Double Tree by Hilton Dar es Salaam Oyster Bay
As soon as I stepped into the hotel, I noticed the décor finishes
and ambience synonymous with the Hilton hotels that I've been to in
South Africa. It feels very much like an upmarket city hotel until you take a
walk around the back to view Oyster Bay where the hotel nestles against the
banks of the cove. A wooden pier goes out into the calm bay to a thatched
viewing deck to overlook the calm serenity of the waters and of the fishing
boats.
Before I became lost in my surroundings, I was warmly
welcomed by reception staff. They handed me a warm fresh-from-the-oven cookie –
completely unexpected given the norm of welcome drinks at hotels. Reception staff
is friendly and in general the hotel staff are always greeting guests and
teaching them a little Swahili in passing.
The rooms are very spacious for a 4 star graded hotel but
what I really like is the business desk and comfortable office chair in the
corner of the room. It’s quite refreshing for a hotel of this nature to realise
that people on business trips are here to work and therefore provide the
resources to do so comfortably. The paper is delivered to your door every
morning and it’s a great way to kill traffic time when taking a cab to work.
The décor matches the old school wooden doors throughout the
hotel but with so much space, the wooden furniture doesn't over-power the room. I’m
not a huge fan of the tiled floors but these leave the room feeling clean,
bright and sparkly...and it's oh-so-refreshing to cool to walk on the cold tiles barefoot when coming in from the hot sun outside.
I was a bit disappointed with the view from my second floor hotel
room. It was sea facing – exactly what I wanted – but the view was more of the
large palm trees blocking the ocean from me. Knowing that the ocean is just
behind those trees is good enough for me though. The view of the pool area, though, does make
me feel like I am on holiday instead of slaving away. I am extremely jealous of
my colleague who is just a floor below me yet hers overlooked the pool, palm
trees and the bay!
I simply love all the greenery of trees, shrubs and flowers
growing around and between the hotel buildings – it keeps in theme of the humid
climate of the city it is in.
Breakfast is my favourite meal served at the restaurant. Not
only do they have a full English breakfast and continental buffet, they also offer a
variety of Indian foods for breakfast too – bhajias, rotis and jeera rice were
some of the tastes of the East that I am devouring every morning.
I’d much rather experience other restaurants rather than be
cooped up in the hotel. The are many restaurants situated a few minutes away from the hotel. Among them is the The Waterfront
– a lively restaurant right against the waters. There is also a market to shop
for curios and little gifts to take back home. Given the roads and driving
styles in Dar-es-salaam, I’m quite grateful that restaurants and markets are just a
short walk away.
Given the choice of so many hotels Dar-es-salaam has to offer, I think I’m happy with my choice of staying at Double Tree over the next two weeks.
About the Author
Posts
0 comments