Jupiter International Hotel

Addis Ababa hotel review

Jupiter International Hotel review ( near Bole rd in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

- In thirty years of working overseas I've never written a hotel review but feel compelled to write this one. I read some good reviews on this hotel and was inspired to stay which I did for a few regretable nights. (Rooms are around a hundred US dollars)
The Jupiter International Hotel run just off Bole Road is quite different than it's sister hotel (of the same name) near the Hilton. The quallity of stay at the Jupiter International Hotel off Bole Road astonishly poor. I don't think there is room to include everything here so I'll abbreviate my description. My first night there cigarette smoke was filtering somehow through bathroom ceiling vent..I needed to wedge a foot stool and pillow to block it from coming in the room. Teh next day construction ( circular saws/hammering) took place about 15 feet from my door.
This went on into the early evening. I went to the front desk to complain and they assured me it would stop. It didn't and the room was literally vibrating. Okay, I went down and calmly asked again and the same reply. After that I used the phone and the they kept assuring me into the evening it would be gone. I explained it's reaonsble to expect construction through the daytime hours but not into the evening. I also explained that a reasonable solution might be moving me to another room which they did not want to do. The biggest complaint I have over this issue is not so much the mind bending sound, but the apathy and disinterest in making my stay more comfortable. There are some good reviews on this forum so I can only assume they have changed staff. That night I called the hotel restaurant (which I might add had good food and very pleasant service in the dining area).... my meal never arrived and I went to bed with an empty stomach. There simply was no interest in fixing this issue. as well as others. I think this is a good hotel for $50 but not $100 so travellers can make up their own minds. The beds were the hardest I've slept on in 60 countries and the pillows felt like slabs of squared off foam. ( The staff applied a softer pull on surface that had marginal effect. I was told they were going to replace the beds on a month but having been told many other things that never came to fruition I wonder. When checking out I was kept waiting over 30 minutes until they could process my bill. ( I was the only guest checking out) Again, I understand that not everything is going to always pleasant and flexibility is required when travelling anywhere...my point is when problems did arise (one after the other) the hotel's response was extremely unproffessional and apathetic. Never rude, just apathetic and entirelly disinterested. I also stayed at the Jupiter Hotel (near the Hilton) and it was fine expect agan the beds are like slabs of concrete. But it was clearly a different experience and the managment remarkably different. If you are looking to shell out a hundred dollars in Addis Ababa I would be hesitant to stay at the Jupiter International Hotel near Bole rd. Good location, good food when it comes, but the hotel is clearly out of it's league charging a $100 a night...it's a 5 dressed up an 8 may be the best way of describing this experience. There are more mishaps and senseless confusion that happned but I'll stop there and let future clients decide. The infrasrtucture looks quite inviting and most if not all of the staff are quite friendly expect the front desk which was useless and as mentioned disintersted in solving any issues. That's not to say all of the front desk staff are unpleasant...but there is some incompetence going on there and what appears to be poor/ineffective management. I don't know how they would handle someone that actually got mad which I did not at anytime...frustrated for sure, but never disrespectful. My three days there was mostly a study in how not to run a hotel other than the dining area itself. I would say if you want to stay at this hotel, you are probally fine until someting actually goes wrong or a problem arises...in some cases the issue was that people there had no idea how to solve problems and were poorly managed and trained..

Unique Quality: I'm not sure I would list outstanding qualites, but the restaurant is quite good and as mentioned the staff are pleasant. Good location off of Bole Road but not anywhere near worth the money...