Friendship International Hotel Addis Ababa Review

You can book the Friendship International Hotel Addis Ababa here.

If you are using the free transfer option that Ethiopian Airlines providesand have an economy class ticket, you will most likely end up in this hotel.

I agree that the name Friendship Hotel does not inspire too much trust, but you should give it some credit. The hotel is just a 5-minute drive from Addis Ababa Airport and at the end of the Bole Road district. Bole Road is an Addis landmark and has just a bit of slow moving traffic. It has a good number of coffee shops, hotels and bars. In fact it's probably the nightlife spot in town.

When I drove closer to the hotel, the driver suddenly steered away and told me that all rooms were taken. Me fearing another scam (needlessly this time) was determined to go and ask myself. The reception folks were friendly but their English was challenged. They eventually told me that in fact no rooms were available and that I would have to go to a different hotel (in a slightly worse location) or wait.



I chose to wait and was invited to have lunch upstairs at about 5PM. Armed with my lunch coupon, I showed up upstairs. From the choices I selected the Ethiopian option - beef stew with injera. This wasn't my favorite Ethiopian dish, but it was fine.

I asked if I could get one of those delicious Ethiopian macchiatos (yes, even in a regular hotel bar these are prepared with awesome quality) and my wish was granted without an extra charge.

After 'lunch' my room was ready and I actually got a suite - a bit too close to the road on a busy Saturday night but I didn't have a choice.





The bathroom had one of the weirdest showers ever, with water coming from dozens of jets. The challenge was obviously to start it without being sprayed by lots of cold water. I'm not sure that my strategy worked, as the bathroom was flooded and I was just partially frozen. The bad news is that the bathroom became so slippery that I struggled to stay afoot several times.



I was impressed by the sheer size of the room though - easily enough for four of those massive beds in my room.

The WiFi was all the way from super-fast to non-existent for two hours.

Given the altitude change, I tired early of a quick excursion to Bole Road at night.I found it hard to sleep and woke up with a pounding headache. Eventually I fell back asleep, only to be woken up by my wake-up call at 8AM. I never requested one, but apparently this is part of the standard package.



I showed up for breakfast, which was horrible - some pastries and peanut butter - and then I was ready for my drive to the airport (and more macchiatos).

In conclusion, this is a good hotel and the location is worth it. To.Mo.Ca Coffeeis 5 minutes' drive away and my favorite Kategna locationis walkable during the day (at least if you can deal well with altitude).

You can book the Friendship International Hotel Addis Ababa here.

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