I was picked up and tended to the whole trip. It was wonderful.

If my friend go to Lalibela, I will never recommend this hotel.

Staff me me feel like family foods good nice experience

Staff me me feel like family foods good nice experience

It was a nice location and I would have no complaints, were it not that I was bitten at night by, what I believe were bed bugs. The bites exactly fit the description. Luckily, the room was quite spacious and thus our suitcases were at a good distance of the bed, so I believe they did not climb on-board our suitcases.

The hotel staff was nice but the pool wasn't kept up nor was there wifi in the rooms. Hot water is great and it was very clean! I recommend it for the price.

Aesthetically beautiful in terms of decor. Room was relatively clean. However, not much else is appealing about this place. It is a great distance from the other hotels and the Lalibela churches but they do have free shuttle if you call in advance and reserve. The breakfast is free and decent. Please be very aware of the tour guide that is stationed at this hotel because he will charge you double the price of what a tour to the Lalibela churches actually cost. There is no WiFi in the rooms, if you want to use WiFi it must be in the reception area of the hotel. Far worst than the WiFi issue is that they had no hot water system installed...be prepared for a cold bath. Also the television has one working for channel and seems to go out after 10pm. Definitely not recommended for around $50 a night.

Aesthetically beautiful in terms of decor. Room was relatively clean. However, not much else is appealing about this place. It is a great distance from the other hotels and the Lalibela churches but they do have free shuttle if you call in advance and reserve. The breakfast is free and decent. Please be very aware of the tour guide that is stationed at this hotel because he will charge you double the price of what a tour to the Lalibela churches actually cost. There is no WiFi in the rooms, if you want to use WiFi it must be in the reception area of the hotel. Far worst than the WiFi issue is that they had no hot water system installed...be prepared for a cold bath. Also the television has one working for channel and seems to go out after 10pm. Definitely not recommended for around $50 a night.

We stayed at the Lal Hotel for 2 nights during the low season. The hotel staff are very friendly and well accommodating. The rooms were nice and spacious, with comfortable beds and hot showers. There was a TV but was not hooked up to any satellite, so you couldn't watch anything if you wanted to. Shopping and restaurants are close by. Ask for recommendations.

We stayed at the Lal Hotel for 2 nights during the low season. The hotel staff are very friendly and well accommodating. The rooms were nice and spacious, with comfortable beds and hot showers. There was a TV but was not hooked up to any satellite, so you couldn't watch anything if you wanted to. Shopping and restaurants are close by. Ask for recommendations.

This was a good choice, walking distance to the churces with restaurant, bar etc. we wanted a bigger property and this worked well.

This was a good choice for Lalibela easy walk to churches, free airport shuttle. It is a big property which is what I was looking for. We were quickly put in a room. I wish wifi was in the rooms it ruins mealtims to have to catch up on business in the restaurant and lobby. There is no place to work with a computer either and you are not allowed to sit at a restaurant table in between meal times.

Let me attempt to list all the ways this hotel did me wrong. Firstly, they said I had no booking, even though it was prepaid. Secondly, I asked to show them on internet, but they said internet had been down for three days, but that I needed to prove it by internet anyhow (I started at noon and ended up getting internet at 7 PM). Thirdly, none of the three computers in their business center had internet. Fourthly, there was no hot water anywhere in hotel (I talked to others at the Lalibela airport who stayed). Fifthly, all rooms have televisions, but none of these televisions get a signal, so they leave them unplugged. Sixly, and last because I do not want to waste more time on this hotel, there were wet towels on my bathroom floor. I am not sure if this was to soak up water from the toilet or from the shower, but they were wet when I arrived. I was so disappointed that a beautiful place like Lalibela was ruined with my stay at this hotel.

We visited Lal during the off season and the place was pretty empty. Our room was nice and comfortable though cold at night. This was exacerbated by the solar hot water: no sun, no hot showers. Wifi didn't work in our room but was OK — by Ethiopian standards — elsewhere. Cleaning was spotty; they missed a few days. The sauna was a small closet but was a nice balm for the cold. All in all, for a remote location during off season, we found Lal to be adequate, and the staff to be friendly and helpful.

We visited Lal during the off season and the place was pretty empty. Our room was nice and comfortable though cold at night. This was exacerbated by the solar hot water: no sun, no hot showers. Wifi didnt work in our room but was OK — by Ethiopian standards — elsewhere. Cleaning was spotty; they missed a few days. The sauna was a small closet but was a nice balm for the cold.All in all, for a remote location during off season, we found Lal to be adequate, and the staff to be friendly and helpful.

Well given that we booked for 2 nights but could only stay 1 because of flights,the hotel gave us a refund ($100) which must be a lot of money in Lalibela so I think they were more than decent.In fact it was a pleasure to do business with hotels.com

This was the cheapest hotel we could find in Lalibela, so I was pleasantly surprised (note: all these ratings are on the scale of African hotels, which is definitely different than that for American/European hotels). Few issues with hot water and electricity, relatively clean, shuttle service to and from airport, free wifi, and breakfast included with some rooms.

