Bravia Hotel Ouagadougou

I stayed four nights at the Bravia, which allegedly is the best of the hotel options in the center of the city. They rate themselves as a four-star establishment, which they might be if everything worked smoothly. My stay was divided into two, first two nights and then one outside the city, after which I returned for another two nights. The problems I encountered were very different each time. At the airport, the hotel driver was waiting outside the terminal, and I was swiftly transported to the hotel. The drive took 2 minutes, it would even be walkable if you are travelling light. The shuttle is complimentary. The first time, the receptionist was friendly, spoke English and swiftly cheked me in. Several requests made by my travel agent to have a room that does not face the swimming pool (those can be noisy) were ignored, but fortunately the receptionist was able to change my room and give me one that suited my preferences. The second check-in, at 5 pm, took 15 minutes for whatever reason. Reception was not busy. The first room, 318, was of average size for a four-star hotel. There was a large and comfortable bed with sockets by the bed for charging your devices, a sitting area with two chairs, a desk with a universal socket, a minibar and a safe. One 0.5 L water bottle was provided and replenished daily. For wifi, you get a code that is valid on three devices. While wifi was easy to use, free and unlimited, it kept falling off the grid for some ten minutes every time there was a power cut, and there were many of those. They did not last long, seconds mostly, never up to a minute, but each time the wifi network went down. The room felt clean and was in decent condition but did show a little wear and tear at places. The second room, 315, was larger but similarly equipped. However, this time wifi was very spotty. There were no power cuts at all, however, wifi repeatedly did not work for extended periods of time. The safe was unusable due to low battery. The first bathroom came with a leaking toilet (the toilet has a separate tap so I just turned the tap off for a quiet sleep) and a bathtub (with no plug; I'm glad I always bring my own just in case) and handheld shower with good water pressure and ample hot water. Amenities included single-use shampoo, shower gel and soap. It's nice to have single-use items as I don't find the wall-mounted containers – that so many hotels nowadays use in order to save money – hygienic. More counter space in the bathroom would be nice. In the second bathroom, the toilet did not leak, a plug was included and counter space was ample, but the shower was a joke. Water pressure kept changing all the time, as did the temperature, which was mostly lukewarm at best. Taking a shower was almost impossbile. Fortunately I had a bathtub that I could fill up and take a bath instead of showering. The hotel has a very strict policy of no outside food and drinks, and they do check – there is an airport-like security control

This is a generic-style hotel. The rooms are clean, and quiet. For an upmarket hotel in a typical west African city it's ok, but compared to the same kind of hotel in, say Europe or the US, it's a bit run-down, and overpriced. The entrance is intimidating... you enter a security area where your luggage is scanned before you get to the front doors.. but this is for the sake of security in a country that is undergoing some political upheavals. The staff are very friendly, and many speak pretty good English. The swimming pool looks really inviting although I didn't use it. I was unimpressed with the restaurant. I ate dinner there three times, and every time the food was heavy, over-seasoned, and without culinary finesse. It was edible, but not satisfying. The buffet spread for breakfast had some marvellous tasting fruit, and some decent pastries, but the warm food was also over-seasoned and heavy. They accept credit card payments, and there is a working ATM in the lobby. The two small outside bar areas are quite nice to spend part of your evening. The beer is always cold, and they do make really excellent pommes-frites... I HIGHLY recommend asking for some fresh chilli (piment) with your fries. You will get freshly chopped chillies and garlic in peanut oil which is truly delicious on fries.

This is where I will always stay when visiting Ouaga. The dining room is open for lunch and dinner and the food is great! My room was very comfortable. The gym is so fantastic, probably the best gym that I have ever seen in a hotel and Eric the trainer is in the gym to help. You can also sit on the 5th floor terrace and relax.