Radisson Blu Anchorage Lagos Review

A hotel that calls itself Anchorage in the middle of a hot tropical city is either delusional or printing money. It seems the latter is true.

The Radisson Blu Anchorage Lagos is located along the main thoroughfare of Victoria Island, along the lagoon. It's just half a mile west of the equally well-situated Oriental Hotel.

Check-in was friendly, but although my Gold status was attached to the booking, the front desk attendant couldn't see it. I helped out with my number and, voila, it showed. I asked for an upgrade to one of the rooms bordering the lagoon, but that would only be available to 'Concierge members'. That's correct as far as Club Carlson benefits go. However, I was promised a Gold amenity for later.

I really liked the design of the lobby. It's airy, modern, not overly posh and looks brand new. There's a number of contemporary art elements that give the lobby a really artsy yet functional look.











The Hans And René Gelateria is located at the hotel, inside the security compound. The store looks brand new, but sadly the ice cream is way too sweet and really not my favorite.



I walked up to my room, which was at the far end of the hotel. The whole walk towards it, the sewage smell was overwhelming, so I feared the worst! However, my room had no smell and just looked a bit dated. It certainly wasn't as modern as my room at the InterContinental Lagos.







I loved the window bench - every hotel that features that is a winner in my eyes.





The bathroom was big but all the water was yellow - eek.





The internet was super-fast and stable at 4Mbit - much faster than at the InterContinental Lagos. I wasn't too happy with the AC in my room, though; the panel was too cryptic for me to understand (especially as there was no way to actually set a temperature) and during the night the fan was always on and the room would not cool below 78 degrees. It was a central AC, though, and I feel with a better control panel it could have been perfect.

I walked down to see the restaurant area; that part is just gorgeous. You can either lounge or sit outside on top of the water or inside among the beautiful interior decoration. The lagoon has saltwater so you do not need to go crazy with mosquito protection either.





Adjacent is the scenic infinity pool with views just good as the restaurant area.







While I was exploring, a stern security supervisor told me that was enough photography. No DSLR photography was allowed, only 'phone snaps'. I had heard that before in town - apparently DSLR cameras are frowned upon, while any type of phone lens is OK.

A few rooms away from the restaurant area is the gym, which I found well-equipped; however, it was too crowded, with precious little space between all those cardio machines.

After a quick nap I was woken up by room service, who brought fresh fruit and a bottle of red wine as my welcome amenity - sweet! Wine is a luxury item that is very expensive in Nigeria.

For dinner, I sat down at the terrace and ordered a chicken burger. I liked the presentation and the taste was good, too. Yes, I'm not a fan of hotel food, but in Nigeria I was ready to give it a try, since leaving a complaint is such a hassle and elsewhere you'd end up with similar quality food and prices after all the Uber charges.



Security at the hotel is pretty good; the gate is blast-proof and can withstand a major impact from a truck. There is no metal detector when you enter the premises after the car check. However, there is an army of super-observant security all over the hotel (no weapons to see, though). I'd say there were 20+ personnel with headsets and cameras who seemed very aware - think casino security.

I felt very safe there that anything that wasn't a major bomb scare or a crazy suicide attacker would be dealt with by the security team.

You can book the Radisson Blu Anchorage Lagos here