Thoroughly enjoyed seeing Lalibela and the hotel was great. Bright and cheerful rooms, good food (although breakfast was a bit hit and miss, mainly miss in the off season). Staff were lovely. Not really impressed with the amount they charge, had better for half the price in lots of countries, developing and otherwise. They are improving the place but shouldn't expect current paying customers to foot that bill! Tour guide was good, but an organised tour group may have been more economically viable. Once again too much money! They are offering fantastic 2 - 3 * accommodation and service but charging 4* rates. They need to realise that not everyone from the 'developed' countries has a lot of money to spend, having forked out for an expensive 'once in a lifetime' holiday. They should charge according to what they need and not their perceptions of our income. I don't mean this to be insulting but I felt insulted to be told I should tip well as they may not be earning much for the next few months! My recommendations to an inexperienced traveller would be 'there are a lot more exciting and interesting things to see in the world that would possibly give better value for money.'

Enjoyed one night stay at Lal Hotel, Lalibela. Walking distance from famous monolithic churches. Clean, comfortable room with exceptionally friendly and helpful staff.

Staff need to be trained how to offer services

On arrival, a staff member showed us to a standard room with 2x single beds, however we had paid extra for a tukul (round) room and a queen bed. Hey did not have these details written down and later blamed the company that takes all of the Ethiopian Hotel.com reservations for giving him the wrong details. I showed him the booking confirmation email and without any apology we were shown to a tukul room, however it had 2x singles. Again I complained that it was not what we booked, and again without an apology he showed us to another tukul room with a queen bed. I felt he was quite annoyed at us for not accepting the first two rooms; it was like he wanted to pass off the cheaper rooms to us so he might be able to resell out fully paid for rooms to other guests. We unloaded our bags, had a toilet stop and left to do sightseeing. On return 4hrs later, the bathroom was completely flooded. A different staff member promptly helped us and changed us into another room of the same value. The rooms are large and spacious. We had good views over the valley. The furnishings were tasteful and adequate. The hot water and water pressure was fine for one day, however the following two days it was a cold trickle. This was understandable as the whole region has water shortages and it was a busy time (Laddet). The first two nights' sleep was very comfortable and bed bug free. However, the last night we weren't so lucky. There is a big problem with fleas in the carpets of the rock-hewn churches, so fleas can be very easily transported back to your room if you're not diligent. The restaurant is overpriced and mediocre, especially the breakfast. One morning we were sitting in the courtyard having breakfast, however our peace and quite was disturbed by a minivan driving into the courtyard and parking itself there with the loud engine running and exhaust fumes blowing onto us - why it didn't stay in the carpark like the rest of buses is beyond me. I would suggest walking up the street to get better tasting and value food. The rock-hewn churches were about 20mins walk uphill from the hotel. As it was Laddet and a very busy time when we were there, it was good to have that distance away from the commotion.

On arrival, a staff member showed us to a standard room with 2x single beds, however we had paid extra for a tukul (round) room and a queen bed. Hey did not have these details written down and later blamed the company that takes all of the Ethiopian Hotel.com reservations for giving him the wrong details. I showed him the booking confirmation email and without any apology we were shown to a tukul room, however it had 2x singles. Again I complained that it was not what we booked, and again without an apology he showed us to another tukul room with a queen bed. I felt he was quite annoyed at us for not accepting the first two rooms; it was like he wanted to pass off the cheaper rooms to us so he might be able to resell out fully paid for rooms to other guests.We unloaded our bags, had a toilet stop and left to do sightseeing. On return 4hrs later, the bathroom was completely flooded. A different staff member promptly helped us and changed us into another room of the same value.The rooms are large and spacious. We had good views over the valley. The furnishings were tasteful and adequate. The hot water and water pressure was fine for one day, however the following two days it was a cold trickle. This was understandable as the whole region has water shortages and it was a busy time (Laddet). The first two nights' sleep was very comfortable and bed bug free. However, the last night we weren't so lucky. There is a big problem with fleas in the carpets of the rock-hewn churches, so fleas can be very easily transported back to your room if you're not diligent.The restaurant is overpriced and mediocre, especially the breakfast. One morning we were sitting in the courtyard having breakfast, however our peace and quite was disturbed by a minivan driving into the courtyard and parking itself there with the loud engine running and exhaust fumes blowing onto us - why it didn't stay in the carpark like the rest of buses is beyond me. I would suggest walking up the street to get better tasting and value food.The rock-hewn churches were about 20mins walk uphill from the hotel. As it was Laddet and a very busy time when we were there, it was good to have that distance away from the commotion.

This hotel - like others in Ethiopia - has high rates for foreign tourists but does not deliver in expected service. The place was a mess. Though our room was not terrible, the hooks and towel bars had been removed from the bathroom, so there was no place to hang anything. A neighbor on the other side of the wall got locked into his bathroom one night and started screaming for assistance. We woke up and had to alert the on-site security guard. The gardeners were obviously not attending to the grounds. The breakfast service was confused and disappointing. We had the feeling that the head office of this chain of hotels was collecting money through the internet from foreign tourists but was not turning over the booking information to the hotel itself which lacked a computer. In short, a crummy hotel.