Hotel berhampiran OMI, Dakar

Spent two weeks in October/November 2022 with a large training group. Hotel is perfect for business meetings. Food is great, rooms spacious, air con works, back up generator, nice swimming pool. Beds lasher and comfortable. The staff were very friendly and helpful especially for us Anglophile’s. They were bilingual and sorted out any issue. In particular Oumy of conference services and Oureye at front desk

We chose this hotel due to reviews here and the location in Dakar. Having traveled in various African countries it sounded like a good deal. We arrived after busy working days in Senegal (for my wife) and Burkina Faso (for me) in the Oceanic. So we needed some calm and quiet and thought - since the hotel is away from the main streets - this would be alright. It was a Thursday night during the Football World Cup 2022 - we would have expected some noise, but since all the games had ended at 21:00 - the night should be calm and quiet. We had some food outside and arrived for the night at about 23:00 with a tremendous noise. - ”oh, it's just the neighbours, they will stop at midnight” - that's what we were told at the reception - this happens every Thursday - apparently. Now if you check my pictures - you can see there is absolutely no noise canceling in the rooms - neither the door, nor the window keeps even a whisper outside - but especially no bass from a 200.000W Karaoke machine. So - incredible noise until about 00:15 - then slowly but steadily the noise went ... We were told this only happens on Thursday - so we left Dakar on Saturday for a tour and decided to give the hotel another go for two nights on our return to Dakar before we headed back home. Big mistake. We arrived back on a Tuesday about a week later. After a long trip all through Senegal - again - for some quiet winding down. And then it started - Tuesday night - Metallica in your room - I am serious - even if I raised my computer volume or the TV volume to the max - no way it could be louder than the noise that entered from the neighbours. Incredible. 22.00 - the receptionist went over to the restaurant and asked them to turn the music down - result: the music volume in the room went down from Metallica, let's say to Johnny Hallyday. So I went down again at 23.00 and asked the reception to go over there again, to call the owner, the police or to find us another room. Now the nigh**are starts. The receptionist was repectless and told me to find a new hotel - if I am not happy with my room and the noise. He will not call the police - and the owner already called the neighbours - everyone helpless - as we found out. I stayed at the reception until 00.15 - the music was still going strong - we were offered nothing - they were helpless and the receptionist rude (he never came back to say he was sorry, neither did the owner encourage that - since we met him again the following night - he barely looked at me). The next morning the owner of the hotel came to explain to us, that there is a political issue and that he can not do anything about the noise. The police will not do anything (that is what he was telling us) that's why he will never call them. Well - if you never try, you never know, as Coldplay said. He told us that they had an agreement, that there will only be noise on Thursdays - we saw how that agreement worked out... And what an agreement that is - I guess that should be

This hotel should be torn down. It is not a 5-star hotel and people looking for one should steer clear of this property. This was my second stay at this property in 1 year and I hoped that my recent visit would have been better than my last, but it was unfortunately worse. At check-in, you will be greeted by a rude agent who will merely point at the 3pm check-in sign, even if you have an early check-in guaranteed. The same agent will then charge your card for an indiscriminate amount so make sure to check your credit card statement online and fix the overcharges at check-out. Codou, my recent front desk agent, decided to charge me double for the city tax each night. The property still has a HUGE issue with black mold. It is in every room, as confirmed by the front office manager, and the hotel is doing nothing to fix this issue except by painting over it, literally. The hotel also does not have a properly functioning A/C system so if you like to sleep in a stuffy room that is over 75 degrees and smells of mold this is the place for you! Also of note, housekeeping sprays a lemon scented Raid in each room to cover the mold smell on check-in. Don't worry, the Raid can is left on your nightstand so you can spray to your heart's content during your stay. Such a nice toxic touch! Oh, and let's not forget management's fantastic idea of hiring the most miserable bands to play loud, obnoxious music every night that is aimed directly in your room so you will have absolutely no chance of falling asleep. You could not pay me to stay here again. As a side note, I understand that the hotel is trying to attract and retain guests in their outlets with live music, but there is no need for the volume to be set at stadium level every night of the week and to setup the speakers facing the hotel. The pool area is small. Acoustic sets would work just as well and be less disruptive to your in-house, paying guests, if you care at all.

Great location, very clean and professional. Employees are also super friendly. I would suggest to the managers to developp a ”culture” of tips (ei; puting an envelopp in the rooms so clients can show their appréciation of the cleaning, add the option for tips in the interac machines used at the restaurant on the fort floor,etc.) so the employees get increased working conditions.

Lovely hotel and facilities are wonderful. Rooms very comfortable with great beds and good showers. Nice amenities too... robes, slippers, etc. One disappointment was the inconsistency in the service we received. For instance, went to the restaurant in the hotel. No one stopped by our table for about 20 minutes, and finally we flagged someone and ordered drinks to start. 40 minutes later, we still had not gotten our drinks - so we left the restaurant and instead went upstairs to the lounge. Service was excellent there. Another example, the pool is open until 8 p.m., but found it impossible to get a towel at 5:30 p.m. Just a bit disappointing for a 5-star resort.

Hotels are supposed to be your home away from home, and in the 10 years I have been traveling, mostly Africa, 34 African countries, and counting, this has been true until King Fahd. My stay in each country is an average of 3 weeks. I get to know the staff and begin to feel welcome and comfortable; there are always small things, but they generally work out with the help of a willing and able staff. This hotel is convenient to work, and as its website boasts, caters to the business clientele, and has WI-FI, if I come back to Senegal, I will stay somewhere else and make do with the traffic. The housekeeping staff at King Fahd will try to accommodate you, and they do as well as possible, given the rules, but the rooms don’t get much of deep cleaning. The view can also be grand, but you have to ask specifically for a room with a view. Ms Khady Diatta at the front desk is always warm and welcoming very professional and made any front desk transaction seamless. Sadly she is but one. King Fahd is uncomfortable from the beginning, you get some help but not without having to beg for help/service from 3-4 different people. They are the most untrained “hospitality” staff I have encountered, and they will tell you what they think you want to hear, not the truth. Zero communication amongst staff. The WI-FI will not work for hours to days, but they will be surprised when you tell them it is not working if you complain to enough people; in my case, 5 people in one day. They sent two people in the AM to confirm the trouble with WI-FI, but they were not IT, and nothing came of it. I Spoke 2 times to the manager (Fatou Naiaye), 2 hours apart, and she told me they had hotspots available. I have never been more uncomfortable after interacting with a manager than with this manager, who became angry, just short of yelling at me after I tried to explain my frustration with the many things promised but unavailable in this hotel. The restaurant for breakfast is a whole other YUCK; the same wet sponge is used to “clean” the table and mat, swipe the mat, but there is a layer of forearm sweat lingering on the tables that, even after I pointed out made the server giggle and made no more effort to clean. There is no spray disinfectant for cleaning. That said, if you show up to breakfast after 7:00 AM, on my first Sunday, they haven’t rid up the tables or reset them, so you have to go look for flatware and napkins as well as a spot to eat, and they literally ask you what you are looking for!! Same breakfast food every day for three weeks. This is when I decided I couldn’t eat in there just take bananas and yogurt; I tried to leave with two pieces of bread on a plate and yogurt with a spoon to my room but was chased down by Maître ď, who took my plate and spoon, now with two pieces of bread in fist and yogurt back to the room. Apparently, the restaurant manager will not allow flatware or plates/bowls to leave unless it is room service. The rooms are musty and damp, even th