a branch located in Akwa Nord (near Bonamoussadi at a place called Sable). Here the standing is dramatically lower.

13. Somatel Hotel☺☺☺

Aspiring to luxury, this budget hotel is equipped with very good facilities. If the reception staff could improve its customer service, the Hotel Somatel could take advantage of its charm.

14. Beauséjour Mirabel☺☺☺

Historic hotel built since around the independences, the Beauséjour Mirabel still maintains it charm, despite the fact that it urgently needs renovation, which will prevent this historical hotel from being classified as part of the urban decay scenes of Douala.

15. Mention Spéciale: La Villa des Fées☺☺☺☺

This villa is located a short distance from the Deido roundabout (the one with the new Liberty monument). The little structure provides a service worthy of a 5 star hotel that could not be ignored. Although the price is somewhat prohibitive, this villa is full of charm. It is a great place for families and lovebirds in search of quietness and privacy.

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