Kribi Hotels

Hotel du Phare: Not worth the money.

I would definitely not recommend this hotel to anyone. Some of the reviews were obviously written by the owners. I just returned from a 4 night stay at Hotel du Phare. We reserved the Family Suite and paid 90,000 CFA per night (about $200 USD). The two best things about the hotel were the pool and the view. One can get the same view at a much cheaper price (Tara Plage, Ilomba) and have the same beaches (better, even with no rocks). The pool is the only thing the Hotel du Phare has that the others don't. Our room was NOT deluxe as advertised or stated in other reviews, and we supposedly had the best room in the hotel. One of the toilets had a big leak so urine covered the floor and the smell finally got so bad that we had to close the door and only use the other bathroom. We told the staff upon arrival and it was never fixed. We also told the staff of the air conditioner that didn't work, so we had workers in and out of our room for two days trying to fix it. 2 sleepless nights for my 2 children who couldn't open the windows for fresh air because the screens had large holes in them (mosquitoes) and couldn't use their bathroom because of the urine smell. Internet access and satellite tv are also advertised. The small screen tv only received one channel (local African news) and we had to pay 1500 CFA per hour for internet. We got no maid service for 4 days other than 1 change of towels. Food at restaurant was average, but small portions and on the expensive side. Staff were VERY rude, including the owners who wouldn't say hello or even look at us the entire time we were there, and we were the only family (who had paid $800 USD in advance). We were also scolded for having a bottle of wine IN OUR OWN ROOM. Totally unacceptable for a "deluxe hotel" at deluxe hotel prices.

Pool and view.